A Los Angeles judge has decided that the young daughter of former Playboy bunny and television personality Anna Nicole Smith will inherit her estate. Although Smith’s will, drafted before her now 18-month-old daughter was born, gave everything to her son, Daniel, it also said she intended that the assets in…
Theresa Harrington of the Contra Costa Times has written about groups that encourage estate plans for pets. These are often referred to as Pet Trusts or may be included in a will with language that creates a testamentary Pet Trust. She has found that it is suggested that $10,000 –…
Are there other ways of transferring my property for estate planning that will not disturb my Homestead Exemption or SOH Cap? Two methods of transferring your property will, in most cases, keep your Homestead Exemption and SOH intact: reserve a Life Estate for yourself or transfer your property to your…
A Florida Life Insurance Trust is an irrevocable trust that allows an individual to make the proceeds of a life insurance poliicy free from income taxes and estate taxes. Typical life insurance policies are income tax free, but many increase the value of one’s estate to the point that the…
When creating a revocable trust you may be asked for a Employment ID number (EIN) or Tax ID to open the account or fill out the paperwork. Many banks do not understand the difference between a revocable and a irrevocable trust. Although irrevocable trusts require TAX ID or EIN’s revocable…
For a number of years the IRS has attacked FLPs and FLLCs on the basis that there is no valid business purpose for the entity. Clients have argued that a key reason for using the LP form is so that capital can be concentrated or pooled and then invested for…
A Power of Attorney is generally valid when you travel because a Power of Attorney valid in another state will be valid in Florida. That being said there has been a problem with out of state Power of Attorney being properly recognized in Florida. As a result Florida passed laws…
Recently we have notice that Hospice organizations are refusing to allow people to visit relatives or friends while under the care of Hospice. In these cases, the people were turned away because someone with a Power of Attorney was able to state that the person was not wanted. It is…
In 1984 the Supreme Court in Dickman v. Commissioner, defined a taxable gift by using an analogy. The Court used the income tax definition of “all income from whatever source derived” to describe how a taxable gift should be defined. Section 2501(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code imposes a tax…
A common technique with large Florida Estate Planning is the use of FLP’s or Family Limited Partnerships. Neil Hendershot of the PA Elder, Estate & Fiduciary Law Blog summarized the recent highlights of the Heckerling Institute where they discussed those issues in detail. The most important issues dealt with making…