If you live in a Jacksonville or another city in Florida where the Chief law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) will not or easily sign a Form 4, there are several solutions. Title II Firearms (sold by Class 3 SOT dealers) include suppressors, , short barrel rifles, machine guns, and other destructive…
Most Florida medical schools will accept donation of bodies (complete with organs). Florida Medical schools will use them for research and instruction. Generally after the body is used, it will be cremated by the school. If requested most schools will return the remains if requested. Individuals and schools are not…
Florida Continues to have no State Death Tax. Only 24 states have some form of death tax as the state death tax credit has been phased out. The Top Estate Tax rate for 2008 is 45% and is scheduled to remain at $45 percent through 2009. This estate tax rate…
Often the first thing that comes to mind with Florida Estate Planning is a Florida will or Florida living trust. Although these are valuable documents they do not have any effect on the distribution of many assets. We recommend that our Jacksonville residents make sure their beneficiary designations are updated…
Starting January 1, 2008 every non-spouse designated beneficiary will have the option to rollover an inherited IRA and stretch distributions. To take advantage of this opportunity your Florida estate plan must be setup correctly to qualify for this rollover opportunity. You are not entitled to a rollover, you must prove…
What is “fiduciary responsibility?” An attorney-in-fact is a fiduciary and as such has a duty to invest and manage the assets of the principal as a prudent investor. This standard requires the attorney-in-fact to exercise reasonable care and caution in managing the assets of the principal. The attorney-in-fact must apply…
When does the attorney-in-fact’s authority under a Durable Power of Attorney terminate? The authority of the attorney-in-fact of a Durable Power of Attorney automatically ends when one of three things happens: (1) the principal dies; (2) the principal revokes the Power of Attorney, or (3) when a court determines that…
What is the relationship between a Declaration of Living Will and Power of Attorney? A declaration of living will specifies a person’s wishes as to the provision or termination of medical procedures when the person is diagnosed with a terminal condition, has an end-stage condition, or is in a persistent…
There have been many revisions to Florida’s Trust Code and I have touched on some of them on this blog in the past. There have been major changes to creditors rights. Creditors cannot compel distributions from or attach or otherwise reach a beneficiary’s interest in a third party discretionary trust…
RELATIONSHIP OF POWER OF ATTORNEY TO OTHER LEGAL INSTRUMENTS What is the difference between an attorney-in-fact and an executor or personal representative? An executor, termed a “personal representative” in Florida, is the person who takes care of another’s estate after that person dies. An attorney-in-fact may only take care of…