Today there is a big hole in most estate plans. Most estate plans do not deal with the property and licence rights that almost all Americans have accumulated with their online lives.
What online assets should be concerned with?
Everyone seemed to like our last one (Reason 10)so much we decided to post another of our Reasons to Make a Florida Estate Plan. Please let us know what you think of this one, and if you are the new wife, we apologize
Florida residents be advised, not only is it important to consult with a Neptune Beach Estate Planning Attorney about having your Will, Trust, Power of Attorney and other legal documents prepared, but you must make your beneficiaries and heirs aware that they exist.
Keeping your important legal, real estate, motor vehicle, insurance and financial papers in an organized fashion and storing them where they can be found is crucial. Keeping your original Will secure and accessible is the first step. A Will allows you to decide which of your family members or friends will inherit your assets. If you have minor children, you designate a guardian for your kids, in case of your demise.
Wills are subject to the Probate process, which is a court supervised proceeding in which a personal representative is appointed, an inventory of your property is prepared, your debts and taxes are paid, and finally your assets are distributed to those beneficiaries named in your Will.
Over the past several years the Law Office of David M. Goldman PLLC has expanded into several additional practice areas. As these practice areas grown we have been adding staff and creating more informational blogs to help consumers and our clients understand some of the common legal issues. May of our current readers do not realize that we cover these additional practice areas so I wanted to take a moment to update you with them:
For those of you who use an iPhone, we are trying to make some of the information and resources available through our new
Law Office of David M. Goldman PLLC iPhone Application.
To hedge our bet against dying and to financially protect our families in the event death happens, we generally have a life insurance policy. This policy becomes part of our estate and can help our family with after death expenses such as funeral costs. You may already have a life insurance policy or need to get one. In either case, switching your current life insurance policy to a Florida Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT), or setting the life insurance policy up in the name of the ILIT, can be done by hiring the services of a Florida Trust lawyer to prepare a Florida Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust.
When you pass away and have a Florida life insurance policy, the insurance payment is deemed to be included in the insurer’s (the person who is now deceased) estate. By passing to your heirs under your estate, the insurance payment can be subject to federal and state estate tax, which can be about 40% for the portion which is in excess of the Federal Estate Tax figures. The following example assumes that the entire amount of the policy was subject to the Federal Estate Taxes. So if you have a $5,000,000 life insurance policy, your heirs receive the payment after taxes, which, in this case, would be $3,000,000 ($2,000,000 in estate taxes).
However, this does not have to be the case. If you were to set up a Florida Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust the amount of the policy would not be included in your estate, and you would not have Federal Estate Taxes which could save you more than $2,000,000 based on a $5,000,0000 insurance policy. Talking to a Florida Trust lawyer or Jacksonville Estate Planning attorney will allow you to see if your estate or life insurance is subject to estate taxes or might be subject to them in 2012 after the current exemptions expire.
In a recent online edition of Private Wealth, Beth Tractenberg and Kathryn Von Matthiessen discuss the nexus between people from a foreign nation living in the U.S. and the current Gift Tax exemption. The authors first break down the difference between foreigners Domiciled in the U.S. versus those that are not domiciled here (Non-Doms). U.S. courts have a factoring system when it comes to determining whether a person is domiciled in the U.S. If it is determined that a foreigner is domiciled in the U.S., U.S. gift taxes generally apply to that person. Previously, there was a $1 million cap on the amount a person could gift during his or her lifetime. This new reform ups that amount to a $5 million exemption for each person, therefore giving a couple a $10 million exemption. Also, it is VERY IMPORTANT to note that this exemption will only be in effect until the end of 2012. There is also a real possibility that Congress could end this extra exemption early so it is important not to wait to long if a significant give is something you are considering as part of your Florida Estate Planning
There are three types of people this blog is meant to inform: U.S. citizens, Domiciled foreigners, and Non-Domiciled foreigners. U.S. citizens can take advantage of the laws of their nation. However, it is the non-resident Domiciled and Non-Domiciled person who may not know their wealth can be protected from U.S. taxes in that the new exemption applies to them. If you do not know whether you are a Domiciled or Non-Domiciled foreigner, you should contact a Jacksonville Estate Planning attorney so they he or she can guide you to make a sound decision on keeping the money you have worked hard to earn before the exemption end at the end of 2012.
As a Jacksonville Guardian Attorney, I am often asked about the details in establishing a Guardianships in Jacksonville Florida. If a Pre-Need guardian has been selected by the Ward, the court will look to their eligibility first before looking at others. A Florida Pre-Need Guardian is a person who has been named by a competent adult to serve as guardian in the event of his or her future incapacity.
A Florida Pre-need Guardian is a person you name in a written declaration to serve as a guardian in the event of your future incapacity. Parents may also nominate a pre-need guardian for their minor children to act in the event of their incapacity or demise.
A Pre-Need guardian assumes the duties of guardian immediately upon the adjudication of incapacity and must petition the court for confirmation of the appointment. For minors, the Pre-Need guardian assumes such duties upon the adjudication of incapacity or the death of the last surviving parent.
There has just been a progressive change in the trust law governing the revocation of a revocable trust in the state of Florida. With bill HB 325, Governor Rick Scott signed into effect a law allowing a person who has had their interest in a revocable trust revoked, to challenge that revocation. This is a great piece of legislation as to ensure every interested party can protect their individual rights.
The challenge of the revocation can only on the grounds of fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence. This means that the settlor of the revocable trust revoked a person’s interest in that trust because he or she relied on a fraudulent statement, was forced by another person to revoke, the interest was revoked by mistake, or someone was heavily influencing the settlor to revoke that person’s interest.
Maybe one of your family members has been influence by someone to revoke your interest as a beneficiary in a revocable trust. You now have a means to combat this revocation and should contact a Jacksonville Florida Trust Lawyer to discuss your options or an attorney who works on Florida Trust Litigation .
If you are a married person in the State of Florida and have not created a Florida Will or Florida Revocable Trust you should fully understand what will happen to your assets when you die.
Previously in Florida, if a husband or wife passed away with only children belonging to the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse would receive the first $60,000 of the decedents probate estate, while the rest was split equally between the surviving spouse and the children or their heirs.
Governor Scott signed the Florida Law on June 21st. The new Florida Law gives everything to the surveying spouse (where one has passed away without a will and is survived only by a spouse and children of that marriage).
Suppose your parents set up a tax planning Florida Revocable Trust with the assets being held for the kids in trust. Under the terms of the trust, the trustee is to distribute net income and principle as the trustee determines is necessary for education and support in reasonable comfort. If one of the kids is on Medicaid, many states will determine that they are ineligible for Medicaid because of the availability of funds, even if the trustee does not distribute them. It is important to create trusts with the proper language to deal with special needs and not make them ineligible for Medicaid. If you would like to review your situation or have a child with special needs you should contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss your situation and goals.
Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog