Estate Planning

June 2, 2010

Florida Estate Taxes: Past, Present, and Future

Florida has no Estate Taxes, but there may still be Federal Estate taxes due. Before the distribution of assets of the deceased’s estate can occur, the federal government has the ability to take their share of the estate. The Federal Estate tax has been repealed for the year 2010 but in past years the tax has been applied to every U.S. citizen who died leaving assets to be distributed to their heirs. – This does not mean no taxes will be due for individuals who die in 2010. Remember the law does not allow an unlimited amount of capital gains like in previous years. There is not an unlimited amount of capital gains like in 2009. This means even with an unlimited estate tax exemption, some people will pay more in estate taxes under 2010 than under previous years.

In past years the estate tax was applied only on funds that exceeded the net estate amount set by Congress. For example, if an individual died in 2009 leaving a net estate of $3.5 million then the federal government would not have taxed the estate because the net estate did not exceed the amount exempted by Congress. However, if the net estate would have been $4 million instead, the estate would be taxed at a rate of 45% on the amount over $3.5 million. So in this case the Federal Estate tax liability would be ($500,000 x 45%) which comes out to $225,000.

Currently, there is no plan to repeal the Estate Tax exemption for 2011. Before the 2010 repeal, Congress had increased the tax exemption given to individuals who died and whose net estate was distributed to $3.5 million. However, the current plan for 2011 is to have a tax exemption of $1 million and a tax rate of 55%. If the current plan remains in effect it will place a much greater tax liability on assets and funds that are distributed out of the net estate of those who die next year.

June 1, 2010

Florida Trusts: Who is involved and what is the Grantor, Trustee, and Beneficiary?

by David M. Goldman

A valid Florida Living Trust or Florida Revocable Trust includes three typical positions that most individuals can occupy.

Each Trust should have a grantor, trustee and beneficiary at the time the Florida Revocable Trust is created. The grantor, sometimes called the settlor, is the person who originally sets up the trust and usually supplies the initial trust property. A trustee is the manager of the trust, but does not receive any benefits of the trust (as the trustee). The Trustee has a responsibility and duty to take care of the trust assets for the beneficiary. The original beneficiary is typically the grantor, but a trust must also designate a beneficiary who is different than the grantor in the event of the grantor’s death. This beneficiary is also the person who will receive the benefit of the trust and receives the benefits of the trust after the death of the grantor.

Although there are three different positions, one person can serve in more than one capacity. However, there should be some separation of the legal title and equitable title. This can be done by having more than one beneficiary or more than one trustee. Otherwise, the trust purpose of holding property for the benefit of another would be defeated. As long as there are at least two people named in the Florida Trust, a separation of legal and equitable title has occurred.

May 24, 2010

Can a Florida Will/Trust Disinherit a Child for Religious Reasons?

by David M. Goldman

In many cultures it is important to parents that their children marry into their religion. Orthodox Jews often disinherit their children and will even stop speaking to them if they marry outside the Jewish religion. While public policy will not permit a provision in a Florida Will or Florida Revocable Trust or prevent a person from getting married, it is ok to withhold a inheritance from a child or relative if they marry outside the religion. This type of provision needs to be written carefully so that it does not violate Florida state law or public policy.

If the provision is written incorrectly it will be stricken from the Florida Will or Florida Revocable Trust.

If you want to provide provisions in your Florida Estate Planning Documents to encourage certain behaviors, you should contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss your desires and help you create a plan to achieve your desired result.

May 7, 2010

Florida – Do it Yourself Estate Planning goes bad

by David M. Goldman

It has been a while since I updated my Do it yourself estate planning mistakes but I wanted to point you to some of the previous articles on the unintended consequences that can occur when individuals and family members use fill in the blank forms that are not customized for their specific family situation.

Some other examples of Do it your self wills and bad news are covered in my articles listed below

Do it Yourself Wills? More bad news and Do it Yourself Wills? a Good Idea or Not?

Do it yourself Estate Planning: Bad News Part 3

April 14, 2010

Jacksonville Trial Attorney

by David M. Goldman

A Jacksonville Trial Lawyer can be very helpful in the event that your dispute needs to go to trial. There are many different types of Jacksonville trial attorneys. The Law Office of David M. Goldman PLLC has Jacksonville Civil Trial lawyers as well as Jacksonville Criminal Trial Lawyers. We Deal with Family law, criminal, trust, will, estate planning, foreclosure defense, probate, guardianship, and asset protection issues. Many cases never go to trial and are settled by a Jacksonville Trial Attorney long before seeing a court room. If you would like t discuss your circumstances or what options you have to protect your rights please contact a Jacksonville Trial Attorney today.

For more information on Jacksonville or Florida Foreclosure Defense See the Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog.

April 3, 2010

iPad and blogging

by David M. Goldman

I was wondering if the iPad would be good enough to use for blogging when away from the office. In my first few hours of using the device it appears very fast and more than capable of doing most things one would use a notebook for. I see many of our clients able to heck copies of important documents and provide them to others in a flash.

March 17, 2010

How to deal with NFA and Non NFA Firearms in a Florida Will

by David M. Goldman

Firearms and Florida estate planning has become a hot topic. Many of us own individual firearms and would like to have a beneficiary for them. While I prefer to deal with this using a NFA Gun Trust there are times when individuals have other firearms or items subject to the NFA that they do not want to transfer into a NFA Trust. I was recently asked by a Virginia lawyer for some ideas on provisions to include in a clients will to help deal with these items properly.

While this can be a very complex issue, I will try to touch on a few of the areas of concern. First, you need to determine if you are dealing with a traditional will or a pourover will. If you are dealing with a pourover will, then you need to direct that NFA firearms go to the NFA trust and other personal property go to the other trust. The real problem is that if you are dealing with a traditional will.

Some of the sections that you should consider modifying are the areas where they talk about

March 13, 2010

Toyota Diminution of Value Lawsuits: Toyota Class Action Lawyer

by David M. Goldman

Whether you live in Florida, New York, California or any state and are the owner of a Toyota car, truck, or SUV, your Toyota Automobile may have just dropped in value. We all know there will be many Class Action Lawsuits against Toyota. Here is one class action that you may not have considered. Even if Toyota fixes the problems and no one is injured from a defect in your Toyota car, the recent bombardment of news has caused your automobile to decrease in value. You may ask, why is this on a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer’s website? What if you are the PR of an estate that owns a Toyota vehicle, a trustee of a trust that owns a vehicle, or the guardian of someone who owns a Toyota car subject to the recall? You may have a duty to investigate what claims of action you might have to avoid liability. Remember that by failing to investigate a claim or pursue one, you may be violating your fiduciary duty.

The good news that whether to pursue these types of claims is a simple one as they are almost always done on a contingency basis. If you have a potential claim you might want to contact Florida Toyota Class Action Lawyer Mike Ossi at (904) 399-0606 to talk about a claim.

March 13, 2010

2010 and Estate Planning using Alaska Community Property Trusts

by David M. Goldman

Given that there is not estate tax this year, individuals with assets that are exposed to large capital gains upon the death of the first or both spouses have begun to look at using an Alaska Community Property Trust to help reduce the tax liability that occurs when the first spouse dies. If you live in a state like Florida or one where there is not community property, you might want to contact a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer or Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss how using this technique could benefit you.

February 9, 2010

Tips to Avoid Exploitation of the Elderly by a Family Member

by David M. Goldman

The Trials and Heirs blog recently had an article about how to avoid exploitation of the elderly by a family member. They recommend

1 Getting Expert advise who knows the ins and outs of estate planning. I would also recommend using a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer who is familiar with Florida Elder Law.

2. Be careful of Joint accounts as they can take the money or create ineligibility for nursing home coverage.

3. Consider “Springing” Powers of Attorney or as we call them contingent Durable Powers of Attorney as they only give powers once you are incapacitated.