Estate Planning

December 27, 2016

Zsa Zsa Gabor Estate

Zsa Zsa Gabor is one of the latest celebrity deaths to sadden America. The actress passed away at 99 years old and was known for being one of Hollywood’s first stars due to her colorful personality. She was also known for her many marriages and divorces.

Gabor married nine times, which resulted in seven divorces and an annulment. These complicated series of marriages and breakups has made her estate extremely interesting to estate planning attorneys.

Zsa Zsa’s ninth husband, Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt, will have to move out of Gabor’s luxurious Bel Air home where the actress lived for nearly 40 years. What is interesting to note is that for the past three years the couple lived in the large bungalow even though they no longer owned the house.

December 15, 2016

Claim of Undue Influence may have Unintended Results

by David M. Goldman

Often we get clients who are interested in objecting to a will because of undue influence. In Florida there is a split of authority over what happens to a previous will when the most recent will is invalidated by undue influence. The results can be very different and may provide planning opportunities that could insulate from claim of undue influence. As you can see in the case information below, the court determined that the previous will should be valid, while other courts in the states have found that intestacy is the proper method distributing assets after a successful claim of undue influence. If you are changing your will or would like to talk about how to protect from claims of undue influence in Florida, you might talk with a Jacksonville Estate Planning lawyer or Jacksonville Undue Influence Lawyer about your options.

The case of Rocke v. Am. Research Bureau (In re Estate of Murphy), 184 So. 3d 1221

This is a case where the probate court revoked a will due to undue influence. The question then turned on whether or not the decedent’s estate should pass through intestate succession or by a previous will.

History of the case leading up to the claim of Undue Influence.

The testator was Virginia Murphy, a woman that passed away at the age of 107. Her estate was worth 12 million dollars. The decedent executed six wills throughout her lifetime. Murphy’s parents and husband predeceased her, and she had no children or siblings.

December 12, 2016

Estate and Gift Tax Updates for 2017

by David M. Goldman

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 is still going strong, and there are some changes to the tax code in store for this New Year. For those who are not familiar with the law, this act made the following permanent: the reunification of the estate and gift tax regimes, the $5 million estate along with the generation skipping transfer tax exemptions, and the portability of the federal estate tax exemption between spouses at death.

The great aspect of The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 is that the gift tax exemptions adjust for inflation each year. In 2017, the federal estate tax exemption will be increased to $5,490,000. The exemption was $5,450,000 in 2016. Further, the generation skipping transfer tax exemption has also been increased to $5,490,000.

The more commonly used exemptions are the lifetime gift tax exemption. The lifetime exemption is the amount a person can give throughout his or her life without paying any federal gift taxes. In 2017, the rate will now be $5,490,000, which was also increased from $5,450,000 in 2016. Further, a married couple may combine their lifetime exemptions so the combined estate can give up to $10,980,00.
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December 7, 2016

Homestead Protection In Florida

by David M. Goldman

Florida’s homestead protections are renown throughout the country for the great homestead protection laws that protect state residents. These laws are found in Florida’s Constitution and offer key protection in three different ways. The state constitution offers protection from creditors, tax exemptions, and transfer restrictions to protect spouses.

Homestead Protection From Creditors

Article X, Section 4 offers Florida exempts the homestead property from creditors. This means that a creditor cannot force the sale of a homestead to satisfy a judgment. Florida courts have graciously expanded the meaning of homestead to include a house, condominium, a manufactured home, and mobile homes. The Florida Constitution defines homestead as one’s principal place of residence including up to one-half acre within a municipality and up to 160 contiguous acres outside a municipality.

December 1, 2016

Does a Revocable Trust Allow My Assets to Pass Outside of Probate Automatically?

by David M. Goldman

One of the best tools estate planning attorneys in Jacksonville utilize for their clients is the Florida revocable trust. The revocable trust is also known as a living trust. A revocable trust has many benefits including the ability to help individuals avoid probate. However, many people do not realize that setting up an estate plan with a revocable trust in Jacksonville is not the final step to avoid probate in Jacksonville or around Florida.

Once the trust has been established, the settlor, or the creator of the trust, or another person must fund the revocable trust. Funding the trust is the process of transferring assets from the settlor’s name to the revocable trust. To do this, the settlor must physically change ownership or the beneficiary designation, or in some cases both from the settlor’s individual name (or joint names, if married) to the name of the revocable trust.

As many as 9/10 estate plans fail because funding was not done, was not complete, or was done incorrectly. As a result, we now offer trust funding as part of many of our estate planning packages.
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November 14, 2016

Keeping Beneficiaries Informed in Florida

by David M. Goldman

Every trustee of a Florida Trust may have a fundamental duty to keep the trust’s beneficiaries informed of the administration of the trust. Florida Statute Section 763.0813 provides that a trustee must keep the qualified beneficiaries of the trust “reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.”

The statutes do provide a few examples of what a trustee must do, such as providing the qualified beneficiary with the trustee’s contact information, notice of the establishment of an irrevocable trust, notice of the right to receive a copy of the trust document, and a notice of the right to receive accountings.

Note, there are ways in Florida to avoid having to provide many of the details to beneficiaries, but you must specify them in advance.
Who is a Qualified Beneficiary in Florida

Many of our Florida clients are surprised to learn that the term “qualified beneficiary” does not mean what a client would assume. A qualified beneficiary not only includes beneficiaries who are eligible to receive a distribution from an irrevocable trust but also includes the first-in-line remainder beneficiaries.

This is a significant requirement because some other states may permit a settlor, the person that creates the trust, to withhold information from certain beneficiaries. The settlor may wish to withhold information for one reason or another, and certain states will allow the settlor to do so for a certain period without providing an alternate recipient if the settlor includes this provision in the trust instrument. However, Florida is not one of these states, and the settlor cannot dictate that only certain beneficiaries can receive administrative information in the trust document.

November 7, 2016

Estate Planning Can Help A Person Prepare for life with Memory Loss

by David M. Goldman

Estate planning is important to prepare for potential memory loss. Studies show that memory loss is one of the most common ailments that an older person experiences as they begin to age. Memory loss is often a sign of early dementia, and those that suffer from dementia may not be legally competent to make financial or legal decisions. The best way to prepare for life with dementia is to plan for it through estate planning.

It is imperative to start estate planning when the early signs of memory loss begin. At this point, the person should consider their healthcare and financial future. The client should begin to think of who would be a suitable person to name in a power of attorney, whether or not the client wishes to live on life support during a coma with little chance of recovery, and where the client’s assets should go once he or she passes away.

Further, the client needs to start gathering documents to bring to an estate planning attorney. The client should create an itemized list of assets, and store copies of deeds and titles of assets, copies of tax returns, and copies of health insurance policies. This will allow the Jacksonville estate planning lawyers at The Law Office of David M. Goldman to create an estate plan that caters to the client’s unique needs.

October 28, 2016

Florida Case Holds Estate Planning Attorney Must Testify in an Undue Influence Trial

by David M. Goldman

Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal held on October 26, 201 that an estate planning attorney must break the attorney-client privilege for deceased client must by testifying in a will contest trial for undue influence. The trial court ordered the attorney to testify, and the attorney refused. The attorney appealed the trial court’s order to the court of appeal to review the issue as a matter of law. The 3rd District Court of Appeal denied the attorney’s petition and the trial court’s order now must be enforced.

The events of what led to the holding are interesting. The original proceedings by the plaintiffs sought to revoke the probate of two wills, one that was executed in 2012 and another that was executed in 2013. Four of the testator’s children challenged their mother’s mental capacity to make these wills, and assert the wills were the product of undue influence by the fifth child. The fifth child was the only child listed as a beneficiary in the 2013 will, while the other children were disinherited.

October 4, 2016

Florida Passes Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act

by David M. Goldman

In March, the Florida governor approved a new law called the Florida Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which allows the loved ones of a decedent to access any digital assets he or she may have owned before death. This allows loved ones to access the recently deceased’s text messages, emails, online photographs, social media, and other electronic communications that would have otherwise been lost forever.

The act also allows Florida residents to plan for the management and disposition of digital assets should they become incapacitated or unable to manage their digital assets. Should either of these events happen, a person can grant an authorized fiduciary the power to access, control, or copy digital assets and accounts.

The Definition of Digital Assets

Digital assets under this Act are any electronic record that Florida resident has a right or interest in. This definition does not include any underlying assets or liabilities of the electronic asset. Examples of digital assets include information recorded on a computer or other digital device such as an external hard drive.

September 26, 2016

How Long Does Florida Probate Take

by David M. Goldman

One question the most frequent questions our Jacksonville estate planning lawyers receive is how long does a probate case in Florida take? Often the best answer to how long a Florida Probate Case takes is “it depends.” The answer usually depends on how vast and complex the decedent’s estate is if there are a lot of beneficiaries or if there is any litigation involved the estate.

A Probate Case in Florida Can End Quickly or Take Years to Complete

A probate case in Florida can be quick if the estate is small and there are not any complicated procedural issues. Simple estates can be fully probated in as little as a few weeks or as long as few months. Something the county where the probate case is located can affect how long a Florida Probate case takes
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