Living Trust / Revocable Trust

August 10, 2015

What is a Trust Protection and Why would I want one?

A trust can be amended it a number of ways depending on whether the trust is revocable or irrevocable. Usually, an irrevocable trust cannot be modified unless there is a judicial modification or the trust terms allow for a modification. A recent court ruling in Florida now provides that a “trust protector” may amend a trust.

What is a trust protector? A trust protector is a person that is appointed to watch over the trust and to ensure the trust is not adversely affected by a change of law or other circumstance. A trust protector can be appointed when the terms of the trust specifically confer on a trustee or other person the power to direct the modification or termination of the trust. The law concerning trust protectors in Florida stems from section 808 of the Uniform Trust Code, or UTC, and the case, Minassian v. Rachins, was the first major court decision to interpret this provision of the Florida Trust Code. Continue reading

July 29, 2015

How a trust can allow a parent to influence loved ones lives after death.

by David M. Goldman

A trust is one of the most important estate planning tools available and can be used to achieve almost any estate plan’s purpose. A trust can even be drafted with provisions to allow the settlor, or the person who creates the trust, to set conditions for the beneficiaries to meet in order to receive distributions from the trust after the settlor passes.

Recently a trust with “some strings attached” made news due to some of its stranger and oddly specific requirements of the beneficiaries. Maurice Laboz was the owner of a large real estate management firm Regal Real Estate, and when he died, he left both of his daughters $10 million each through a trust. What is interesting about this trust is that each girl can receive their full inheritance when they reach the age of 35, or sooner if the daughters meet certain conditions Continue reading

June 30, 2015

Funding a trust with out of state property

by David M. Goldman

A living trust, revocable trust, or asset protection trust can be a great estate planning tool that offers a number of benefits, such as allowing assets to pass to beneficiaries without going through probate and avoid the claims of creditors. Once a trust has been created, the testator must then fund the trust.

To fund the trust, the trust maker (Settlor) usually transfers assets into the trust. A trust can be funded with almost any type of asset, such as: cash, stocks, bonds, real property, or even personal property. Out of state property can also be used to fund a trust, but will require a different process. Real property (land or homes) requires a deed to be transferred into the trust.

How do you transfer assets to the trust?

May 22, 2015

Important Clauses to include in a will or revocable trust

by David M. Goldman

Here at the Law Office of David Goldman, we wanted to list some of the more important clauses that might be used in a Florida will or Florida Living Trust. Every person who makes a will or trust has different circumstances and therefore every will or trust is designed with that person’s specific needs in mind. Many of these clauses might not be needed in your will or trust, but we like to include them anyway in case the unexpected happens to you or your family. We urge our clients to learn about these clauses, so they can decide if these clauses might help to meet their estate-planning needs or how they may want to make changes to deal with their specific family circumstances.

Disaster Clause

This clause deals with what happens if both spouses or a beneficiary die at the same time. This will or trust usually states that a spouse’s assets will only be transferred to the second spouse or beneficiary if the second spouse survives the first spouse by a certain time period. This period is usually 30 days. This clause can help to prevent the confusion of where assets should go based upon who died first. The time limit can be increased to add additional protection, but this can delay distributions also.

May 21, 2015

The benefits of a Spendthrift Provision in a Florida Will or Trust

by David M. Goldman

There are many ways that a settlor, or a person who creates a trust, can help to prevent creditors from attacking the assets he or she leaves a beneficiary through a trust or a will. One of the best ways to protect a trust’s assets is through a spendthrift clause.

In a trust, most beneficiaries are able to freely transfer their interest in the trust to someone else. A spendthrift provision prevents a beneficiary from being able to transfer their interest in the trust either voluntarily or involuntarily. While this puts a restraint on the beneficiary’s rights, it has the added benefit of preventing creditors from reaching these funds.

The provision must restrict the beneficiary’s ability to make voluntary and involuntary transfers. A restriction on just involuntary transfers will generally not be deemed valid by a court and will still allow creditors to reach the trust funds.

May 20, 2015

Reasons why a beneficiary might disclaim an inheritance

by David M. Goldman

Most people assume when they receive an inheritance, either through a will or a trust, that they must accept it. This is actually not the case as a beneficiary is also allowed to disclaim, or not to accept, the inheritance. Refusing an inheritance may seem like an alien concept, but can actually be the best course of action for many beneficiaries in some situations.

There are many reasons to disclaim an inheritance, with the most common reason being to avoid costly taxes. A common example of this might happen when parents leave money to affluent adult children. In this case, the children could disclaim the inheritance in order for the grandchildren to receive the inheritance instead. The money would then be taxed at the grandchildren’s tax rate rather the adult’s rate, which could save a large portion of the inheritance from being taxed. In addition, if the disclaimed assets would not be subject to the estate taxes of the parent.

Letting the inheritance pass to the next beneficiary through a disclaimer can be a much more efficient process compared to the beneficiary accepting the gift and passing the gift to the next beneficiary herself. This is especially true if the gift is real property as is does not require the first beneficiary to go through the re-titling process. Someone with a large estate can also use a disclaimer to save on gift taxes, which will be incurred if the beneficiary takes the inheritance and passes it to another person.

May 12, 2015

General Duties of a Trustee

by David M. Goldman

The duties of a trustee vary depending on the laws of the state in which the trust is situated and the extent of the trustee’s powers provided for in the trust agreement. In some cases where there are conflicts between the terms of the trust and the state laws, the duty or obligation can vary depending on what the state law permits. In some cases, the terms of the trust will prevail and in others, the default law cannot be modified by the terms of the trust. When you become a trustee of a trust, it is recommended that you sit down with a trust attorney to review the terms of the trust as well as how state law may impact the written terms of the trust.

In addition, the type of trust can change your obligations and the role of a trustee in dealing with beneficiaries. Below is a list of some of the typical duties that are contained in trust agreements and the laws of many states:

Fiduciary Duty. A trustee has a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the trust, This includes both the current beneficiaries and any remainder beneficiary’s name in the trust. A fiduciary duty is a very high standard to do what is in the best interest of the beneficiary. This is not necessarily what the beneficiary asks for or what you want.

The Trust’s Terms. It is important to read the terms of the trust carefully and understand your duties and how state laws may impose additional provisions or remove or modify the terms of the trust. The trust is a flow chart of what actions you must take and when. Some states, like Florida, reduce the statute of limitations when certain disclosures are made. This can reduce the potential liability of a trustee to the beneficiaries. Continue reading

March 23, 2015

Funding Your Revocable or Irrevocable Trust

by David M. Goldman

In Florida, a trust is not valid until funded. Many trusts need to be funded prior to your death to be used in the way intended. Often, individuals create trusts and forget to fund them during their life and do not receive the benefits that their trusts were designed for. There are 4 major ways to fund a trust.

Purchase items in the name of the trust. New property or items can be purchased in the name of the trust. When you purchase a new item or asset, the sale can be made out to the trust. Anyone can purchase these items, it need not be the creator or settlor of the trust.
Assign items to the trust. Generally, when a trust is created, many items can be transferred to the trust by the use of an assignment of personal property. This document will transfer personal property which does not require a deed or title to the trust. This is good for personal property like clothing, jewelry, and other minor issues. One needs to be careful not to assign firearms to your trust unless it is a gun trust as many traditional trusts do not properly deal with firearms issues properly and can cause legal and criminal issues for those who survive you. If you sign an assignment of personal property, you should exclude firearms unless the firearms are being assigned to a gun trust.

January 22, 2015

2015 Gift Tax: Can I Give My Kids $14,000 a Year?

by David M. Goldman

The amount you can give anyone without having to file a gift tax return in 2015 remains the same as 2014 at $14,000.

Remember that you can give your children, their spouses, your grandkids $14,000 each. In addition, if you are married, your spouse can also gift $14,000 to each person.

Generally, families use gifting to reduce the size of their estate do not need Medicaid long-term care coverage, but if you or your spouse need care and you have gifted money in the past, it may affect your ability to obtain coverage.

June 27, 2014

Protecting your IRA from Creditors and Preditors After the Supreme Court Decision

by David M. Goldman

The U.S. Supreme Court recently held that the funds contained in an IRA are not “retirement funds” and thus not protected from creditors during bankruptcy. The next question many attorneys now have is how this ruling will affect tax law?

The Supreme Court justices felt there were three legal characteristics that lead the Court to conclude inherited IRA’s are not retirement funds within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. Section 522(b)(3)(c).

Inherited IRA holders are not able to invest more money into the account.