Provincetown, Massachusetts is the new LGBT place to be.
The Williams Institute of Census has said that South Florida is one of the top spots for LGBT population Growth. Florida is the last state to declare the ban on gay adoption as unconstitutional.
According to the 2010 Census, Florida has approximately 65,601 same-sex couple households, a 60 percent leap since the 2000 Census. Read more about same-sex couple household statistics.
In Florida when a someone dies family members will need to compile a list of important information to deal with the estate. These documents will include what the deceased person owned, a list of their creditors and the amount of money owed at the time of death. To help get you started, here is a list of documents that need to be located:
A Florida Voluntary Guardianship is a great option for those with elderly parents and elderly relatives who have increasing difficulty managing their own “property affairs”. Business transactions such as banking matters, real estate transactions, and money management are some of the everyday tasks that become increasingly difficult to handle for Florida’s elderly.
Ponte Vedra or Jacksonville residents may become a
Currently the Revocable Living Trust is the most popular type of trust for estate planning. With the current estate tax exemption at 5 Million dollars, many have begun to ask if there is a need for such a trust. More over the Revocable Living Trust provides no asset protection.
Currently 99.7% of the US population has less than 5 Million in Assets. While a Revocable Living Trust can offer privacy, probate avoidance, easier management of one’s assets, and numerous other benefits, it does not offer any asset protection. Many people really want an irrevocable trust, but do not want the consequences of the traditional irrevocable trust. While there are many types of irrevocable trusts, most either cause a loss of control over the assets by the grantor, loose the stepped up basis, or cause the trust to pay taxes at the highest tax rate with as little as $11,000 in earnings.
There are variations of the irrevocable trust that can solve one or more of these issues, but there is only one type of Irrevocable Trust that has the flexibility of a revocable trust, provides asset protection from the creditors of the creators as well as the beneficiaries, allows the income to be taxed at personal rates, and provides for stepped up basis upon the death of the creator.
The Florida law governing powers of attorney and similar instruments is found in Chapter 709 of the Florida Statutes. The Florida legislature on May 4, 2011 voted to pass Senate Bill 670 which significantly revised Chapter 709.
A. Generally
A power of attorney is a writing that grants authority to an agent to act in the place of the principal. Pursuant to the Act, a principal is an individual who grants authority to an agent and an agent is the person granted authority by the principal in a power of attorney. The Act allows for both durable and nondurable powers of attorney. A durable power of attorney is one that is not terminated by the incapacity of the principal, whereas a nondurable power of attorney is terminated upon the principal’s incapacity. For a power of attorney to be durable, it must state that it is not terminated by the subsequent incapacity of the principal, or similar words that evidence the principal’s intent.
The Act applies to all powers of attorney created by an individual except a proxy or other delegation to exercise voting or management rights with respect to an entity, a power created on a form prescribed by a governmental agency or subdivision for a governmental purpose, and a power coupled with an interest (e.g., a power given to a creditor to sell pledged collateral.
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They sound similar. Unfortunately many people do not understand the differences between the two. Most people think Medicare will “care” for them forever but, that is simply not the case.
While Medicare and Medicaid sound similar, they are very different government programs. Medicare provides healthcare benefits for the over 65, blind, and disabled; while Medicaid provides medical benefits for the impoverished.
Medicare is a basically public health insurance for those age 65 and older. Medicare does not pay for long-term care! It will cover some rehabilitation and this is often confused with long-term care.. If a senior citizen has Medicare and is hospitalized for a stay of at least three days, and is then admitted into a skilled nursing facility, Medicare may pay – for a while. But once those Medicare benefits hit 100 consecutive days or the patient stops improving the coverage is over.
Asset protection is one of the most important planning tools for America’s aging population, especially in our current tumultuous economy. One new tool in protecting your assets is the Irrevocable Pure Grantor Trust — AKA, the iPug™.
iPug™ trusts are not based on any state statute, but are instead grounded in century-old and well established common law. This means more stability in courts and more peace of mind for those who opt to use an iPug™ trust. In fact, the iPug™ is beneficial for nearly all Americans. This is because the iPug™ is taxed as a grantor trust, meaning the taxes are passed through to the grantor — the trust itself is not individually taxed. This is beneficial for anyone with assets valued at less than $5 million — i.e., over 99% of Americans.
There are three types of iPug™ trusts:
(1) the income-only version,
While most people feel they have to be super rich to use Asset Protection trusts an IPUG™ Trust is a Self-Settled Asset Protection Trust for that makes sense for regular people and offers Medicaid compliance that works in all states. It protects client assets from creditors, predators and nursing homes, while permitting the grantor to be trustee and have customized access.
The iPug™ Trust was created by utilizing universal, fundamental trust and common law principles dating back to the statute of uses and are not reliant or dependent upon state or federal specific asset protection laws. “In essence, the iPug™ Trust is an Irrevocable Grantor Trust for income and estate tax purposes.
Why is this important to most Americans? The IPUG™ Trust not only provides advantageous tax benefits but it also provides asset protection. Most Irrevocable trusts do not provide the beneficiaries with a full step-up in basis and allow the grantor to control the funds.
Even Clark Howard agrees that new parents should take the time to consult with an attorney to have their Will prepared. A Florida Will allows you to choose who you want to take care of and raise your children, should anything ever happen to both you and your spouse at the same time. It only takes minutes to consult with a Jacksonville Will Attorney, and having your Will prepared is easy and affordable. A Will affords you the peace of mind to know that it will be your decision and not the State of Florida’s decision who would be the appropriate person to become the legal guardian of your children.
A Will allows you to direct how your children will be cared for financially, not only during their childhood, but in their adult life as well.
You also assign a Personal Representative (Executor) in your Will. This person will ensure that your wishes as outlined in your Will are carried out.
Does the term ” Florida Estate Planning” evoke thoughts of the very rich standing by their Bentleys in front of their massive estates? Maybe the term should simply be Planning, because no matter who you are or how much you own, Everyone needs “Estate” Planning
Everyone has a Florida Estate, no matter how large or small. One’s estate is simply the possessions or property you have acquired, inherited, and worked for during your life. There are generally three types of property that comprise one’s estate, these are:
Real Property – Your home, land, houses or other structures on land;
