Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

June 30, 2011

Calculation of Your Elective Share in Florida

In Florida a spouse can elect to take 30% of the decedent’s elective estate. But what was not answered is what portion of the estate is that 30% applied to? The 5th District Court of Appeal of Florida has answered this question in the case of Paredes v. McLucas .

For example, if you are the spouse of the decedent, your Florida Probate Lawyer should go through the decedent’s records to find any claims that he may have had against him or her, and make a total. Next, there should be a total of mortgages, liens, and other similar devices. The claims and mortgages will be added together, then subtracted from the total amount of assets in the decedent’s estate. The elective share of 30% applies to only this amount. While this may seem simple there are many assets which are not included in a Florida Elective Share Calculation.

Doing the research is a technical and difficult process, especially in the wake of grieving over the deceased. You could contact a Jacksonville Probate lawyer to determine the exact figure, and the option you as the decedent’s spouse can take after that point.

June 29, 2011

What Happens In Florida when a Minor Child is a Beneficiary of a Last Will and Testament?

by Patricia Davis

It happens frequently. A minor child inherits either personal property, including money, bank accounts, CD’s, money markets, or is left an interest in real property. Who looks out for the best interest of the minor child?

Although Florida natural guardians (parents) have all the rights and authority over their minor child’s “person”, natural guardians do not have all of the rights and power over the minor’s “property”. Parents are authorized on behalf of their minor children to settle, collect, receive, and manage real or personal property distributed from an estate or trust, when the amounts received, in the aggregate, DO NOT exceed $15,000.00. Florida Statutes 744.301(2).

Florida law allows a court to appoint a Guardian Ad Litem (a fiduciary appointed by the court) to represent and protect the minor’s best interests. The Guardian Advocate will act for the minor child in a probate proceeding involving an inheritance by either a Will, a Trust, or when the minor child inherits property through the Florida Intestacy Statute.

June 28, 2011

What to do with your Internet passwords when you die?

by David M. Goldman

Coming of age in this digital world has its luxuries, but those luxuries come with their own set of complexities. Face Book enables you to connect with friends; blogging sites (such as this one) allow you to express your ideas to the world; and paying your bill over the Internet is convenient and environmentally friendly. What do all these different types of luxuries have in common? You must remember your password in order to access the information on them. These websites can add up quickly, and so too can the passwords that access them. Then throw in all the passwords you have for work in addition to all the passwords for your personal life, and these can be hard to remember when you are firing on all cylinders.

Digital Asset Protection.

Now, throw in an accident where you either pass away or are mentally incapable and there is a vast amount of information that you or your estate needs to access. If you have a Digital Asset Protection Trust , you will likely be taken care of. By having a Digital Asset Protection Trust , you decide who gets your online account information and what they can do with that information. To give you peace of mind, your Digital Asset Protection Trust attorney has attorney-client privilege with you, ensuring that the people who have access to your information, should a tragedy occur, will only know of those online accounts which you personally have laid out. It is never too early to begin preparing yourself in case a tragedy occurs.

June 27, 2011

New Florida Law for Durable Powers of Attorney

by David M. Goldman

In a Bill supported by the Banks, you will no longer be able to obtain Springing Powers of Attorney in Florida. In addition, not only will you be required to have two witnesses sign in your presence like with a Florida Will or Florida Revocable Trust but you will also need a notary for it to be valid.

Each agent will have full authority to act independently, there will be new Mandatory Duties, Default Duties, and separate signing requirements for certain authorities like creating or revoking trusts, making gifts, disclaimers, and powers of appointment.

In addition, certain non family members will not be able to do certain things like support others, transfer certain interests in the principals property by gift, right of survivorship, beneficiary designation, disclaimer unless the POA provides otherwise.

June 27, 2011

New Florida law for Challenging Trust Revocation

by David M. Goldman

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 .

June 24, 2011

Reforming a Trust in Florida

by David M. Goldman

In order for a person to attempt to reform a trust, that person must “have standing.” This designation refers to a person who has an interest in the trust. This person can be a trustee, beneficiary, or a trustee and beneficiary. A settlor, the creator of the trust, gets to pick who will be designated in the other positions. While the settlor is still alive, he or she generally serves as trustee for that trust, and names a successor trustee to step in when he or she dies or becomes incapacitated.

The “interested parties” all have the power individually to petition a court to reform the trust. There are multiple reasons for trying to reform a trust, but which ever reason the interested party chooses as a basis for the reformation, the result must comply with both the current law and the original settlor’s intent.

The settlor’s intent is usually the trickiest to prove in court. If you have found yourself in a position where you believe a trust that you are involved in needs to be reformed, you should contact either a Florida Trust attorney to correctly set up your trust, or a Florida Trust Contests attorney who specializes in the aspects of litigation.

June 23, 2011

Florida Intestate Law Changes: You may now need or want a Florida Will.

by David M. Goldman

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).

June 21, 2011

Parents Trust Creates Ineligibility for Child on Florida Medicaid

by David M. Goldman

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.

June 20, 2011

From Younger Brother to Florida Legal Guardian

by Patricia Davis

More and more these days, Jacksonville family members must step in and take the reins needed to guide a loved one who is unable to take care of themselves. Whether it is a mental health condition or substance abuse issue, sometimes an individual needs help. To be able to assist your family member in choosing the right treatment and rehabilitative facility, to ensure that the person is being compliant with his/her medications, you must become the legal guardian over the person in need.

There are different types of Florida legal guardianship and the type of guardian you should become is dependent upon the specific problems and needs of the person you are about to help. An experienced Florida Guardianship Attorney can assist you in determining your best option.

A guardian is a person appointed by the court to act on behalf of a ward’s person or property or both. A guardian may have limited authority or plenary (complete) authority.

June 13, 2011

New GRAT Rules for 2011

by David M. Goldman

Senate passes the House proposed extension to the time requirement of 10 years for Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRAT’s). This extension is to amend section 2702 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Along with that change, comes the mandate that a GRAT’s fixed amount cannot “decrease relative to any prior year” during the first 10 years of the required annuity time period. The third mandate is a GRAT has to have a value greater than zero “at the time of transfer” in order to be valid.

Even though setting up this type of trust may be more risky and more difficult, it may still be a great option for your specific needs. A person wanting to pursue this avenue can still get the benefit of donating large sums of assets to the trust without paying a gift tax on those assets. You should discuss and compare the potential positives and negatives of setting up a GRAT with a Jacksonville, Florida Estate Planning attorney who knows the in’s and out’s of Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts.