Among probate lawyers, Florida is affectionately known as "probate heaven." This is due to the large number of retirees in Florida and to Florida's complex and sometimes burdensome probate laws. For the clients of those lawyers, however, the probate process brings to mind a different biblical destination. Most probates could be easily resolved or altogether [...]
The Supreme Court of the United States recently held in Sveen v. Melin that the retroactive application of a revocation-upon-divorce statute to a contract signed before the statute’s enactment does not violate the Contracts Clause of the United States Constitution. The background of the case involved Mark Sveen designating his spouse, Kaye Melin, as primary [...]
The 2017 Tax Act, which was signed into law in December, made dramatic changes in the estate and gift tax exemption amounts. This post focuses specifically on what is does to the estate and gift taxes and what that means for you. Highlights of the Act’s Estate and Gift Tax Changes: Increased Exemptions with [...]
Nearly all forms of property can be transferred through a will, however, certain property interests cannot. For example, property interests cannot transfer by will when they terminate upon the owner’s death or when rights are afforded to others pursuant to Florida law. The following is a list of common property rights and interests: A homestead [...]
One way to think about a trust is that the trust itself is a book of instructions. A grantor authors the trust, and provides instructions concerning the use of the grantor’s assets while the grantor is alive, including who is permitted to access the trust assets, and what will occur at the grantor’s incapacity and [...]
The account statement, stock certificate, title or deed will make some reference to the trust or to you as trustee. You might also elect to fund your trust by naming the trust as a beneficiary of life insurance or other similar arrangements. Your attorney and financial advisor may assist you with the transfer of assets [...]
In most instances, the revocable trust is ignored for federal income tax purposes during the grantor’s lifetime. The income and deductions are reported directly on your individual income tax return. The trust will use your social security number as its tax identification number. A revocable trust becomes a separate entity for federal income tax purposes [...]
Your plan hasn’t been updated to take into account the never-ending Estate Tax changes. Currently a single person can leave up to $5.6 million, and a married couple can leave up to $11.2 million, free of estate tax. Over the years, the estate tax exemption has gone from $600,000 per individual (in 2000) to its [...]
A trust is a fiduciary relationship where a trustee is tasked with investing, protecting and managing property as well as the income that the property generates for a beneficiary. There can be more than one trustee and more than one beneficiary in a trust. The intent of the grantor, as expressed in the terms of [...]
No, in most situations. A trust may be used in addition to a will. This is because a trust can handle only the property that has been put into it. Any property of yours that is not placed in the trust either during life or at death in most instances escapes the control of the [...]
