September 11, 2025

How to Qualify for Medicaid in Florida After the OBBBA Changes

Florida Medicaid Planning: 2028 Changes Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), effective January 1, 2028, introduces significant reforms to Medicaid eligibility for long-term care. This document summarizes the most impactful changes for Florida residents, outlining which exemptions are being eliminated, which remain valid, and what planning steps should be taken now.

Impact of OBBBA on Florida Medicaid Exemptions (Effective Jan 1, 2028)

The most significant change is a new cap on homestead (home) equity. As of 2028, a Florida Medicaid applicant will be disqualified from long-term care coverage if their equity interest in their primary home exceeds $1,000,000 unless a spouse or qualifying child lives there. Prior allowances tied to inflation will be frozen. In addition, the retroactive Medicaid coverage period is shortened, and states are required to conduct more frequent eligibility redeterminations.

Eliminated or Curtailed Exemptions

Homestead equity over $1 million will no longer be exempt.
One month of retroactive coverage is eliminated for seniors.
Strategies to convert assets into home equity are capped.
Eligibility reviews will become more frequent and stricter.

September 4, 2025

Do Trustees Have to Provide Accountings for Irrevocable Grantor Trusts in Florida?

by David M. Goldman

Do Trustees Have to Provide Accountings for Irrevocable Grantor Trusts in Florida?

When dealing with Florida trusts, one of the most common questions we hear is:

“Does a trustee have to provide accountings to a beneficiary of an irrevocable grantor trust when the settlor can still change the beneficiaries and no one has a right to distributions?”

February 12, 2025

Helping Family Members As They Age: Florida Convenience Accounts and Joint Accounts

by Tim Foster

As loved ones age, they usually require assistance with their everyday lives, including managing their money. Most people work around this by adding a family member to their account or setting it up as a convenience account. While both accomplish the same goal, they have slightly different impacts on the account and how it is treated after the original owner has passed.

The designation of convenience accounts comes from Section 655.80 of the Florida Statute. The statute allows an account’s owner (principal) to designate an agent. The agent is a person who has the authority to withdraw, deposit, and manage from the account while not assuming any of the account’s liabilities. The agent is only granted access to the funds and has no ownership of the account. The impact is that when the original owner dies, the agent’s authority is terminated, and the account is treated as only owned by the principal. This means the account will be governed by the owner’s wishes and estate plan. The real-world impact is that the family member helping the parent doesn’t get to keep the account after the owner dies. The leftover money will be divided according to the owner’s estate plan.

Meanwhile, with a joint bank account, the added individual now owns the account. This impacts several things, including how the account will be treated when one of the owners passes. In a joint account, when one owner passes away, the account passes to the surviving owner automatically and in the survivor’s name only. Florida Statute 655.79 states that unless there is some expressed writing in the opening or maintenance of the account, an account with joint owners will be presumed to be a joint account. This means if you intend to add someone to an account just to help out and not to have any ownership if chosen to be owned jointly, that added individual will now be an account owner. Section 655.79 has an exception to this presumption by “clear and convincing proof of a contrary intent.”

February 10, 2025

CYCLES, SCOOTERS AND SKATEBOARDS: OH MY! – OVERVIEW OF NON-MOTOR VEHICLE LAW IN FLORIDA

by Wesley J. Dickson

People who have been to a major Florida city, including Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa or Miami, will have no doubt noticed the massive influx of electronic scooters, bikes and skateboards. These vehicles are often ridden on sidewalks, to the chagrin of pedestrians, and on the sides of the road, to the chagrin of drivers.

But this begs the question: What are these vehicles and how are they categorized under the law? Are they an extension of the person and thus treated as someone walking on a sidewalk would be? Or are they viewed as motorized vehicles like a moped or motorcycle? This article seeks to answer that question, and more.

BACKGROUND:

February 4, 2025

SPOUSAL REFUSAL IN FLORIDA – IT SOUNDS HARSH, BUT IT CAN OFTEN BE THE EASIEST (OR ONLY) WAY TO GET MEDICAID

by Wesley J. Dickson

“Till death do us part” – These words serve as the basis for modern-day marriages. The idea initially was that marriage was a lifelong contract between partners and was only to be broken upon the death of one or both spouses. But what if the best way to save your spouse was to ignore them entirely and seemingly break the “till death” agreement to care for one another?

That is the predicament that many face in the process of qualifying for Medicaid. Spousal Refusal, often called the “just say no” option, is when a spouse of a long-term care Medicaid recipient or applicant refuses to pay the costs associated with the long-term care. Under current Medicaid rules in Florida, an individual cannot be legally denied care if the spouse does not need Medicaid and refuses to contribute towards the costs of care in Florida.

UNDERSTANDING MEDICAID:

January 28, 2025

Understanding the Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act: What It Is and Where We Are Headed – Part 2

by Wesley J. Dickson

In Part 1 of our article on Understanding the Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act, we introduced the recently enacted Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act (FUFIPA) and the 2002 Florida Uniform Principal and Income Act (FPIA) that it replaced. This article will dive a little more in-depth into the topics discussed in Part 1 and discuss the other impacts of this new legislation.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW INCOME AND PRINCIPAL ACTS:

Power to Adjust:

January 21, 2025

Understanding the Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act: What It Is and Where We Are Headed – Part 1

by Wesley J. Dickson

Florida has been growing incredibly quickly. According to a study by U.S. News and World Report, the state was one of the top five places people moved in 2024, and Fort Myers, Florida, was the fastest-growing place of the year.[i] Florida cities comprise 7 of the top 10 spots on the list. As the Sunshine State continues to grow and expand, it is more important than ever to modernize its laws to meet the needs of a changing and dynamic population.

One aspect of Florida law that will change in 2025 is the administration of trusts and estates. The Florida Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act (FUFIPA) will replace the 2002 Florida Uniform Principal and Income Act (FPIA).

WHO THIS APPLIES TO:

December 24, 2024

Cryptocurrency and Florida Estate Planning

by David M. Goldman

Will It Include My Wallets? – Questions and (some) Answers About Estate Planning With Cryptocurrency.

Over the past 15 years, cryptocurrency has slowly become an integrated part of society and day-to-day life. Gas stations have Bitcoin ATMs, famous athletes and celebrities (in)famously starred in a commercial for a Cryptocurrency venture that failed spectacularly, and the latest wave of newly minted millionaires and billionaires largely credit their rise to this new “decentralized” currency.

On December 5th of this past year, the most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, hit a record-high value of $100,000. This surge in price has renewed interest among investors and regulatory bodies alike—everyone wants a piece of the ever-growing pie.

This very concept of cryptocurrencies being “decentralized” and “stateless” is one of the driving forces behind their popularity, but it also serves as a thorn in the side of lawyers, legislators, and laypeople who are trying to navigate the ever-changing cryptocurrency landscape.

IDENTITY:

One of the main issues facing estate planners is how to adequately identify assets such as Bitcoin, DogeCoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. Because there is no centralized bank or account that can identify individuals for succession planning purposes, many recommend transferring your cryptocurrencies prior to death (to the extent that this is possible for someone).

Cryptocurrencies rely on a technology known as the “blockchain,” which acts as a sort of ledger showing any transfers of coins in and out of an account. While most cryptocurrency transactions would appear on the blockchain, there are a few ways to complete a transfer without it appearing on the blockchain (such as by physically giving someone a “cold wallet”—discussed further below).

This becomes a further issue as it can be difficult to determine when a cryptocurrency asset was transferred, especially if transferred in a manner that would not appear on the blockchain. Whether a cryptocurrency transfer is recorded depends on what type of storage vehicle is used.

STORAGE: Continue reading

April 24, 2024

FTC Bans Almost All Non-competition Agreements

by Wesley J. Dickson

The FTC, in their Final Rule released online on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, determined that non-compete agreements are “an unfair method of competition”, and thus are in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the “FTC Act”).

The ban, which will take effect in the latter half of 2024, carves out exceptions for non-competes given to senior executives, as senior executives are seemingly in a better position to negotiate the terms of any non-compete agreement and are less likely to be subject to the ongoing harm done by non-competes that the general workforce has to face.

Non-compete agreements for non-senior executives will no longer be enforceable after the Rule’s effective date.

February 2, 2024

What is Better in Florida? A Will or a Trust?

by Wesley J. Dickson

One of the most common questions we receive is: “What is Better in Florida? A Will or a Trust?”

Many clients that we work with think that if they live in Florida and have signed a Florida Last Will and Testament, they no longer have to worry about a probate in Florida.

As Chris Rock can attest, Wills are often a big “slap in the face” to the assets you are trying to protect. In Florida, assets that pass under the terms of a Last Will and Testament have to go through a process known as probate.