While many of you may be thinking that fewer Florida Probate cases will involve federal estate tax returns in 2011, the opposite is actually true. It seems with the new $5 Million estate tax exemption that most estates will not need to file a tax return. What most people do…
I recently updated the Free Florida Probate Handbook to deal with many of the changes from this year’s legislature. If you have a previous copy or would like an undated version please let us know by requesting on this page.
Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPT) have become the latest rage in estate planning and asset protection. We have generally found that there are better ways of protecting assets from creditors by using traditional estate planning that has case-law history. In a recent US bankruptcy case, a DAPT was invalidated and…
I recently had a client inquiry with us regarding the transfer of real property which was upside down or had negative equity. Typically when one transfers property of value to another to avoid a creditor’s reach, the creditor can seek to have the transaction reversed under the theory of a…
Often families have vacation property that has been owned for may years or generations. It would be virtually impossible for most children to acquire or maintain these types of properties in today’s market. We often use business entities or trusts to hold title to the property and other assets to…
When protecting one’s assets in Forida a Florida Asset Protection Lawyer will often look at the stying of accounts and other personal property. There are situations when having a Bank account in the name of a husband and wife as tenants by the entireties can offer additional protection from creditors.…
In Florida, all marital assets are subject to equitable distribution. If you leave assets to your children in a revocable trust, they can also be at risk to equitable distribution depending on the circumstances and how they are used. If you create an Irrevocable Pure Grantor Trust (IPUG) and leave…
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…
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,…
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…