Ashlea Ebeling with Forbes is reporting that next years estate taxes could be as high as 60% for some. This title is misleading because the maximum estate tax will be 55%. She gets 60 percent by adding the max rate of 55% plus the 5% surcharge for assets between 10…
Articles Posted in Estate Planning
Florida Estate Planning Procedure
Estate Planning Procedure We make it easy and affordable to obtain professional legal advice by offering complimentary consultations for your Florida estate planning needs with a Jacksonville Estate Planning Attorney. Once you’ve decided to implement your Florida estate plan, your documents will often be ready in less than two weeks.…
Do-It-Yourself Wills: Good or Bad
While most articles seem to be nothing more than a press release from Legal Zoom or Quicken, Deborah Jacobs seems to really examine the issue. Check our the Forbes.com article on some of the Pitfalls of Do-It-Yourself WIlls
Florida Constitution can protect two Florida Homes as Homestead
The Homestead Exemption in Florida, which was established in the State’s Constitution, has always provided for the protection of the Family home free from creditors and liens. In 1985 the Constitution was amended to extend the protection to the “natural person” and not necessarily having to be the head of…
Pre-Validation of Wills and Trusts Before You Pass Away
Over the past summer, Alaska has become one of a few states to allow pre-validation of a will. The state legislature also took the law a step farther and allowed trusts to be validated by the grantor before they pass away. In order to explain the new process it is…
Lost Wills in Florida Require Live Witnesses
A lost Florida Will is a will that was lost or destroyed without the decedent’s knowledge or consent and without his or her intent to revoke. The original Florida Will of a testator can be revoked in a number of ways but the individual must have the intent to revoke…
Asset Protection: IRA’s and other Retirement Accounts
In a recent article by Kelly Greene of the Wall Street Journal, she explains methods in which individuals can protect their retirement accounts. Over an individual’s lifetime an IRA (Individual Retirement Account) can accrue hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. There is a high possibility that these retirement…
Updating Life Insurance Beneficiaries Can Be Easy for Florida Families
Whether you want to completely alter the beneficiaries of your life insurance policy or simply add contingent beneficiaries, the process is not all that difficult. However, there are some common mistakes that occur which can result in unpredictable situations. An amendment to a will or trust document cannot change the…
Estate Planning Brings Relief
Planning for your own death may appear morbid to some people, but the knowing your financial affairs are in order brings reassurance. By acknowledging that death will eventually happen to everyone, the estate planning process can proceed. If you suddenly become ill or are diagnosed with a terminal condition, would…
Estate Planning and Commercial Services
Estate planning for Digital Assets is a topic that was covered in a two part article by Oregon Estate Planning Attorney on his Wealth Law blog. In the second part of his article Estate Planning and “Virtual Assets” – Part 2 Michael discusses the importance of determining who should receive…