Life insurance is counted as part of your taxable estate. Many people understand that life insurance is income tax free to the beneficiaries, but the do not know that the proceeds of a life insurance policy are usually counted as part of the decedent’s estate for Federal Estate Tax purposes.…
a Florida Revocable Trust is a trust created during the life of an individual which can be modified, amended, or revoked at anytime during their life. Often they are used to: 1. avoid Florida Probate; 2. Keep your assets and decisions private; 3. Simplify after death distributions; 4. Increase the…
A GRAT or Grantor Retained Annuity Trust is an estate planning technique that minimizes the tax liability existing when transfers of estate assets occur. Under a GRAT, an irrevocable trust is created for a certain term or period of time. The individual establishing the trust pays the taxes associated with…
Greedy Trustees can be a problem in Florida Probate Litigation and Florida Trust Litigation. Often the Trustee must be removed to resolve the issues. Adrian Thomas a Florida lawyer who deals with Florida Trust and Probate Litigation sent me an article where he discusses individual and corporate trustees. Often banks…
Spendthrift clauses can be confusing to trustees. The general idea with a Florida Spendthrift clause is that the beneficiaries cannot assign their interest in the trust to a creditor ( voluntarily or involuntarily) Here is the test found in a typical clause under the new Florida Trust Code Spendthrift Provisions.…
A Florida Life Insurance Trust is an irrevocable trust that allows an individual to make the proceeds of a life insurance poliicy free from income taxes and estate taxes. Typical life insurance policies are income tax free, but many increase the value of one’s estate to the point that the…
When creating a revocable trust you may be asked for a Employment ID number (EIN) or Tax ID to open the account or fill out the paperwork. Many banks do not understand the difference between a revocable and a irrevocable trust. Although irrevocable trusts require TAX ID or EIN’s revocable…
Often the first thing that comes to mind with Florida Estate Planning is a Florida will or Florida living trust. Although these are valuable documents they do not have any effect on the distribution of many assets. We recommend that our Jacksonville residents make sure their beneficiary designations are updated…
There have been many revisions to Florida’s Trust Code and I have touched on some of them on this blog in the past. There have been major changes to creditors rights. Creditors cannot compel distributions from or attach or otherwise reach a beneficiary’s interest in a third party discretionary trust…
Stephanie Loomis-Price has recently published her articles entitled Family Limited Partnerships. In her article, Stephanie offers a detailed outline of the Family Limited Partnership – from consideration of the FLP as an appropriate estate planning tool, through the formation of the partnership, concluding with the administration of the partnership and…