Estate Planning

October 20, 2011

Florida Medicaid and Durable Powers Of Attorney

DCF will reject Medicaid planning involving trusts and personal service contracts where a power of attorney is executed after 10/1/11 and the DPOA does not specifically authorize the ability to execute trusts or personal services contracts.

If you are using forms for a POA or DPOA, you should have them reviewed by an attorney as the may not be valid with the recent law change. In addition, the forms may not let you accomplish what needs to be done in regards to planning for a nursing home or Medicaid eligibility.

October 17, 2011

Trust Advisor Blog & Steve Jobs

by David M. Goldman

Here is a link to the article I previously mentioned on the Trust Advisor Blog where they interviewed me on my thoughts on Steve Jobs Estate.

October 6, 2011

Steve Jobs Will Reading and His Estate Plan

by David M. Goldman

Today there is much speculation about what Steve Jobs’ will reading will reveal about his life. Steve Jobs has always been very quiet and protective about his personal life and we all know that he has been very good at protecting business secrets.

I was interviewed today about what Steve Jobs’s will and the potential huge estate tax that will be paid. I think if you look at how he managed his life and businesses, it is likely that if Steve had a will, it will not be read and there will be no probate. I believe that none or almost none of his assets will pass under a traditional probate and that there will be no boom to the economy from his huge estate. Steve was married at the time he died and as such jointly held assets or those in a joint trust will probably not be subject to any estate taxes.

It is unlikely that we will hear anything in the next few months and may never know about Steve’s estate.

October 3, 2011

Intro to Death Taxes

by David M. Goldman

I received an email regarding a video on Death and Estate Taxes. While most of these seem to be SPAM, this one actually had some decent background information that many of you may find valuable. The video states that 2% of the US population are subject to Death Taxes. I think the actual number is closer to 0.3% at the current level and it was as high as 2% when the estate tax exemption was 2 Million.

September 28, 2011

Zsa Zsa Gabor to be a new mother at age 95?

by David M. Goldman

Zsa Zsa Gabor, currently 94, is in the process of becoming one of the oldest new mothers ever. In law school we learn about a theory involving a fertile octogenarian with the point being that no one is too old to have a child so it is important to plan for future children.

Today this is most common with grandparents who adopt children, Zsa Zsa is going about this a little differently. She is reportedly in the process of selecting an egg donor, surrogate mother, and after a succesful artificial insemination she could become a new mother. Zsa Zsa’s only previous child predeceased her.

What if the artificial insemination takes but the child is not born before she dies? Hopefully we will not have to answer this question. Historically an unborn child is considered a child of the parent if born within 9 months of death. Obviously this has historically applied to the father. What would the courts decide about a artificially inseminated child using a surrogate mother? I have no idea what a court would rule or what rational they would use, but it sounds like a law school or bar exam question.

September 25, 2011

Estate Planning in a Nutshell

by Patricia Davis

We all need someone to look after us and care for us when we become part of the eldery population. We also need to take care of our spouses, our children, and our loved ones, when we have passed away. Looking to, and preparing for our future is in a nutshell, what Estate Planning in Jacksonville is all about.

Florida Estate Planning can be as simple as having your Florida Will, Florida Living Will, Florida Designation of Health Care Surrogate, and Florida Durable Power of Attorney prepared. You can also have different types of trusts prepared if you would rather have your assets managed by a trusted individual, after your death. In Florida, Trusts are also a great way to minimize your taxes as well as to manage your assets.

Preparing for future medical and financial decisions to be made on our behalf in the event of our incapacity, or illness, is the reason we prepare a Living Will, Do Not Resucitate Order, Health Care Surrogate Designation, and Power of Attorney.

September 24, 2011

Updating your Florida Will is as Important as making a Will!

by Patricia Davis

Circumstances change, possessions change, homes change, has your Will changed? As a Middleburg Estate Planning Attorney, I have heard many “will” stories, not all of them have a happy ending.

A Florida woman was left a home in her father’s Florida Will . Her brother was left money in the amount equivalent to the value of the home. Her father sold the home before he died, but failed to update his Florida Will to provide for his daughter.

If the subject matter of a specific gift is not in the estate at the time of the testator’s death, the specific gift, (in this case the house) will fail and the person who should have received the gift will take nothing. This is called “Ademption by Extinction“, in other words, the house no longer belongs to the deceased and therefore it cannot pass to his heirs.

September 14, 2011

IRS extends Filing Deadline for Form 706 and 8939 for Decedents dying in 2010

by David M. Goldman

The IRS just released Notice 2011-76 that extends the filing deadline for Forms 706 and 8939 for estates of decedents dying in 2010.

The Notice provides that large estates of people who died in 2010 will have until early next year to file various required returns and pay any estate taxes due. In addition, the IRS is providing penalty relief to certain beneficiaries of these estates on their 2010 federal income tax returns. This relief is designed to give large estates, normally those over $5 million, more time to comply with key tax law changes enacted late last year. Specifically, the following relief is given:
Continue reading

September 11, 2011

Differences between Estate Planning and Elder Law

by Patricia Davis

Many Middleburg families have thought about their future and what they want to happen upon their incapacity or death. However, many Middleburg families have not made that important call to consult with a Jacksonville Estate Planning Attorney about memorializing their thoughts in valid legal documents.

When you plan in advance you make your own decisions, you pay less, and you rest comfortably knowing that if you become incapacitated, and when you pass away, you have important legal documents in place. Legal documents that direct what you want to happen, to your children, your assets and you.

If you are a parent, whether you are married, divorced, or single, you must consider who will take care of, and provide for your minor children in the event of your incapacity or death. It is important to designate in a Forida Will or Pre-need Guardianship document your choice of who would be your child’s guardian. Better that you make this choice than a judge.

September 9, 2011

Personal Represntative of Yale Student’s Estate Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

by David M. Goldman

It is the PR’s job in a Florida Probate case to take actions to gather the assets and distribute them to the beneficiaries. When wrongful death claims are not assets subject to distribution under Florida Probate, it is the personal representative of an estate who pursues a Wrongful Death Claim in Florida or another state. The Jacksonville Wrongful Death Lawyer will often work directly with a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to pursue the claim for the family and children of the decedent.

The Yale Daily News is reporting that

The estate of former pharmacology student Annie Le GRD ’13 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the University in New Haven Superior Court on Tuesday, alleging that pervasive sexual harassment at the University “emboldened” her killer, Raymond Clark III, who is serving a 44-year sentence for the murder and who the suit claims was hired through Yale’s negligence.

While many states have broader statutes dealing with wrongful death claims, Florida limits which family members can have a claim and often when an elderly person dies, the adult children may not be able to file a claim.