Living Trust / Revocable Trust

February 22, 2008

Terry Schiavo judge handles divorce cases

Florida judge who presided over the Terri Schiavo case until her death, has a new assignment. He no longer judges Florida Guardianship cases. He judges divorce cases.

The Judges transfer from Florida Probate and Florida Guardianship court to family court should allow Judge Greer who is now 65 to serve the next three years in obscurity before his retirement.

Judge Greer is nationally famous and has 20 honors displayed in his chambers. The largest is the 2005 President’s Award of Merit from the Florida Bar, “for your unswerving commitment to the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the fundamentals of American democracy.”

February 17, 2008

Fund your Revocable Trust

by David M. Goldman

The most common problem with Florida Estate Planning or estate planning in general is that those how are in the most need of the benefits a Florida Revocable Trust can offer are the ones who usually fail to fund their trust.

Creating a Florida Revocable Trust is only the beginning. No benefits are received by signing the documents. It is only when the Florida Revocable Trust is funded that the benefits of the trust can be used.

These benefits include avoiding delays in probate, reducing or eliminating the costs associated with a Florida Probate, and not having your assets or the distribution of your assets in the public record.

February 15, 2008

Estate Taxes or Probate Fees

by David M. Goldman

As the Estate tax exemption continues to increase, fewer and fewer American families are subjected to the death Taxes. On the other hand this is creating a real problem with probate fees. Since fewer families are concerned with estate taxes, the overlook the fees associated with probate.

There are many techniques used to avoid the need for assets to be subjected to probate. These include: Joint accounts, payable on death designations, beneficiary designations, and Florida Revocable Trust . There are many issues that determine which of the methods is best for your particular situation.

With the increase in divorces and numbers of families with children from outside the current marriage, the Florida Revocable Trust often offers the best flexibility. It is important to evaluate a clients objectives, the risks associated with each method, and the costs.

February 8, 2008

Britney Spears Not Competent Enough to Hire Lawyer

by David M. Goldman

Britney’s dad had was appointed as conservator of her person and co-conservator of her estate, which means her dad is now in control of what Britney can do, who she can see, and he’s controlling all access to her bank accounts and credit cards.

Over the weekend, Britney attempted to hire her own lawyer to fight her dad’s attempt to take over her personal and financial affairs.

But, the Court refused to recognize Andrew Streisand as Britney’s lawyer because the court-appointed lawyer assigned to evaluate Britney said that Brit doesn’t have capacity right now to hire her own lawyer.

February 6, 2008

Can a Power of Attorney modify a Trust?

by David M. Goldman

Florida changed their statute regarding Power of Attorney several years ago. It seems that many banks and other financial institutions were not honoring existing powers of attorney documents. Florida changed Florida Statute 709 to allow for enforcement and recovery of expenses associated with the improper denial of a Power of Attorney.

Clients often ask if what limits there are on a Durable
Although a client can limit the powers in a Durable Power of Attorney the right to change a Florida Will under Florida Law. Recently we have begun adding specific provisions to allow for the modification of a Florida Revocable Trust with a Durable Power of Attorney. When this happens it is important to also include provisions in the Florida Revocable Trust. to allow for the modification by Durable Power of Attorney. Charles Rubin who writes the Rubin on Tax blog has an article where he discusses this. There was a recent Florida Case where a Florida Revocable Trust was in conflict with a Power of Attorney. The court ruled that the prohibition by the Florida Revocable Trust on modification by Power of Attorney trumped the Power of Attorney.

February 3, 2008

Sloppy Drafting of Florida Wills and Florida Trusts

by David M. Goldman

Drafting and transfer of assets is an important aspect of a Florida Will or a Florida Revocable Trust. Real estate held by a company will not transfer to the trust unless the ownership of the company interest is transferred.

In a recent Florida case a testator never transferred the ownership of his business entity. When he died the trust directed that the property go to one beneficiary. His will transferred the residual to his wife.

The court in Vaughan v. Boerckel, 963 So. 2d 915 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007), affirmed judgment for the widow, holding that the failure to transfer title to the realty to the trustee meant that title remained in the corporation all the shares of which passed to the widow.

February 1, 2008

Florida Pet Trust: Unexpected Expences

by David M. Goldman

With the recent rise in the popularity of the Florida Pet Trust many individuals are caught off guard with unexpected expenses associated with a Florida Pet Trust. These expenses are also associated with Florida Pet Trusts from other states as they are related to Federal issues.

The primary issue that a pet trust is subject to income tax reporting and required to pay taxes on the income the funds generate. Most Florida Pet Trusts have less than $50,000 in funds and the cost of maintianing them is relatively high. There are some Pet Trusts that pool the money and do master reporting. This can be a solution to smaller pet trusts. If you are interested in creating a Florida Pet Trust, Contact a Florida Pet Trust Lawyer for more information

January 31, 2008

Second Marriages: Estate Planning and More

by David M. Goldman

When considering getting married for the second time, or to someone with a prior family it is important to consider Estate Planning, Long-Term Care, the family home, Social Security, Alimony, Survivor’s Annuities, and College Financial aid as an article on Forbes has reported.

Florida Estate Planning becomes very important when there are children from outside the current marriage. A spouse in Florida is entitled to a 30% share of all assets unless there is a prenuptial or post nuptial waiver.

in addition aFlorida Revocable Trust or prenuptial agreement might not keep a spouse from being responsible for long-term care and can have an effect on Florida Medicaid Planning and Eligibility

January 31, 2008

Estate Planning for Non-U.S. Citizen Spouses

by David M. Goldman

How is a Florida Estate Plan different if you or your spouse is not a citizen of the United States? The Connecticut Elder Law Blog reported in an article that if non U.S. citizens have a completely different set of estate tax rules to contend with.

If the U.S. citizen dies first, then the estate tax could become due at that point and the government does not wait until the death of the second spouse like when both are U.S. citizens. Michael Keenan states that the a common approach is to use a QDOT to deal with this issue.

if you or your spouse is not a U.S. citizen you should contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to understand how this can affect your estate planning.

January 30, 2008

Reasons to Create a Living Trust

by David M. Goldman

Mark Jakubik of the Pennsylvania Estate Planning Lawyer Blog posted an article Reasons to Prepare a “Living Trust” where he has compiled a good list of reasons. They are:

* Avoiding probate. Since the property is no longer in your name as an individual, but is now in your name as trustee, there is no reason to go through probate. This is a savings of 5%-10% of your gross estate. An additional benefit is that it will only take weeks instead of years to transfer your property to your heirs.

* The trust will remain private. Unlike a will, which has to be filed as a public record in the probate court, the trust remains a private document even after your death.

* With certain provision in the trust, you can completely avoid or reduce estate taxes. This can mean savings of literally thousands of dollars.