Probate

January 3, 2013

When is IRS Form 706, United States Estate Tax Return, Due?

While personal income tax returns and gift tax returns for taxable gifts made during 2011 are due on or before April 17, 2012, estate tax returns for decedents who died during 2011 are not due on April 17, 2012.

If a decedent who died in 2011 is required to file a federal estate tax return or a generation-Skipping Tax Return, it is due on or before nine months after the decedent’s date of death.

For example, if the death occurred on April 1, 2011, then IRS Form 706 will be was Due on or before January 1, 2012. If they died after April 1st you still have time to file the returns.

January 1, 2013

Will Contest and Summary Administration

by David M. Goldman

In Florida when a Summary Administration is used to Probate an estate the Florida Probate must be converted to a Formal Administration to allow for a will contest.

There are time limits to object to a will so it is important to file documents timely. If the probate has not been opened in Florida it is possible to file a caveat. A caveat is a notice that is file in the probate court that allows you an opportunity to object to a will or the appointment of a personal representative. It is basically a notice to the court to give you an opportunity to respond before the court appoints a PR or admits the will for probate in Florida.

It is more difficult to remove a PR after they are appointed so if you feel that something is wrong, it is a good idea to file a caveat as soon as possible.

November 6, 2012

Estate Tax Law Changes Worry Many Farmers & their Families

by David M. Goldman

John Buchanan has an article in Central Florida’s Agri-Leader which was published on October 24th which discusses the effects of the expiration of the estate tax exemption on farmers.

Many farmers end up loosing farms because of estate taxes and the inability of their families to become liquid enough to pay the estate tax bills. Over the past few years, the estate tax exemption has been high enough that many small farmers have not had to worry about this effect, but that could all change on January 1, 2013.

I was interviewed by John Buchanan about some of the potential solutions that small farmers could use to help insulate against the huge tax changes set to take effect next year.

September 7, 2012

Refusal to follow preference for appointment of Personal Representative was an abuse of discretion

by David M. Goldman

In the case of Bowdoin v. Rinnier, 81 So. 3d 582 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) The Decedent died intestate, leaving her husband, and a minor child as her sole heirs. Decedent’s mother, filed a petition for administration seeking her appointment as personal representative. The surviving spouse filed a counter-petition for administration seeking his appointment as personal representative. After hearing, the trial court granted Appellee’s petition notwithstanding husband’s preference in appointment under § 733.301, Fla. Stat., because the trial court determined it was in the best interest of all parties to appoint the Decedent’s mother as personal representative. On appeal, the Second District found the trial court’s decision was an abuse of discretion. The Second District reinforced the proposition that statutorily preferred individuals should be appointed unless the record shows the preferred person is unfit to serve. In this case, the Mother produced no witnesses or evidence at the hearing to show the husband was unqualified to serve. The Second District Court therefore reversed the trial court’s appointment of the mother and remanded the matter back to the trial court to conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the decedent’s husband was fit to serve as personal representative.

August 29, 2012

Trusts and Florida Homestead Property

by David M. Goldman

Florida is a rather unique state in rights associated with homestead exemptions from forced sale. In a nutshell, it is nearly impossible for creditors to force the sale of a homestead (a situation famously highlighted by OJ Simpson, who purchased a large estate in Florida in part to avoid creditors).

Florida’s homestead exemption also protects spouses and children of decedents: a spouse cannot transfer the property by will if survived by a spouse or minor child. While this rule often plays a positive role for families of decedents, certain cases show potential perils. Those cases primarily involve “blended families”; i.e., situations where a person late in life remarries. Florida’s homestead exemption seems to presume that the surviving spouse will also be a biological parent of the surviving children, but that is not always the case. Blended families can be a lightening rod of litigation, as highlighted by the case of Aronson-v-Aronson.pdf.

This case is the third time the parties have been in the appellate court. These parties have been fighting for over a decade. Here’s the story: a Mr. Aronson died after creating a revocable trust. Under the terms of the trust, his wife Doreen would take a life estate in the Key Biscayne condo the two of them shared. After that, the condo would go to Mr. Aronson’s sons. However, in the time between creating the trust and dying, Mr. Aronson deeded the same condo directly to Doreen.

August 28, 2012

Filing a Will Caveat

by David M. Goldman

Will caveats: one more reason why hiring an attorney is a good idea for estate planning. Will caveats are, basically, objections to a will. For example, let’s say Father dies, leaving his entire estate to his niece. That is awfully nice of him, but it probably won’t make his two children happy. Taking it a step further, let’s say Father had dementia when he died. Niece had moved in with him claiming she was going to take care of him, but the circumstances suggest she was just trying to dig for a little bit of gold from his estate. Now that Father has died, it looks like Niece’s plan has worked. What are Father’s children’s options?

They can bring a will caveat action, effectively putting the will’s probate on hold until the issues are resolved. Essentially, a caveat allows the interested party the ability to present evidence that something about the will makes it legally inoperable, and once a caveat is filed, the interested party must be allowed to present the evidence.

This was highlighted in a recent case, Rocca v. Boyansky, in which the court held that a party who made several late filings in court was nevertheless entitled to an evidentiary hearing before the will went to probate.

August 27, 2012

The Benefits of being a “Reasonably Ascertainable” Creditor

by David M. Goldman

Serving as a personal representative to an estate comes with many rights and obligations (see Chapter 733 of the Florida Statutes). One of those duties, for example, involves contacting creditors of the deceased person and letting those creditors know of the death. Those creditors then have a period of time to file a claim to be paid. Whether or not they are ever paid depends upon a variety of factors, largely dependent upon the estate actually having money to pay them.

The personal representative’s job can be somewhat difficult in notifying the creditors. Credit card loans and mortgage debts, for example, are pretty obvious: the bills probably come directly to the deceased person’s home. The personal representative generally would not have a difficult time in figuring out whom to contact to let the lender know of the death.

Some lenders, however, are not so easy to find. This is an important distinction. If a lender is relatively easy to find, it is considered a “reasonably ascertainable” creditor and has two years after the estate’s “notice of creditors” is published in order to file its claim. But, if the creditor is not “reasonably ascertainable,” it has only three months to file its claim. In other words, if you’re a creditor, you have some interest in being dubbed not “reasonably ascertainable,” as it gives you more time to file your claim.

August 15, 2012

Free Will Forms can have bad results

by David M. Goldman

On a regular basis we handle probate cases for families where the decedent tried to make their own will or tried to modify it themselves. Below is an example of a will that was created from a form or copied from someone else. While the will was validly signed as required in Florida and created a valid will, the person forgot to dispose of all of their property. It appears that of the provisions made, the person wanted to take care of their spouse first, then distribute $100 to one child and everything else to the other child.

Unfortunately the biggest asset in the estate, the decedent’s home was not devised in the will and thus would pass under the state’s intestate statutes. This will give the child that was to be disinherited 1/2 of the homestead.

Click to see a copy of theBad Florida Will

August 1, 2012

Florida Personal Representatives (Executors) Beware your Fiduciary Duty

by Patricia Davis

In Florida, a personal representative (PR)is a fiduciary who shall observe the standards of care applicable to trustees. A personal representative is under a duty to settle and distribute the estate of the decedent in accordance with the terms of the decedent’s will and the Florida Statutes, always considering the best interests of the estate.

A personal representative has responsibility to administer the estate of the deceased, and his or her tasks encompass taking possession of and managing both real and personal property.

The personal representative is also responsible for ascertaining and paying the legitimate claims of creditors against the estate. Although there may be provisions set out in a Will which appear to absolve a personal representative from any financial liability, this may not always be enforceable or hold true.

July 18, 2012

How to Avoid Probate in Florida

by David M. Goldman

Thumbnail image for last-will-and-testament-document-with-gavel-and-pen-58750624.jpg With a little careful planning, you may be able to avoid the probate question all together. Avoiding probate saves money and greatly reduces the strain placed on your family by time in court. A meeting with an estate-planning attorney can help you figure out how to structure your estate so that probate is not necessary, no matter how large the value of the estate. The following is a list of estate-planning tools that can help you avoid having to go through the probate process. Be careful replying on some of these because they may expose you to unnecessary risk of loss of the assets due to litigation. If you are interested in protecting assets and avoiding probate contact us to discuss your specific needs.

1. Living Trusts: Living trusts (also called an “inter vivos” trust) is a trust that is created while you are alive, rather than one created upon your death. Living trusts are great vehicles to avoid the lengthy and expensive probate process.

2. Joint Ownership: If you own property jointly with someone else, and this ownership includes the “right of survivorship,” then the surviving owner automatically owns the property when the other owner dies. An asset that is owned by two or more people in joint tenancy is not required to go through probate.