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Estate Planning

Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

Covers estate planning legal issues, cases, and news with a focus on Florida State Law.
By David M. Goldman

Post Frequency: 7.3/day

Last Entry: April 06, 2020 at 17:05:21

IRA and Amnesty Program about to Expire

Posted on July 13, 2009
A few months ago the IRS announced a voluntary disclosure program for undeclared foreign accounts. This six months program closes on September 23, 2009. For qualifying taxpayers who come forward and report their undisclosed foreign bank accounts and pay back...

Is a lawyer required for a Florida Enhanced Life Estate Deed?

Posted on July 12, 2009
While in Florida a lawyer is not required to create a valid deed like a ladybird deed or Florida Enhanced Life Estate Deed it may be a good idea to have a lawyer or attorney review these specific document because...

Florida Asset Protection Lawyers can help structure assets

Posted on June 16, 2009
Florida Asset Protection Attorneys can help structure the ownership of assets to protect from liabilities and creditors. Often individuals own a bulk of their assets individually or in a Florida Revocable Trust, or in a corporation. The assets and businesses...

Florida Probate: Who can be a Personal Representative?

Posted on June 08, 2009
In Florida who can be a personal representative, or executor, of an estate?1. The personal representative could be an individual, bank, or trust company, subject to certain restrictions. 2. An individual who is either a resident of Florida, or is...

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Florida Probate: What happens if there is no will?

Posted on June 07, 2009
In aFlorida Probate, where the decedent did not have a will, Florida's intestate laws of succession define how property will be distributed between the person's family members. If there was a surviving spouse and no lineal descendants the spouse will...

What Asset Are Subject to Florida probate

Posted on June 06, 2009
In Florida, Probate assets are those items in the decedent's name at death which contain no provision for automatic succession of ownership at death like those that are jointly owned or have a payable on death designation. For example:1. bank...

Obtaining a Copy of a WIll in Florida Before a Probate is Filed

Posted on June 05, 2009
In Florida, the custodian of a will is required to file the will with the court having jurisdiction over the decedent within 10 day of learning that the testator is dead. As Florida Probate Lawyers we often have clients who...

Is Your Child Trust-Worthy?

Posted on June 03, 2009
The Wall Street Journal has an article on Deciding if Your Kid is Trust-Worthy where they discuss using trust like a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer would use to protect your families assets. Part of the article is devoted to helping...

Prempro Cancer and Stroke Lawyer

Posted on June 01, 2009
Prempro cancer? Recently a study concluded that long-term use of Prempro significantly increases the risk of stroke, blood clots, Prempro ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, and breast cancer, while maximizing the risk for dementia and Alzheimer?s disease...

Hydroxycut Recall Attorneys

Posted on June 01, 2009
Do You Have a Hydroxycut Drug Recall Lawsuit? Hydroxycut was recalled by the Food and Drug Administration on May 1, 2009 because of reports of liver damage, and other severe health problems which may result in the need for a liver transplant. Some of the symptoms of liver damage include vomiting, nausea, unusual tiredness, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching, or loss of appetite...

Nursing Home Residents May Keep $250 Stimulus Payment

Posted on May 28, 2009
Most people who receive payments for Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or a Railroad Retirement or Veterans Administration disability pension, will receive $250 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009...

Tenants in Common without Right to partition and Valuation Discount

Posted on May 28, 2009
When you own Florida property as Tenants in Common, each owner has a right to enter and use the entire property. Often one owner wants to sell their interest while another may not. This can lead to an action for partition where a court will order the property to be sold...

Florida wills and property in Puerto Rico

Posted on May 27, 2009
Recently we ran across a situation where an individual in Puerto Rico died with a Florida Will . PR has some unique laws dealing with property and who will receive it under Puerto Rico's laws that can make a Florida Will or will created in another state invalid or ineffective for transferring property...

Lady Bird Deeds and stepped up basis (Florida Enhanced Life Estate Deeds)

Posted on May 26, 2009
One of the most common questions people as about Florida Lady Bird Deeds (Florida Enhanced Life Estate Deeds) is whether upon the death of the grantor, the contingent beneficiaries receive a stepped up basis like they would receive it the property was to transfer under a will...

Payroll companies and the IRS- for Florida Small Businesses

Posted on May 25, 2009
If you are using a payroll service, payroll company, or payroll agents you should be careful because the IRS has taken the position that a business is on the hook for unemployment taxes if the payroll agent goes bankrupt. Among the steps the IRS has recommended are the following:1...

FDIC Deposit Insurance extended to December 31, 2013

Posted on May 21, 2009
Today it was announced that deposits at FDIC-insured institutions are now insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor through December 31, 2013. On January 1, 2014, the standard insurance amount will return to $100,000 per depositor for all account categories except for IRAs and other certain retirement accounts which will remain at $250,000 per depositor...

The fertile octogenarian: a reality?

Posted on May 20, 2009
All lawyers who took estate planning in law school learned about the possibility of a 80 year old woman giving birth to a child. This mental exercise is just one of the unusual circumstances a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer might deal with in the drafting of Florida Estate Planning Documents...

Florida Summary Administration

Posted on May 18, 2009
A Summary Administration in Florida is an abbreviated Florida Probate proceeding where estates with assets of less than $75,000 or those where the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years can simplify the probate process. We often find that people who die with a home or other property do not properly administer their estate at the time of death and must go back to clear up the title so that the property can be sold or transferred properly at some later date...

Power of Attorney Dangers - License to Steal

Posted on May 12, 2009
A couple was recently charged with theft and elder abuse for taking money from their elderly parents, under authority of a power of attorney to pay for personal expenses. These included vacations, plane tickets, lodging and meals. Matthew D. Gardner an Iowa Estate Planning Lawyer wrote about this case and the increasing frequency of elder abuse in the past year...

Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule allow parents the right to see their children?s medical records?

Posted on May 09, 2009
Yes, the Privacy Rule generally allows a parent to have access to the medical records about his or her child, as his or her minor child?s personal representative when such access is not inconsistent with State or other law. There are three situations when the parent would not be the minor?s personal representative under the Privacy Rule...

Florida Wills and Trusts - What happens with each

Posted on May 08, 2009
Often the decision of whether to use a Florida Will or Florida Revocable Trust depends on issues surrounding distribution of assets, disability, and death. This summary of issues should help you determine which is best for your circumstances. PrivacyWhat happens with a Will No privacy...

Keeping Mom and Dad Safe at Home

Posted on May 07, 2009
Generally, elderly parents want to remain living in their own home. However, remaining in the home becomes a concern when children see their parents slowing down, perhaps even having trouble with handling stairs and doing general daily activities. Yet, with parents' mental and physical health currently not creating problems, there seems to be no imminent need to search out support services or other accommodations for aging parents...

Florida Wills and Trusts- Which is Better for me

Posted on May 07, 2009
In Jacksonville and around Florida we are often asked about the differences between a Florida Will and a Florida Revocable Trust. Although each persons circumstances are unique, generally the following factors tend to determine which is better in relation to disability and death in relation to the cost of a Florida Probate or avoiding Probate in Florida...

Advantages of Using a Trust for Florida Estate Planning

Posted on May 06, 2009
Estate planning can help deal with the proper use and distribution of your assets upon a disability or your death. Below are several of the advantages of using a Florida Revocable Trust for Disability and Death Planning. DISABILITY PLANNINGNo probate, so everything remains private...

Efforts to Avoid Probate Can Cause Problems

Posted on May 05, 2009
In Florida all sorts of clerks, customer service people, insurance sales people, brokers, account managers, and other employees of financial institutions give customers advice about how to title accounts and name beneficiaries. In an effort to avoid probate, these seemingly harmless changes can cause many problems with estate plans...

Abuse of Florida Durable Power of Attorney

Posted on May 04, 2009
Recently we have begun seeing more cases involving agents who abuse their power of attorney in order to benefit themselves. Most people do not realize that once they have become an agent for an individual, their duty is to act in the best interest of the individual and not for their own benefit...

Swine Flu and Estate Planning

Posted on April 28, 2009
Today a client of mine in Mexico contacted me about the transfer of their membership interest in an LLC upon their death. He had recently been told he had the "Pig Flu" or Swine Flu as we call it in the United States. Hopefully his case is not bad and he will make a full recovery...

Keeping Guardianship and Beneficiary Designations Updated

Posted on April 27, 2009
There are many times to update a Florida Will. Most updates are centered around significant life events like a wedding, divorce, new child, death in the family, or even moving to a new state. Two of the most important things to change in a will are the designations for guardians of minor children and the beneficiaries of your estate or heirs...

Helmsley estate: $136M to charity, $1M to dogs

Posted on April 22, 2009
Helmsey's estate made 53 charitable grants this week. Most of the money was given to hospitals and for medical research. Only 1 Million was given to 10 animal and dog charities equally. These donations came after a New York judge ruled that the trustees for the Helmsley Charitable trust has the sole authority to decide which charities would benefit from the trust.

Faith-Based Estate Planning

Posted on April 20, 2009
David A. Atraus, a Nevada Estate Planning Lawyer, has published a book titled Faith-Based Estate Planning: Our Values and Valuables. The book was written after contacting hundreds of religious clergy throughout the nation, and took him several years to write...

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