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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

Electronic Service through Socail Networking site

Posted on December 20, 2008
Recently an Australia Judge allowed a defendant in a law suit to be served copies of court papers by their Facebook account. The Legal Blog Watch has an article posted by Carolyn Elefant - Court Papers Served By Facebook After the judge was satisfied that the defendant was the same person who owned the Facebook account and the defendant was unable to be located, the judge allowed the defendant to be served through their Facebook account...

Confusion over 2008/2009 RMD Suspension by Congress

Posted on December 19, 2008
There seems to be articles misquoting the Suspension of RMDs by Congress. Congress has not suspended the 2008 RMDs. As of this time The Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 is awaiting the President's signature. One of the provisions of the bill is the suspension of required minimum distributions (RMDs) for 2009 ONLY...

Jacksonville Mediations can save time and costs

Posted on December 18, 2008
When is a Jacksonville Mediator helpful in resolving a Florida lawsuit? After your Jacksonville attorney has filed suit, or you have been served with one you may quickly find that thousands of dollars are spend in attorney?s fees and costs. There are fees for pleadings and counter-pleadings, requests and responses to interrogatories and requests for admissions, depositions and motion hearings...

Guardianship of the Elderly in Florida and other States

Posted on December 18, 2008
Guardianship is a relationship created by state law in which a court gives one person or entity (the guardian) the duty and power to make personal and/or property decisions for another (the ward). An article written by Brenda K. Uekert and Thomas Dibble...

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Florida Attorney General Warns Seniors of dangers with Free Lunch investment Scams

Posted on December 18, 2008
Senior citizens in Florida are being warned to think before going to financial planning seminars and estate-preservation workshops that offer a ?free lunch? or "free dinner" to lure seniors to attend. The Florida AG's Office has received more than a dozen complaints from seniors enticed to attend a free meal that actually turned out to be a high-pressure sales pitch for investments that may be entirely inappropriate based on age and financial circumstance...

Costco Breach of warranty on Plasma and LC TV purchases.

Posted on December 17, 2008
About a year ago Costco changed their return policy on Electronics. Their prior policy was that all electronics had a lifetime warranty and satisfaction guarantee. Simply keep your receipt and they would refund the full price paid if your product ever broke or needed to be returned for any reason...

Floirda Medicaid and New Caregiving website

Posted on December 17, 2008
Leanna Hamill, a Massachusetts Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney, has an article on a new website Videocaregiving.org. She states that the videos are designed to be short, simple, and direct. They easily accessed by users 24 hours a day and cover the tasks and daily activities for caregivers...

Uniform Probate Code Authorizes Notarized Wills

Posted on December 17, 2008
The UPC or Uniform Probate Code has been modified to accept a Notarized Will as valid. Lawrence W Waggoner, wrote an article "The UPC Authorizes Notarized Wills", 34 ACTEC 83 (Fall 2008). (This article was brought to my attention by Gerry Beyer of the Wills, Trust & Estate professor Blog) The article begins by reviewing the history of attested wills which were derived from the English Statute of Frauds Act of 1837...

Florida Probate: Am I entitled to an inventory and accounting.

Posted on December 15, 2008
In Florida if you are a beneficiary a potential heir, you are entitled to an inventory and accounting. As An Atlanta Georgia Estate Planning Lawyer wrote in their article AS A BENEFICIARY OR HEIR OF A GEORGIA PROBATE ESTATE, YOU ARE ENTITLED TO AN INVENTORY AND ACCOUNTING IN GEORGIA PROBATE COURT ? REMEMBER, ?POSSESSION IS NINE-TENTHS OF THE LAW?, SO ACT QUICKLY AND WITH KNOWLEDGE, it is important to act fast...

Problems with Trust Kits

Posted on December 14, 2008
A Michigan Estate Planning Lawyer Blog has written another article on Problems with Michigan Trust Kits. While we have reported on these issues many times in Florida, there appear to be similar problems in other states. Christopher Berry, a Michigan Estate Planning Attorney, points out that Michigan citizens have lost over $200,000 because of poorly drafted Revocable Trust ...

What is a Florida Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust

Posted on December 11, 2008
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...

Asbestos Removal and Greener Alternatives

Posted on December 10, 2008
If you are a Trustee or Guardian over property in Florida There are many things to consider when remodeling or purchasing an older home, which is common in the real estate industry. I recently became aware of problems with some homes built before 1980 because they have a strong likelihood of containing asbestos...

What is the Difference betweeen a Florida Revocable Living Trust and a Florida Irrevocable Trust

Posted on December 10, 2008
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...

Trust Litigation

Posted on December 04, 2008
Florida Trust Litigation involves disputes between beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries of assets in ones estate or trusts (a Trust Contest). Trust litigation in Florida is most often centered around Mistakes in Execution, Undue Influence, or Lack of Capacity...

Myth: A Florida Revocable Trust Avoids Probate

Posted on December 03, 2008
While a Florida Revocable Trust can avoid the necessity for a Florida Probate to be filed, there are often circumstances that require a Probate. A Florida Revocable Trust only eliminates the need for a probate when it is funded and to the extent that your assets are inside the trust prior to death...

Are Fees Charged on the Value of a Home in a Florida Probate?

Posted on December 02, 2008
In Florida, the question of whether an attorney should charge fees based on the value of the home or land is a common one. The answer to this question depends on whether the Home is considered a homestead. A Florida Homestead is a constitutionally protected piece of property which is exempt from being counted as an asset of the decedent in a Florida Probate...

Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT)

Posted on December 02, 2008
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 income and the transfers...

Florida Elective Share Litigation

Posted on December 02, 2008
In Florida, a surviving spouse is usually entitled to take an elective share of their spouse's estate. This is to prevent one spouse from disinheriting the other. Unless there is a valid Prenuptial or Post Nuptial agreement in place, the surviving spouse is entitled to take 30% of the spouses entire elective estate...

Florida Will Contest

Posted on December 01, 2008
Florida Will Litigation involves disputes between beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries of assets in ones estate or trusts (a Will Contest). Trust litigation in Florida is most often centered around Mistakes in Execution, Undue Influence, or Lack of Capacity...

What is a Personal Representative in Florida?

Posted on December 01, 2008
In Florida the personal representative is the person named in a will collect and distributed the assets of a person after death. In a Florida Probate this typically involves taking care of and real or personal property, paying legitimate outstanding bills and filing and paying taxes...

Elder Law Mediation Resolves Family Conflicts

Posted on November 26, 2008
The National Care Planning Council has an article on Elder Law Mediation as a non-adversarial approach to solving disputes. Mediation is a process of bringing two or more disputing parties together and having them mutually negotiate a solution to their disagreement...

FDIC Insurance $250,000 is only Temporary

Posted on November 25, 2008
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 temporarily raises the basic limit on federal deposit insurance coverage (FDIC) from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor. WARNING the basic deposit insurance limit will return to $100,000 after December 31, 2009...

FDIC Extends Full Coerage to all IOTA trust accounts

Posted on November 24, 2008
The FDIC has extended FULL insurance coverage to all Florida IOTA trust accounts, regardless of amount on deposit or number of clients. The unlimited FDIC insurance is available at all financial institutions that participate in the FDIC's Transaction Account Guarantee Program...

2009 Annual Gift Tax Exclusion $13000

Posted on November 24, 2008
The 2009 IRS annual gift tax exclusion is increasing form $12,000 to $13,000 for 2009. This increase means that more money can be given away for estate tax planning purposes. For example, a married couple with two married children will be able to give away up to $104,000 in 2009 with no gift tax implications...

Florida Pet Lemon Law

Posted on November 06, 2008
Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer, Cynthia Veintemillas, wrote an interesting article about Criminal Liability and the Florida Pet Lemon Law. If you are in the business of buying or selling pets in Florida you may want to have your Florida contracts reviewed for compliance with the Florida Pet lemon Law...

Free Florida Probate Forms? Do they exist?

Posted on November 06, 2008
Often after someone dies in Florida, their families look to save money and open handle the probate without the use of a lawyer. In some states this is permitted, but in most cases Florida does not permit an individual to represent themselves in a Probate Proceeding...

Florida Probate of Will admitted to another state.

Posted on November 05, 2008
Sometimes it is necessary to admit a will in Florida when the original is not available because it was admitted in another state. The most common occurrence of this involves a Florida ancillary administrations. This is when the decedent lived in another state and there was an initial probate in that state, but the decedent owned real property in Florida...

Florida Probate: When is an attorney required to represent the Personal Representative

Posted on November 04, 2008
In Jacksonville and around Florida an attorney is required under Florida Probate Rule 5.030 unless the personal representative remains the sole interested person. The attorney must be licensed to practice law in Florida. If you need a Jacksonville Probate lawyer or a Florida probate Attorney Contact us to see if we can help you...

How long does it take for a Summary Administration in Florida?

Posted on November 04, 2008
Short Answer: A Summary Administration probate usually takes just over 3 months but can take 6 or more depending on the circumstances. Long Answer: It depends on the facts and circumstances of each situation. In some areas of Florida the Judges require or allow for differing procedures this causes some probate administrations to take longer than others...

River Garden Foundation Gala In Jacksonville

Posted on November 03, 2008
The 16th annual River Garden Gala will be held on Saturday November 8th, 2008 at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort. The Sawgrass Marriott Resort is at 1000, PGA Tour Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. This event is to benefit River Garden Wolfson Health & Aging Center and is a Black Tie event for more information on the fund raiser call (904) 262-1818, ext...

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