♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in estate plan,Family Trust,florida estate planning,florida probate attorney,florida probate lawyer,Last Will and Testament,Revocable Trust,Sarasota attorney,Special Needs Trust at Tuesday, August 25, 2015
FLORIDA'S HEALTH CARE SURROGATE STATUTES: Effective October 1st, an individual may assign the power to a surrogate to make health care decisions for that person even if the person is not incapacitated. If there is ever a conflict between the surrogate and the principal, the principal's decision is controlling as long as the principal has capacity. A principal may also amend or revoke the durable health care surrogate as long as the principal is not incapacitated. A principal can do this through a variety of different ways including written amendments or written revocation. Physicians still must discuss treatment and other important information with a person who is not incapacitated regardless of whether or not there is a surrogate. Parents now have an option to name a health care surrogate for minors under 765.2035(6). This will be useful if a parent is unavailable to provide consent for treatment for their child. This could come up in a variety of situations, such as when the parents are traveling without their minor children.
FLORIDA UNIFORM TRANSFERS TO MINORS ACT: Effective
July 1, 2015, Florida allows custodianships to last until the age of 25.
Florida statute 710.123 now allows for an age of 25 to be set as the
termination date when the UTMA account is created. A Florida custodianship can
be created if the custodian, minor, or transferor lives in Florida or if the
property protected by the custodian is in Florida. Florida Statute 710.123(2) was added, which
grants minor beneficiaries of UTMAs with a termination age of 25 the ability to
withdraw the funds at 21. However, there is also the ability to limit the right
to withdraw to a certain duration so that if the beneficiary does not use their
right within the specified time, then the assets cannot be withdrawn until the
age of 25 when the UTMA terminates. This time period is generally 30 days.
FLORIDA GUARDIANSHIP LAW: Under prior law, durable powers of attorney were
suspended when anyone initiated judicial proceedings to determine incapacity of
an individual or to have a guardian advocate appointed. This suspension lasted
until the petition was dismissed or withdrawn. The new law provides that certain
family members (child, parent, spouse, or grandchild) will no longer be
automatically removed from being agents upon the incapacity of the principal, and
the powers provided in the document will continue. The new statute also has a
process to suspend a power of attorney that is held by a family member in case
that family member is abusing their power.
