FLORIDA ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE LAW BLOG

The Florida Estate Planning and Probate Law Blog is focused on recent federal and state case law and planning ideas.

PRESIDENT TRUMPS 2017 INCOME TAX PLAN

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in ,,,,,,,,
On Wednesday, April 27, 2017, President Trump outlined his plan for income tax reform. His plan includes the following: decreasing the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 15%; imposing a one-time tax on the repatriation of previously untaxed overseas profits at a to-be-determined rate; conversion from the current system of taxation on worldwide profits to a territorial-tax system in which foreign profits are not taxed; decreasing the number of income tax brackets from seven (7) to three (3); a top individual income tax rate of 35% (down from the current 39.6 percent); maintaining the long-term...
Read More

WHAT WILL YOUR ESTATE PAY IN FEDERAL AND STATES ESTATE TAXES?

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in ,,,,
We live in an ever-changing federal income and estate tax environment. On January 1, 2017, the federal estate tax exemption increased to $5.49 million per individual. That amount excludes over ninety-five (95%) percent of all decedent estates from payment of any federal estate tax. In addition, thirty (30) U.S. states have no estate or inheritance taxes while twenty (20) states and the District of Columbia currently impose an estate (14 states) or inheritance (6 states) tax, or both. As a result, your estate could be exempt from the federal estate tax but subject to a large state estate ta...
Read More

PROTECTING YOUR HEIRS FROM YOUR DEBTS AT DEATH

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in ,,,,,,,
With almost 70% of the retiree population solely living on social security it is not surprising that the percentage of families with debt headed by someone age 65 to 74 rose from about 50% in 1989 to about 66% in 2013. Personal debt nearly doubled during the same time period from 21% to about 41%. For most seniors the debt is not being utilized to live a lavished lifestyle but to pay for expensive nursing home, aids and in-home care. As seniors accumulate this debt their families become concerned over what happens to their unpaid bills when they die. It is recommended that families discuss...
Read More

NEW STATE OF WASHINGTON POWER OF ATTORNEY STATUTE

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in ,,,,,,,
The new State of Washington Power of Attorney statute went into effect on January 1, 2017 (“Act”). The Act provides several changes and additions to the previous law, which aim to address previous ambiguity in the law and to provide safeguards to prevent possible abuse of authority by an agent under the power of attorney. Some of the key provisions of the Act are: Agent/Attorney in Fact: If the principal names co-agents to act on his or her behalf, the Act now clarifies that co-agents must exercise their authority jointly, unless the document specifies that each co-agent may act independently....
Read More

THE FLORIDA SLAYER STATUTE DEFEATED BY A CLAIM OF SELF-DEFENSE

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in ,,,,
Section 732.802 of the Florida Statutes is known as the “Florida Slayer Statute.” Subsection (3) provides “that a named beneficiary of a life insurance policy “who unlawfully and intentionally kills … the person upon whose life the policy is issued is not entitled to any benefit …” Moreover, subsection (5) provides that a final judgment of conviction of murder of any degree is conclusive, but in the absence of such a conviction, “the court may determine by the greater weight of the evidence whether the killing was unlawful and intentional for purposes of this section.” In The Prudential Ins....
Read More

TIPS TO AVOID A CHALLENGE TO YOUR ESTATE PLAN AT DEATH

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in ,,,,,,,,,
Although a challenge to a Last Will and Testament (“Will”) or Revocable Trust (“Trust”) (an inheritance dispute) are a sad reality there is no guarantee that even with proper planning a contest may be avoided. Will and Trust contests are typically the result of a disgruntled family member or friend challenging the validity of the documents. The have a higher probability of occurring in in blended families, when a child is disinherited or when the children are not treated equally. The following are some proactive steps that can be taken: • Create your estate plan early in life and update it...
Read More

TRUST BENEFICIARY CHALLENGES ADOPTED SIBLINGS ENTITLEMENT TO BENEFITS

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in ,,,,,,
Family inheritance disputes have become common place throughout the world. The recent case of Edwards and Kuiper v. Maxwell, 42 Fla.L.Weekly D742a (1st DCA, March 31, 2017) evidences that it know impacts adopted siblings. In this case, an adult son was a discretionary beneficiary (distributions to him were at the sole discretion of the trustee) of his great-grandparents Trust. His father later adopted another child (which also made him a beneficiary of the Trust). After the adopted son was dispersed thousands of dollars from the Trust, the adult son challenged the adoption since he was never...
Read More