Florida’s ‘Dutiful Child’ Exception Throughout life, relationships and priorities often change, necessitating amendment to one’s Last Will and Testament to reflect these changes. However, sometimes these testamentary changes raise questions as to the testator’s motivations for the revisions, leading to a will contest. “Undue influence” upon the testator is one…
Can an Irrevocable Trust be Changed? Trust Decanting under Florida Law You do not have to be a Sommelier to be familiar with the concept of decanting wine. “Decanting”, the pouring of wine from its original bottle into a different vessel – is a technique utilized for two contemporaneous purposes:…
What Happens to my Bitcoin when I die? Estate Planning and Digital Currencies Cryptocurrencies have gained significant popularity over the last decade, appealing to the masses due to their decentralized nature, virtual anonymity, and enhanced security.[1] For Federal income tax purposes, cryptocurrency is treated as property, and longstanding tax principles…
DIY Estate Planning: Can I Make a Will Myself? While a steady drive towards technology has been growing for decades, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic tremendously increased our reliance on technology, effectively changing the the way we do nearly everything, including estate planning. Do-It-Yourself (DIY) online services offering legal…
Can an Irrevocable Trust be Changed? Trust Decanting under Florida Law You do not have to be a Sommelier to be familiar with the concept of decanting wine. “Decanting”- the pouring of wine from its original bottle into a different vessel- is a technique utilized for two contemporaneous purposes; two…
Florida’s Elective Share: Part II Our previous blog post two weeks ago addressed Florida law regarding the protection to surviving spouses provided by the elective share from the perspective of estate planning (Elective Share – what is it and why you should know more about it). This post focusses on…
How does Florida’s Elective Share Affect my Estate Plan? Part One. What is an “Elective Share”? In situations where the decedent’s will has left their surviving spouse very little, or nothing, Florida law protects surviving spouse’s in two major ways: The Elective Share and Homestead. While both of these laws…
Biden’s Tax Proposal and the “Step-Up in Basis”: What it Means for Your Estate Plan or Trust A commonly utilized tax law in estate planning considerations, known as the “step up in basis,” may be in jeopardy. The “step-up,” derived from section 1014 of the Internal Revenue Code, gets applied…
Guardianship: Don’t Believe Everything You Watch on Netflix Netflix’s new sensationalist movie “I Care a Lot,” released this past February 19, 2021, might have you thinking that being a guardian may be the path to wealth and easy money. Although a scammer making a living by successfully requesting the courts…
Bernie’s “For the 99.5% Act”: Is It Time to Start Thinking about Tax Planning? For the year 2021, each individual has $11,700,000.00 of estate tax credit (or $23,400,000.00 for married couples), otherwise known as the “applicable exclusion amount.” For estates that exceed the applicable exclusion amount, the tax rate is…