So, you really want to know how the “Tax Cuts and Job Act” of 2017 affects the estate tax? Ok then, we’ll hit the highlights.
Continue Reading... Tagged: death
Celebrity deaths have a way of occupying the attention of the media. In addition, of course, to his immense talents, Prince’s recent death is noteworthy for his failure to do any estate planning. What lessons can us non-celebrities learn from his choice?
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In a case from our own backyard, Keul vs Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church, Mrs. Lampp and her late husband executed wills in 2009, several months before he died. Their estate plan provided that after Mrs. Lampp’s death, the entire estate would go to Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church. When she died, Mrs. Lampp had $333,000 in Navy Federal Credit Union accounts that she had jointly owned with her husband before he died. Her "friendly" neighbor provided a "payable on death" form from the credit union that gave her (the neighbor!) 75% of the credit union accounts, 10% each to her son and daughter and the remaining 5% to her former daughter-in-law. Nothing was left to the church.
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2014’s You’re Not You stars Hilary Swank as a 35-year-old classical pianist who is stricken with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig’s disease). This multiple-hanky-needed drama is naturally sad, although fairly realistic and extremely well-acted. ALS is a disease that travels in only one direction: downhill. There is no cure, not even much palliative care that can be offered. So, yes, in one respect, the movie is about watching Hilary Swank’s character die.
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*UPDATE: We've learned Senate Bill 102 died on calendar on May 1. As this is a very important piece of legislation, which insulates your fiduciaries from privacy law violations amongst other benefits, we encourage you to contact your senator or state representative and ask that they vote for this Bill next session.
Continue Reading...As a Jacksonville, Florida Probate Attorney, I understand the probate process and why many people seek to avoid it. Probate is the legal process used when the court has to get involved to help transfer assets after someone has died. There are several legal rules and procedures set up to make sure that the transfers are done properly and that the family is aware of what is being done.
Continue Reading...As a Jacksonville, Florida Probate Lawyer, I have been involved in a probate dispute among six siblings. This probate litigation is located in Duval County, Florida. A mother died and left her estate to be divided among her six children. The tangible personal property was to be divided equally among the six children. However, the mother specifically stated that one of the children could continue to live in her home, but that the living arrangements would be subject to an agreement among all of her children. This has made for quite a probate dispute.
Continue Reading...As a Jacksonville, Florida Probate Attorney, I recently was involved in a Duval County, Florida probate case where a mother of 9 children died without leaving a will. The mother owned two homes at the time of her death. Under Florida’s law of intestate succession, each child would be entitled to obtain a 1/9 interest in each property. Because one of the properties was her homestead, the interests in the homestead descended on the date of death. One of the children is in jail and another is a drug addict.
Continue Reading...As a Jacksonville, Florida Probate Lawyer, I see many examples of how poor planning results in increased probate costs. Recently, a client had to open a St. Johns County, Florida probate case so that the decedent’s 1% interest in a parcel of New York real property could be transferred. Even though we utilized the least costly probate procedure known as “summary administration,” the probate costs still were three (3) times greater than the value of the property being transferred to the probate estate.
Continue Reading...By now you probably all have heard about the “deal” reached between the President and Republican Congressional Leaders concerning taxes, including the estate tax. No language on the estate or gift tax actually appeared in the document released by the White House, but it has been widely reported that it includes an estate tax provision for 2011 and 2012 that has a top rate of 35% and an exemption of $5 million per individual. This agreement appears to draw on the Lincoln-Kyl estate tax proposal introduced earlier in the Senate, which also proposed to top 35% rate and $5 million exemption, but further details are unavailable. It is also unclear how or if the estates of those who died in 2010 would be affected by this agreement.
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