Let me guess: you are a beneficiary of a Florida trust and you are not getting information from the trustee.  You are wondering just what a trust accounting is underFlorida Trust Law.

So, you are the beneficiary of a family trust: an irrevocable trust with millions of dollars in it.  Or, maybe you just inherited a small trust from your mom or dad who had a revocable trust when they were alive.  But now you have trouble with your trustee and you believe that a legal dispute is coming.  Where, exactly, do  you sue the trustee?    This is an area of trust law which is a very important part of trust beneficiary rights, and one area which trustees definitely need to know about.

Richard Mellon Scaife died July 4, 2014 at the 82— and a very, very wealthy man.  This Pennsylvania billionaire’s estate just cut a check to Pennsylvania’s Department of Revenue for $100 Million.  Is it a bit ironic that such as conservative person, who supported right wing and libertarian causes, with access to the best advisors money could buy, didn’t find a way around the death tax?   Could this estate tax been legally eliminated with some basic estate tax planning?  Here’s a few probate pointers for those with enough money to be worrying about paying two estate taxes:  one to the US government and one to a state that has a death tax.  Or, if your an heir, or a family member with an expectation to inherit mom or dad’s millions, here’s some insight on how your inheritance may be taxed-away, and how a little planning may save millions.

Two Miami trustees were found to have committed breach of trust after a trial over a Fourth Amended and Restated Revocable Trust Agreement.  Anyone involved with an irrevocable trust in Florida, such as a trust beneficiary, may want to read thisFlorida trust ruling which went to the Miami Dade appeals court.  This case is particularly important for beneficiaries who may or may not get educational expenses or tuition paid for from a trust and also for those trust beneficiaries of a revocable trust which later becomesirrevocable.  In this trust tuition case, the creator of the trust sent a letter to the co trustee bank with instructions which were later ignored.

The worlds of comedy and entertainment were rocked with the death of comic Joan Rivers following minor elective surgery.   While she may want to be remembered for her talent to make us laugh, there are 5 things we can learn in our estate planning from this tragic loss.

So, you have inherited more than money from your aunt from Boca Raton. She named you successor trustee of her Palm Beach revocable trust.  You inherited the job of trustee !

What if you could save millions of dollars in US Estate Tax by splintering into little pieces (figuratively)? Well, if you have a Palm Beach art collection or are advising Boca Raton families that have a valuable piece of art, then consider fractional discounts and read this recent Court of Appeals (Tax Court) case.

Everyone, it seems, from Miami to Jupiter, Florida is being told by Probate Attorneys Palm Beach that you need a revocable living trust.  In fact, just this morning, financial writer Ivory Johnson of CNBC (online) wrote a great article about estate planning for 99% of the population:  http://www.cnbc.com/id/101934660

Everyone in their estate plan seem to be using a Florida Revocable Trust. That’s right.  From multi-million dollar estates in Boca Raton to more modest Florida citizens in Stuart, Florida, Estate Planning Attorneys Palm Beach are writing revocable trusts for their clients.  And clients are using revocable living trusts to hold their cash, real estate, investments and other valuable assets.

In the world of Palm Beach probate litigation, the word “fraud” is thrown around a lot.  A recent, September 11, 2014 Florida appeals court opinion on fraud serves as a good reminder of 5 things you need to know about fraud in probate litigation.