The beloved Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the 2015 estate and gift tax limits. The federal estate tax exemption has been raised to 5.43 million dollars per person and the gift exemption has stayed at $14,000. These numbers are increasingly important to those that wish to whittle down their estates by making annual gifts to family members.
Waiting on your inheritance can get frustrating. It seems like every other day the Personal Representative has another update or document for you to sign but where is the inheritance? Every state is different but here are some things to consider in a Florida estate administration.
A Self-Proving Affidavit attached to your Will or Codicil (an amendment to a Will) could save your2014-07-13 Florida Scenes & Nightime WPB 066.JPG friends and family quite a headache in the future, and even better save them some money. It may sound complicated, but its one additional page to your Will, so before you click away, here are some of the benefits this documents can bring.
People make trusts and liquidate them for a multitude of reasons. Some are to protect against creditors. Others colloquially called “spendthrift trusts” worry about wasteful heirs. Times change though, and sometimes a trust needs to be terminated. Maybe the circumstances has changed, maybe the current set up is inconsistent with the original purpose of the trust, either way at some point the question may arise: how do I terminate this pesky trust?
Wills are something everyone needs but no one likes to talk about. It seems distasteful to discuss and often the silence creates rumors, rumors that can be costly. Get the facts. Did my marriage invalidate a will? Does dying intestate mean everything is given to the State? Here are some of the most common we hear everyday and a quick recap of the actual law in Florida.
The world lost a great comedian and actor when, in 2014, we learned that Robin Williams took his own life. Now, the Robin Williams estate is being “probated” and we find that his 3rd wife is at odds with his adult children from a prior relationship. Are we surprised? “Not at all” say most probate litigators. Here are 5 things to learn from the Robin Williams Estate.
Estate planning can be complicated and taxing, to say the least, and those who go about it alone may find that a single mistake can have big effects. Minor problems might only result in some unnecessary expense or delayed inheritance for the heirs. Other mistakes, however, will waste unnecessary millions in estate taxes or even cause the estate to be passed to unintended heirs! Below is a list of some common problems encountered.
President Obama wants to change the US Estate tax, after MAJOR and significant changes to the estate tax were made by his predecessors. What does all this mean to US taxpayers and business owners?
There are numerous ways that a will can be contested in the State of Florida, but one of the main reasons a will could be challenged is if the “testator“, the person who signed the will, did not have “testamentary capacity” to sign a will in Florida.
One of the most common questions we get asked by our clients is “what happens to someone’s debt when he or she dies?” More and more heirs of Florida inheritances are finding themselves overcome with debt from devalued properties, credit card bills, and other sources. Palm Beach probate litigation attorneys know that the proper method for dealing with debt after death is largely individualized and relies heavily on how Florida Probate law treats the specific type of debt, and estate asset the heirs are dealing with.