Relocating
to Florida
Considering Moving or Changing Domicile to Florida?
Is
a Florida Will necessary?
Recommended Florida Health Care Documents.
Avoiding Double Tax - Dual Residence.
Florida Intangible Tax.
Many
people have selected Southwest Florida for the sunshine, beautiful
beaches, great golf courses and last but not least very favorable
tax structure.
- No
Florida State Personal Income Tax
- Florida
Intangibles Tax - Exemptions
- No
Florida State Gift Tax
- Low
Florida Estate Tax
- Homestead
- Asset Protection
There
are numerous advantages to changing your "domicile"
to Florida in addition to the great weather. Florida presently
has no state income tax and no state gift tax. The estate
tax is equal to the federal state credit. Therefore, the Florida
estate tax does not add any additional tax to the overall
federal estate tax.
Florida
does have an intangibles tax; however, there are numerous
exemptions to this modest tax.
Is
a Florida Will necessary?
While a new Will is not required, it is often appropriate
to have your present Will revised to comply with the requirements
and benefits provided under the Florida Statute. Be sure your
Will is executed properly and the Will is self-proved. Take
advantage of the use of the separate writing statute that
allows you to dispose of tangible personal property with ease
of a casual separate document that you can change frequently
without the expense of an attorney.
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Recommended
Florida Health Care Documents
Florida has evolved tremendously in the last 10 years in the
area of advanced directives. The statutes pertaining to living
wills, health care surrogates, powers of attorney and guardianships
have all been recently created or redesigned.
One
of the most important aspects of estate planning is the appointment
of a person or persons who will make medical decisions for
you if you become incapacitated.
A
Florida Living Will that states in general that you do not
wish to be kept alive by heroic means if there is no reasonable
probability that you will come out of a vegetative state.
A
Designation of Health Care Surrogate appoints a person or
persons to make all health care decisions for you if you are
unable to give informed consent. An example is whether to
operate or use certain medical treatment on your behalf, such
as chemotherapy.
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Avoiding
Double Tax - Dual Residence
Upon moving to Florida it is essential that you take the necessary
steps to establish Florida as your "domicile" and
affirmatively state that you have moved from your prior domicile.
This does not mean you may not have two residences (or more).
The determination of domicile is based on your particular
facts and circumstances.
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Florida
Intangible Tax
While there is no state income tax in Florida, there is
a 1 mil intangible tax. As the name indicates the tax
is imposed on intangibles only, not on tangible personal
or real property. There are many exemptions to the intangible
tax. A few examples are cash, Florida municipal securities
and pension assets. There is also an small dollar exemption
designed to eliminate the tax on small estates.
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