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Estate Planning




Recent Posts in Estate Planning Category

  • Realtor and Estate Planning Attorney's Guide to Real Estate

    Why My Real Estate Attorney Should Practice Estate Planning The general practice attorney or doctor is a thing of the past. Today, the complexities of law and medicine have resulted in specialization. Purchasing a home in Florida should be handled by a Real Estate Attorney who practices Estate Planning. This article is a brief checklist of important estate planning issues affecting the purchase ...
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  • Art Law: It's Not Always a Pretty Picture!

    This is NOT gold, securities or cash, it is “Art”; precious, difficult to value and highly subjective as to taste. Art is the asset class that is often ignored in the estate planning process. Unlike securities, Art rarely has a title to its ownership, therefore, why bother planning for its disposition, simply take it off the wall (or pedestal) and hand it over to your loved ones without a shred of ...
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  • How Are You Dealing with the Major New Tax Act?

    A year has passed - what do we do now? a) Sit tight. b) Give, give, give. c) Analyze how the new Tax Act affects you and your family. d) None of the above. e) Procrastinate, NOW! To be honest, we do not know that any one of these answers is best. Obviously, as your law firm, we suggest “c” - analyze the impact of the new Tax Law changes on your personal family situation. In this article, we will ...
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  • Donating Real Property to Charity

    Feel Good and Save a Ton of Taxes Donation of real estate can be very rewarding and provide many benefits to the giver and the ultimate recipients of your charity. If you wish to make a wonderful contribution to a charity of a piece of real property, there are a few pointers that you may wish to know before you get too far down the path. This article will highlight some of the issues and provide ...
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  • It's Time to Think About Taxes: Year End Federal and State Tax Strategies

    While there are many year-end tax strategies that stand the test of time, with the recent changes to the federal tax code, it is imperative to understand which changes provide new opportunities and which changes may bring about unintended consequences. The following is a quick checklist including tax strategies, reminders and immediate action steps you may take to ensure you can start 2019 on the ...
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  • Snowbird Traffic Jam: The Mass Migration to Sunshine Savings

    Whether you’re in it for the sunshine, the savings, or both … It’s a great time to be a Floridian! While the new tax changes make moving to Florida seem like a no-brainer, the ideal conditions are likely to raise red flags for tax authorities. If you are planning to change your domicile to Florida in the coming year, it is critical that all details are reviewed with an experienced tax advisor. ...
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  • A Guide to Smooth Probate Administration Involving Real Estate

    With over 60% of Americans owning homes, it is no surprise that the home is often one ofthe largest assets that someone will own at the time of their death. Consequently, selling or buying real estate from an estate can be very tricky, time-consuming andvery expensive for both parties involved in the transaction. While there are times when a person’s estate is well prepared to avoid the probate ...
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  • Advantages of a Florida Revocable Living Trust

    "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently." - Warren Buffet In a similar fashion, most of us spend the majority of our lives carefully and painstakingly accumulating wealth. The last thing we need is an ill-designed plan causing our wealth to flood out faster than it came in. When designing your estate plan, you need ...
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  • Dynasty Trusts in Florida

    It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for. --Robert Kiyosaki If you want to: (a) provide for your children and their descendants by keeping your wealth in the bloodline; (b) protect assets for future generations from creditors and divorcing spouses; and (c) save federal transfer taxes in subsequent ...
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  • How to Build your "TDT" - Trust Dream Team

    You may have been in control of your finances the majority of your life, you pay the bills, file the taxes, make savings and investment decisions, but in the violent, chaotic, and busy world we now live, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stay on top of the ever-changing stock markets, tax rates, and estate laws. More importantly, your golf handicap needs a bit of work. Now more than ever, ...
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  • Back to Basics: A Self-Evaluation of your Estate Plan

    People traditionally think of estate planning and tax savings as one and the same. Today, it is evident, that saving taxes is just the tip of the iceberg. Often, estate planning documents are well-drafted but rarely reviewed after leaving the attorney’s office. Estate planning, however, is a dynamic process that requires continuous care and annual reevaluation. As you go through the following ...
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  • Planning for a Healthy Future

    As we age, the issues of how and where to live begin to loom larger. Current and projected physical and mental decline often drive housing and care decisions. Medical costs alone are escalating and may be difficult to predict. While the majority of Americans successfully age-in-place at home, it is often not possible. Careful management of your health and detailed planning are critical to staying ...
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  • Making the Decision to Transition to a Senior Living Community

    Guest Contributer: Pam Fultz, Community Relations Manager, Vi at Bentley Making the decision to move into a Lifeplan Community can be one of the most important and rewarding decisions that you make as a retiree in Southwest Florida. The quality of life at these communities is enhanced by social opportunities, beautiful amenities, quality dining, and resort style service. With so many options in ...
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  • Choosing The Right Estate Appraisal Firm

    Recent history has seen the value of blue-chip collectibles increase proportionately to the stock market, and with both, at all-time highs, collectors should consider having a qualified appraiser determine the current value of their collection. While an appraisal is the logical first step there is a multitude of additional value-added services offered by professional advisory firms that can yield ...
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  • Tax Cuts & Jobs Act: Brief Overview

    2018 Individual Income Tax Changes Tax rates reduced and brackets increased Standard Deduction “Doubled” Married, filing jointly increased from $13,000 to $24,000 Single, increased from $6,500 to $12,000 Exemptions for taxpayer and dependents of $4,150 each – eliminated Deduction for State & Local Taxes – limited to $10,000 Deduction for Mortgage Interest – mortgages limited to $750,000 vs. ...
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  • Navigating Life Insurance - Part III: Slow and Steady Wins the Race… A Policy That Lasts Your “Whole Life”

    Previously published in FINE Magazine In our last two articles, we explored the differences between Term Life Insurance and Universal Life Insurance . To recap, term life insurance is ideal for short-term liquidity needs with a guaranteed death benefit & universal life insurance provides a permanent solution with more flexibility than whole life. Alas, this leaves us with whole life insurance. ...
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  • Navigating Life Insurance - Part II: The Goldilocks of Life Insurance

    Previously published in FINE Magazine In the first article of our series, we explored the differences between term life insurance and permanent life insurance. Simply stated, the most distinct differences between the two involve longevity. Term life insurance offers coverage for a limited period of time, whereas, permanent life insurance provides coverage until death. Naturally, each life ...
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  • Navigating Life Insurance Part I: Find the Best Policy for your Unique Situation

    Previously published in FINE Magazine There are many great reasons to purchase life insurance. Common uses range from paying final expenses to replacing spousal income to distributing your wealth and business interests evenly amongst heirs. One of the most famous adages is the following: Buy term life and invest the rest. Is it true? A quick online search generates hundreds of articles recapping ...
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  • Disaster Tax Relief Act

    President Trump recently signed into law the Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2017 (the “Act”), providing assistance to those taxpayers impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Among other things, the new law makes it easier for taxpayers to deduct hurricane-related casualty losses, access retirement funds without penalty and deduct charitable contributions made for hurricane relief efforts. For ...
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  • Downsizing 101: Getting Ready for the Transition

    Article originally published in FINE Magainze The saying goes “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” When it’s time to downsize your home, you are the sole decision maker on what is truly valuable to you and what you may wish to give away to family or charity. Previously, we wrote about disposing of tangible personal property including donating to charity, and the care and handling of your ...
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  • Elder Law Essentials: Back to the Basics

    A proper estate and long-term care plan can ensure that our elders receive the care and respect they desire and deserve as they age. Protecting yourself and loved ones from physical and financial harm is crucial, so it is important that personal wishes are evident and made legally binding. Quality of life is the primary focus of most individuals approaching their later years. Assurance that they ...
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  • Top 5 Assisted Living Research Tips

    Researching an Assisted Living Facility is a difficult and complicated process. The decision to move involves many factors including financial, lifestyle and health care needs and preferences. In addition, the emotional factor can never be understated. 1. Start the process early. Finding the right place will take time and it is always better to decide when you aren’t in a crisis mode. Most people ...
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  • Planning for Disability

    Special Needs Trusts In some families there are individuals with special needs whose future must be planned for in different ways. Whether they cope with a physical disability or face other challenges such as autism, it is especially important to insure that optimal care will continue after the passing of their guardians. Selecting the best trust for each unique situation will make a huge ...
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  • Securing Your Second Home

    Florida Vacation Homeowner's Checklist Are you considering becoming an official Floridian? Perhaps you own a vacation home or second residence in the Sunshine State, but are still domiciled up north. If you've already invested or are considering purchasing real estate in Florida, please join us in a review of the important legal issues to consider. Title Considerations Every situation is different ...
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  • Total Return Unitrust Promotes Smooth Sailing

    Imagine sailing a beautiful sailboat without a rudder. The captain may end up sailing in a circle, or worse, sailing directly into a storm. When it comes to drafting trusts, it is essential that your Trustee (Manager) has clear instructions (i.e., a rudder) on how to manage investments and make distributions from the trust. We suggest that you consider using a Total Return Trust with Unitrust ...
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