I recently came across a fascinating article on estate planning in the New York Times. It's a quick read and provides an interesting overview of what's happened in estate planning over the past year (and in the year to come) even for those of us Florida estate planning attorneys.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/your-money/estate-planning/09wealth.html

If you have any questions about how this may impact your estate planning, please do not hesitate to contact me a info@law-morris.com for all of your Florida estate planning needs.

- Stuart Morris

Florida Estate Planning: Cartoons for the Estate Planning World

I know, I know, lawyers aren't supposed to have much of a sense of humor. But I came across a great site that has funny -- really funny -- cartoons about Estate Planning: http://stus.com/stus-category.php?cat=TOP&sub=WIL&name=estate+cartoons+will+trust

Of course, if you would like to consult with a qualified Florida estate planning attorney about asset protection, tax planning or estate planning regarding your particular set of circumstances, please call or contact us.

Florida Estate Planning: 2010 Annual Gift Tax Exclusion $13000

The IRS recently announced that the gift tax annual exclusion will remain unchanged in 2010 at $13,000.

The yearly amount of the exclusion is based on the Consumer Price Index and has increased from $10,000 in 1997 to $13,000 in 2009 and 2010. As long as your gifts to an individual are less than the exclusion amount, there is no gift tax return that is required to be filed and no gift taxes are due. Each spouse gets an exclusion so a married couple can actually gift $26000 to each individual without creating a tax liability or necessity for reporting.

With proper gift planning a family can transfer a significant amount of money to their children and grandchildren. Take a family who has 3 kids, each married and each with 2 grandchildren.

This creates 3 kids + 3 spouses + 6 grandchildren. A gift of $13,000 to each by each parent could remove $312,000 a year from your estate. Do this for 10 years and you could remove more $3.1 million. Given that the current tax rate is 45%, this could save $1.4 million in estate taxes.

There are other ways of reducing your estate taxes and you should discuss your objectives and goals with a Florida Estate Planning Attorney or Florida Asset Protection Lawyer who will review your individual circumstances and make recommendations based on them.

Remember that gifting is not for everyone and as you get older and your chance of needing Medicaid increased, gifting can disqualify you from certain government benefits. If there are issues or concerns you should discuss them with your Florida Estate Planning Lawyer.

Florida Estate Planning: Is a Will Contest Clause in Florida Valid? How About a Trust?

Will Contest Clauses are generally included to prevent children or beneficiaries from attempting to dispute their portion of an estate. In some states they are valid and many others like Florida they are not valid by statute.

Given that a No Contest Clause in a Will is invalid in a Florida Probate case, should they be used in Florida? If your will is contested and the end result under the state statute may be the same, it may provide any benefit to include the no contest language.
Today people move quite often and may have assets in other states that do recognize Will Contest clauses. Given that one of these situations may enable a no contest clause to be enforced, it might be a good idea to include them in your Florida Estate Planning Documents.


Under the Florida Trust Code a Florida Revocable Trust is not able to have a contest clause, unless the right to revoke the trust terminated prior to October 1, 1993.
While its not possible to have a no contest clause in a Florida Revocable Trust, Florida does allow a trust to specify the laws of another state to be used in interpreting and administering the trust. So in effect, by drafting your trust correctly, you can have a no contest clause.

There are several ways to accomplish the desired results from a no contest clause in a will or trust. To discuss your specific issues and how one might benefit you, contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Boca Raton Estate Planning Lawyer.

Florida Estate Planning: Review Your Florida Estate Plan

Many of my South Florida Estate Planning clients ask me when and how often they should review their Florida Estate Plan. I like to recommend that people take a look at their situation on a yearly basis and if they notice any of the following, they should make an appointment with their Florida Estate Planning Lawyer.

1. Change or contemplation of change in Marital status;
   
2. Death of spouse;
   
3. You or your spouses' health changes;
   
4. Death or change in the health or marital status of a trustee, executor, guardian, or beneficiary;
   
5. If you change your residence or move to another state;
   
6. Change in or anticipation of the number of children or grandchildren whether by blood or adoption. Consider step-children also;
   
7. Any disabilities, health issues, or significant factors on lifestyle of children or grandchildren;
   
8. If you buy, sell, or contemplate buying or selling a business.
   
9. Upon the discovery of a hereditary issue that will or might affect you in the future; or
   
10. Change in tax law or its been more than two years since you reviewed your plan with your attorney.
    

We offer Florida Estate Planning reviews for our clients and those who have used another attorney in the past. Our goal is to provide the best protection for your and your family members. We often find that even some of the most expensive estate plans do not take into consideration the divorce or issues with your children. While some of us like our children-in-laws better than our own children, many do not want the future ex-spouse of our children to inherit half of our child's inheritance. Please contact Morris Law Group before making any estate planning decisions.

Florida Estate Planning: Are your Estate Planning Documents up to date? How about your Florida Estate Planners?

Recently, I began to think about how many Florida estate planners take their own advice and have documents that are up to date and trusts that are funded and then reviewed by Florida Estate Planning Attorneys.

I first became concerned with my Florida Estate Plan when I was going overseas for an extended time and there had recently been some bombings in the area I was traveling to. My wife refused to go, or let me go, if our plans were not set in writing prior to our departure.

Today, I am thinking that If I did not have plans and if I had a catastrophic injury, it may have been more difficult for my wife to speak on my behalf. What if I have had a heart attack, stroke, or just been unconscious?

In the end, none of these documents was necessary, but it was comforting to know that they were in place if they were needed. While an emergency room may often ask if they exist, is it easy to produce a copy upon admittance? The next thing I will do is keep a copy of them on my iPhone, and my wife's iPhone in case they are needed.

It just goes to show you that you never know when you might need Florida Estate Planning Documents. While my documents are up to date, I know most people do not have up to date Florida Estate Planning Documents. At the Morris Law Group, we practice what we preach because each of ourselves place our family in harms way daily when we drive, walk down the street or get out of bed. If you would like a free review of your Estate Planning Documents under Florida law, let me know and I would be happy to make sure your documents are up to date and you understand what your options and obligations are.

One of the best benefits of a good estate plan is avoiding Florida Probate. To learn what is involved with a Florida probate, consult with a qualified Florida Probate Attorney.

Florida Probate With Living Trust: Is Probate Required?

Is Florida probate required if the decedent had a living trust?

Most people do not transfer all of their assets into a Florida Revocable Trust prior to their death. If their home, or other personal property was not transferred into the trust prior to their death, a Florida probate may still be required to properly dispose of the remaining assets. Often bank accounts, IRA's, land, business interests, or other assets are not transferred property.

The probate will typically take the remaining assets and follow the instructions of the Florida Will to distribute them. If the will directs the assets to a trust it is called a pour-over will.

What happens if the Florida will directs the assets to a non-existent trust. Unless the Florida will contemplates this, the assets will be transferred by the residuary clause in the will or in the case that this does not exist, they will transfer under the Florida intestate statutes or as if there was no will.

If you are looking to find out about Florida beneficiary rights, or how property should be transferred in a Florida probate, contact a Florida Estate Planning Attorney.