Let’s say there is a “traditional” scenario where the husband, Jim, works outside of the home and his wife, Annie, takes care of the children and the home. In this “traditional” scenario, Jim feels it is his responsibility to provide for his family and, as part of that, to take care of all the finances.
When someone dies the Last Will & Testament becomes the controlling instrument. Typically, your Last Will & Testament will nominate a personal representative responsible for the administration of your estate including accounting for all of your assets, paying your creditors and distributing your estate to your named beneficiaries.
The last day to file a 2016 Annual Report for all Florida profit corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships is May 1st. File your Annual Report at http://www.sunbiz.org/. Businesses filing after May 1st will be assessed a $400.00 late fee. Detailed instructions on filing your Annual Report can be found at https://efile.sunbiz.org/sbs_ar_instr.html.
Michael and David are a same sex couple who live in the same house, owned by Michael. Michael prepares a will leaving everything he owns to David. Michael is still married to Evelyn who lives in Iowa with their minor child. For various reasons, they never divorced and don’t necessarily intend to do so.
A commonly asked question is, “Should I own my homestead in my trust?” Generally, the answer is, “No.” This is not because of your ad valorem homestead exemption or even your Constitutional protection from the claims of creditors. It is not because we don’t want you to avoid probate.
Bob and Kate are an unmarried couple, neither of whom have children, and who live together in a home owned by Bob, individually. Let’s say Bob dies. The good news is he has a signed will. The bad news is he prepared the will himself, without consulting an attorney. The will leaves his home to Kate, who intends to continue living there just as she has for many years.
The Achieving Better Life Experience Act, or ABLE Act, was signed into law by President Obama in December 2014. ABLE updates the Internal Revenue Code to allow eligible individuals and their families to establish a tax-exempt savings account that allows for disbursements of income tax-free funds for “qualified disability expenses,” including education, transportation, housing, obtaining and maintaining employment, personal support services, assistive technology and health and wellness.
The scenario: Hank and Janice were married, had a daughter together, Elsie, and then got divorced. Hank died intestate, without a will, so pursuant to Florida law, Elsie was the beneficiary of his estate.
What is a trust? Anytime legal terms start to be used, it is easy to get confused, especially with words that have other meanings in our day to day conversations. In this instance, a trust is a legal entity, similar to a corporation, which can own assets like bank accounts and real estate.
Probate is often thought of as a process that is best avoided. There certainly are situations in which probate is not necessary, but it is surprising for some to learn there are benefits which can only be gained by engaging in the probate process. In most cases, probate is an easy and straightforward process.
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