How Does Implementation Of Estate Planning Prevent The Need For Guardianship?
Video Summary
How does the implementation of estate planning prevent the need for a guardianship?
Essentially, estate planning documents will typically enable you to name a person to act on your behalf in the event of incapacity. There are two very specific documents that pretty much go to this point. The first document would be a durable power of attorney. A properly drafted durable power of attorney will not only name a primary agent to act on your behalf, but it will also name a successor agent to act on your behalf in the event that the primary agent either becomes incapacitated themselves or should predecease you or be unable to act. That’s really important. If you do have a power of attorney, make sure that you take a look at it and do ensure that it does have a provision for a successor agent.
Essentially, a guardianship will need to be established for a person in the event that they are incapacitated and that they do not have any known advanced directives, such as a power of attorney whereby they have named somebody previous to their incapacity to act on their behalf. That’s why a lot of times a guardianship is necessary for someone that simply doesn’t have a power of attorney.
I’ve also encountered situations where a person may have a power of attorney but unfortunately that power of attorney did not name a successor agent and the primary agent has predeceased the actual principal, i.e. the person needing somebody to act on their behalf. That’s why it’s really important that you execute estate planning documents early in life, that way you already have that set up in the event that something should happen.
The other document that I was referencing is called a “Declaration of Pre-Need Guardian.” That document is a document that you execute while you have capacity, which essentially allows you to name the person that you would like to act on your behalf in the event that a guardianship of your person, property, or both, is necessary to protect your best interest. That is also a part of our estate planning documents here at the law firm of Waller and Mitchell.
If you have any questions regarding the implementation of estate planning documents or you would like to have your current estate planning documents reviewed please give me call here at the law firm of Waller and Mitchell at 727-847-2288.
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What Can My Special Needs Trust Pay For Without Affecting My Disability Benefits?
Video Summary
What can my special needs trust pay for without affecting my disability benefits? Well, that’s kind of a twofold question. First and foremost, your special needs trust would really determine what your trustee of your trust could essentially spend for your benefit, if you’re the beneficiary, so if you’re the person with the special needs with respect to your benefit. A lot of times special needs trust will specifically say that the trustee can expend funds for the beneficiary’s benefit with respect to things that are not covered by the government entitlement programs, so things such as necessary, so things above and beyond the regular medication that you’re getting through government entitlement programs.
A good example of that would be therapy devices. In the instance where, let’s say, you have Medicare because of your special needs, Medicare is currently paying for a basic wheelchair. Let’s say, hypothetically, you need a motorized wheelchair or you need a wheelchair that is very specific to your disability. If you’re Medicare premium will not cover that, then your special needs trust does generally allow the authority for your trustee to expend sums of money for things such as that wheelchair, because again, that’s going to be for your benefit. That’s not going to supplement the actual entitlement that you’re getting from Medicare, i.e. the benefit, but it’s going to exceed that benefit. That is a really good example of something that would be able to be covered.
A lot of times special needs trusts also have provisions that allow for the trustee to expend sums of money on things such as vacations, things such as continuing family contact for the beneficiary. That would allow for plane tickets, travel, things like that. That way this person, i.e. the beneficiary, the person with the special needs, would be still able to maintain their standard of life with respect to keeping connections with their family and things of that nature.
Those are just some of the examples with respect to things that your trustee can do and expend on your behalf with respect to your special needs trust that will not affect entitlement to your government programs. If you have any other questions on special needs trust, please give me a call here at Waller & Mitchell, at 727-847-2288
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Can A Person Fight Eminent Domain?
Video Summary
Can a person fight eminent domain? The answer to that question is absolutely yes they can. Florida has a very good statute as far as eminent domain’s concerned. What it provides for is that when there’s a taking by a governmental entity or someone authorized to go through eminent domain, they make an offer to you and if you say, “No, I don’t want to sell it for that.” Then you can fight the eminent domain, however, if you later settle, you don’t have to pay your attorney fees and the attorney is entitled to, I believe it’s 1/3 of the difference between whatever the initial offer was by the governmental agency taking your property, and how much you actually receive. You receive the net amount and the attorney fees are paid by the condemning authority.
Challenging the condemning authority is very difficult to accomplish, but yes, you can do that and you can have a trial as far as that’s concerned. Usually the governmental, the condemning authority, has what they call a quick take program and they go in there and try and take the property right away, but if you’re going to fight the eminent domain, you need to show that they don’t have to take your property and it’s not necessarily in the best interest and probably your attorney who, if you call me I will be glad to send you the right direction as far as the attorney to do that, to try and negotiate with the condemning authority as to whether or not their plans can be modified or why they need to take your property.
Of course, by the time they get around to … Hopefully they’re starting the process of trying to take your property before all the plans are put in place, because you can imagine what the engineering is for a major highway or whatever and then you want them to change the plans and not take your property. The answer to your question is yes, you can fight eminent domain. The good news is is the governmental agency pays your attorney fees if they are successful and so the attorney gets paid in addition to you getting paid if the governmental condemning authority is successful.
I’m not sure how they measure the attorney fees if you are successful in defeating the taking itself. If you have a question, or have an eminent domain situation, give me a call at 727-847-2288 and I’ll head you in the right direction. Thank you.
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When Do You Apply For Homestead Exemption?
Video Summary
When do you apply for Homestead Exemption? Well, first off, let’s talk about what you have to have in order to be entitled to Homestead Exemption. You must own and occupy the property before December 31st to apply for Homestead for the following year. In addition to that, you must be a resident of the state of Florida, and furthermore, that you’re not receiving any Homestead Exemptions or any entitlement as a result of being a resident of another state. You need to be sure to do that. If you do, you have until March 1st of the following year in which to apply.
If you buy your property, or acquire this property, it become homestead during the year, you don’t have to wait to apply. You can apply at any time as soon as we get title to the property. I suggest to most folks that I deal with, particularly in a closing, I suggest that they go ahead and do it right away. Get their driver’s license changed, particularly from out of state, to show what their new address is, and tell them to apply right away so it doesn’t slip through the cracks. By getting Homestead Exemption, it exempts the first $25,000 of your tax valuation, or your assessed valuation, or taxable value that the property appraiser puts on your property, from taxes.
That will save you about $500. You pay tax on the taxable value of your property between $25,000 and $50,000. Then, from $50,000 to $75,000, you again exempt everything but school taxes. That saves you about another $300, so there is an immediate savings of $800. If you’ve seen those info commercials, there’s even more when you have Homestead Exemption. Under the Florida Constitution, there’s the Save Our Homes Amendment, which says that once you have Homestead Exemption, your assessed valuation will not increase by the lesser of cost of living or 3%, whichever is less.
As the property value increases and the assessed valuation increases, your taxable value, which I have mentioned a couple of times, stays at a very low level. The whole idea is to keep you in your home so the taxes don’t price you out of it. The question is, be sure if you bought your house, you moved into this home, and you’re not getting exemption from any other state, you need to hustle on down to the property appraiser and apply for a Homestead Exemption. If you’re not a dinosaur like me, and you’re involved with computers or whatever, I believe that you can go online and apply for Homestead Exemption.
Don’t be tempted to fudge as far is if you’re getting exemption in another state, or make sure you’re not. The penalties of getting Homestead Exemption and they find out are very severe. They put a big lien against your property if you do have Homestead in another state, and you have interest. It’s not pretty. Be sure you don’t have … If you have property in another state, that you’re not getting any exemption because you have to swear to that when you apply for Homestead Exemption. Get out there and get your Homestead Exemption before March 1. I’m not sure whether you can apply on March 1 or it has to be before. I think you can apply as late as March 1, but don’t procrastinate. If you have any questions, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
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