If I Set Up a Trust, How Do I Fund It Properly?
Video Summary
If I set up a Trust, how do I fund it properly? You need to retitle your accounts or assets in the name of the trustee of your trust. Usually it’s your revocable trust, such as Roland d Waller as trustee of the Roland d Waller revocable trust dated July 4th, 2025. So, all the assets need to be titled in the name of the trustee of the trust, not just the name of the Trust. Since that is just a document, the trustee is bound by the provisions of the Trust, so it’s fairly easy to go to your banks and sign a new signature card and move your, or change the account, or move the accounts into the name of your name As trustee with real estate, you need to have deeds prepared to transfer the real estate into your trust. As far as LLCs, you need to change the membership interest to your Trust and with stock you need to make that transfer on death. So, these, it’s important that you retitle your assets and the name of the trustee of your Trust. If you have any questions about this, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
If I Move to Another State, Will My Current Will Still Be Valid?
Video Summary
If I move to another state, will my current WILL still be valid? More than likely it will be valid and that it is usually, if it’s valid where they sign the Will in whatever state it is, it’ll be recognized here in Florida. I do suggest that you probably get a new will whenever you move to another state to see that it complies with Florida law. Florida has a unique law, which I think is something unusual about Florida is they require that a personal representative that you designate be a Florida resident or related by blood, so on air. So, you can’t name your New York lawyer or your out-of-state lawyer as your executor since they’re not related, nor are they residents of the state of Florida. But your will would probably be valid, although there may not be some provisions. So, if you move to another state, suggest that you review your estate planning documents, including your power of attorney, healthcare surrogate and durable power of attorney, as well as your will and trust to see if they comply with Florida law and or if there’s any changes or that you want them to be controlled by Florida law. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos, Wills
What Are the Tax Implications for My Heirs Under My Current Estate Plan?
Video Summary
What are the tax implications for my heirs under my current estate plan? Well, if you are a Florida resident, whenever you pass away, the state of Florida has done away with the state taxes so that there’s no estate taxes due to the state of Florida. The federal government has raised the estate tax limitation to just under $14 million. So if your assets don’t equal $14 million, well there won’t be any federal estate tax. If you own real estate outside the state of Florida, that state may impose the estate tax on whatever the property is in that particular state. As far as income tax is that beneficiaries do not have to pay income tax on assets that they receive from the estate or trust as a result of your death. Under the Internal Revenue Code, you get what they call a step up basis for the date of death value of the property. By way of example, that if I purchased a property for $200,000 and 2000 and then I pass away in 2025 and the property is worth $400,000, my beneficiaries take the property for $400,000. That’s called a step up in basis. So if they would sell the property for $400,000, there would be no tax. If they sell it for more than the $400,000, the difference between the 400,000 what they sell it for would be long-term capital gains. If you have any questions concerning this, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos
What Happens If a Beneficiary Listed in My Will Dies Before Me?
Video Summary
What happens if a beneficiary listed in my Will dies before me? Well, usually a Will, whenever they’re drafted, makes provision to say what happens to the devise where you’re leaving something to someone and says, in the event that the beneficiary dies before me, I direct that this devise either lapse and becomes a part of the residual portion of my estate, or in the alternative goes to their children or such as their children who survived me. Another way that you may see that in a Will is whenever you have several beneficiaries and you say that I leave my estate to two or three beneficiaries and equal shares per capita. What that means is, is then you count the number of heads that are alive at the time of your death, and that’s who would receive it. So if one of ’em would die before you, then the other two out of the three would receive the estate. The other term that is used is per stirpes or strips it looks like, and that means that if one of the beneficiaries would die, it would go to their children or heirs. So that was what happens in the event that you beneficiary dies. Before you do, if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
Can A Trust Protect My Assets from Creditors, Lawsuits, Or Long Term Care Costs?
Video Summary
Can a trust protect my assets from creditors, lawsuits long-term care costs? The answer is no. A revocable trust does not protect your assets from any of those, and that you look through the trust to see who controls the asset and who the beneficiary is, and so that it is a myth that many people have that they think if they transfer their assets into a trust that is protected from the claims accreditors. Also, as far as applying for Medicaid, if you need to have long-term care, again, the assets in the trust and the income is considered yours and you have to apply for it. Even the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t require you to get a separate federal identification number if you’re the trustee of your trust. Now, if you set up an irrevocable trust, then that’s a different story. Then it will protect your assets. However you lose control, you can have any control over your assets, and so there’s still a five-year lookback period for if you go into skilled nursing care, but I don’t drive irrevocable trust and that I don’t like the idea you’re giving up control of your assets and what happens to them. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Trusts, Videos