Does a Living Trust Avoid Estate and Probate Taxes?
Video Summary
Does a Living Trust avoid Estate Taxes? The answer to the question is no, it does not, and that right now the Estate Tax limitation for the federal government is up over $12 million. And if you’re a resident estate of Florida, when you pass away, there is no Estate Taxes. The time that you would be subject to Estate Taxes if you’re a resident of Florida is if you own any real estate or the Trust owns any real estate outside the state of Florida then wherever the real estate situated may be subject to taxation. Many people set up a Living Trust to avoid probate, and if all the assets are titled in the name of the Trust, then it’s properly set up, then you can avoid probate. A simpler way of avoiding probate is how to retitle your assets so that they automatically pass to whoever your beneficiaries are. You have any questions about how to set your state up to avoid probate, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
What Can I Do If I Feel My Loved Ones Will Was Written Under Duress?
Video Summary
What can I do if I feel my loved one’s Will was written under duress? Well, you can file a Will contest provided that you are a heir or a child or an heir to the decedent or a beneficiary under a prior Will. You can file a Will contest asserting that the decedent who signed the Will was under duress and not it was in a weakened condition and taken advantage of, so it would be undue influence. As far as signing the Will, it’s difficult to do and to prove that Will contests are very expensive and so you need to really have medical records as far as that’s concerned, and probably a substantial amount of money involved in order to invest into a Will contest and to verify that you have standing. If you have any questions, please call me at (727) 847-2288.
Do I Need a Trust For My Child With Special Needs?
Video Summary
Do I need a Trust for my child who has special needs? The answer to the question is, yes, you do. If you plan on leaving any money, or the child is to receive any money for their benefit. The purpose of the Special Needs Trust is to have a independent party called the Trustee to hold any money for the benefit of the special needs child and not require them to using the money that would disqualify them, disqualify the special needs from any entitlement from the state or federal agency. So, if you want to provide for a child with special needs, you need to have a Special Needs Trust and have that money be held by trustee and specifically provide that the money is not used in any way that would disqualify the special needs child from any entitlements from state or federal programs. If you have any questions about a special needs trust, you may call me at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos
What Property Can Go Into a Living Trust?
Video Summary
What property can be transferred into a Living Trust? Any real estate can be conveyed to the trustee of your Living Trust as long as the people who own it sign a deed, conveying it to the trustee. The conveyance needs to be to the trustee, not to the trusts. Since the Trust is simply a written document, it’s not advisable to transfer your homestead property into the Trust because it has any number of protections, and so it’s best to treat that separately and can be addressed so that it doesn’t have to go through probate, but any property can be transferred into a Living Trust. If you have any questions, well give me a call. My phone number is (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos
How Do I Obtain a Death Certificate?
Video Summary
How do I obtain a death certificate? The easiest way to do is to order it at the time of death from the funeral home and they will supply you with death certificates. It’s usually whoever’s paying for the funeral. They ask them how many death certificates they want a Florida resident. There are two forms of the death certificate. One is what they call a short form, which is on a shorter piece of paper, which does not show the cause of death or the complete social security number. The other one is called the long form, which is on legal size paper and does show the social security number and the cause of death. You can obtain the short form death certificate. If you don’t do it through the Secretary of State, you can make application to the state. I’m not sure whether it’s through the Bureau of Vital Statistics or just whom you make that application to obtain that you’ll have a more difficult time getting one with the cause of death and the social security number. An attorney can assist as far as obtaining these death certificates, and they simply need to indicate the purpose of obtaining these death certificates in Florida in other states. I’ve found it almost impossible to get copies of death certificates. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.