What Does Homestead Mean?
Video Summary
Legislation related to the term “homestead” is set forth in multiple parts of the Florida state constitution. A component of these laws relates to real estate exemption. Here are some details of Florida’s homestead laws:
– A homeowner can exempt the first $25,000 of the assessed value of the home.
– In Pasco County, this would save someone roughly $500 in taxes.
– The second $25,000 of the home’s value ($25,001 – $50,000) is fully taxes.
– The third $25,000 of the home’s value ($50,001 – $75,000) is exempt from all taxes except for school tax.
– In Pasco County, this would save someone roughly $300 in taxes.
– The “Save Our Homes” amendment states that the assessed value of a house cannot increase annually by more than 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less.
– The exemption also provides a protection from creditors so that they cannot attempt to collect on a debt from the value of the house.
Who qualifies for the Homestead Exemption?
– You must be a Florida resident.
– You must own the property in question by December 31 of the year for which you will claim exemption.
– You must occupy the property as your primary residence.
– You must apply for the exemption by March 1 of the year following the year for which you will claim exemption.
If you have questions regarding the homestead laws and how to protect your property, call the Law Offices of Waller & Mitchell at (727) 847-2288 today.
- Published in Real Estate, Videos
Do I Need a Will?
Video Summary
You may wonder, Do I need a will? The simple answer is: Yes.
“But,” you may reply, “I don’t have any assets.” Whether or not that’s true, preparing a will can do more than just protect any assets currently in your name. Your will becomes effective at the date of your passing, and it is impossible to predict exactly what you will have at that time. Thus, it would be prudent to provide legal documentation in advance so that whatever you own at the time you pass will be distributed as you would have preferred.
In addition, if you have minor children, a will can and should stipulate who will care for them in the event that you pass away. You should also give consideration to how the children’s money should be cared for. In some instances the individual(s) you would like to care for the children will not be the same one(s) who you want in charge of their money.
For help in preparing a will to best suit your needs, please call our office at (727) 847-2288.
What is a Living Will?
Video Summary
Hi. I’m Chip Waller. I get questions from time to time about what is a living will. Well, often when you hear of a living will, people are referring to a dying declaration. A living will or a dying declaration says that you do not want your life to be prolonged artificially, and you direct and authorize your healthcare surrogate or a person who you designated in your living will to discontinue life support in three different circumstances: One, if you have an end-stage condition; two, if you have a terminal condition; and three, if you’re in a permanent vegetative state.
In order to have life support discontinued, first the physicians will make the determination that you’re not going to be with us that much longer. Also, you must be in an unconscious state, because if you’re in a conscious state you are then able to make this decision yourself. Third, the person who you designate to discontinue life support can exercise their own judgment as to when and whether or not life support is discontinued. Of course you want them to follow your wishes and do not wish to be prolonged artificially. Just because they discontinue life support does not necessarily mean they’re terminating your life. You’re being allowed to die naturally without any artificial means to keep you alive.
If you’re interested in having a living will prepared or other estate documents, give us a call at (727) 847-2288.
What is an Easement?
Video Summary
I represent many real estate owners who many times do not understand or know what an easement is, and usually they see an easement on their survey of their property, which is a dashed line. Well, an easement is a right of someone else to use your property. Most of the time, it represents the right of a utility company or a public utility to use a portion of your property to run their utility lines, and it’s a defined area on your property that they have a right to use.
Other times, it’s for the right for ingress and egress or a driveway or access to the property. In that case, you have what they call a burdened property, where the easement runs across someone’s property, and that’s called a burdened property. And then, you have the benefitted property, which is the property who is going to benefit or gets to use the burden property to gain access to the property. So, easements have two parts; the people who have the burden or the easement that encumbers their property; and then you have the benefit, which is the people or the persons or entities who have a right to use the property.
That’s an overview of easements. They’re much more complicated than that, but that’s a brief explanation of easements. If you have any other questions about the title to your property, please give me a call at (727) 847-228. Thank you.
- Published in Real Estate, Videos
Excluding Someone From a Will
Video Summary
Whenever I prepare wills for my clients, from time to time I’m asked to provide a dollar for someone they do not wish to inherit from them. I always advise the client not to provide a dollar because it is almost impossible to administer that if someone has been left out of your will. Instead of leaving them a dollar, you only need to put in your will that you intentionally make no provision and you name the person or category of persons who you do not wish to inherit from you.
So, whenever you have a will drafted and you wish to exclude someone, the solution is not to leave them a dollar but to specifically provide in the will that you expressly make no provision for them. This is so that they are unable to contest the will on the basis that you forgot who they were, particularly if it’s a child or grandchild. And therefore, you simply name them in the will, that you’re not making provisions for them.
If you’re interested in having a will drafted, please give us a call at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.