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.
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.
What Do I Do if Someone is Mishandling the Estate?
Video Summary
What do I do if someone is mishandling the administration of an estate? If you’re a beneficiary, then you need to hire an attorney who can then petition the court to have the personal representative of the estate removed and cite how they’re mishandling it. And if they’ve taken any money, you can also ask that they be held responsible for it. It’s called a surcharge. Surcharge, the personal representative. You’ll need to hire an attorney to do that. And so if you have any questions about trying to remove a personal representative or state being mishandled, you can call me at (727) 847-2288.
Can I Use My Mother’s Power of Attorney, After Her Death to Closes Her Bank Account?
Video Summary
Can I use my mother’s power of attorney after her death to close her bank account? No, you cannot. Powers of attorney terminate at death so you’re not able to use the power of attorney to close your mother’s bank account. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.