Video Summary

When can I apply for a homestead exemption?  You can apply as soon as you become the owner of the property and become a permanent resident of the state of Florida and move into the property that you purchase.  When you make application, you’re applying for the next calendar year, so if you buy a property in 2012 and you move into the property and you own it, you can apply at any time up until March 1, 2013 for homestead exemption.

There are two exemptions.  One exemption is for the first $25,000.00, which exempts about $500.00 in taxes.  There’s an additional $25,000.00 exemption with the assessed value between $50,000.00 and $75,000.00 and that exempts everything but school taxes, which will save you approximately $300.00.  So, you can apply as soon as you have your recorded deed or to show that the proof of ownership – you occupy the property and you’re a permanent resident in the state of the Florida. 

How do you show that you’re a resident of the state of Florida?  Get a Florida driver’s license.  That’s the first step, which I understand’s not particularly easy anymore with all the identification you need (but that’s a topic for another video I guess) and also if you register to vote, that’s another good indication. 

You can’t have any homestead exemptions from any other state, if you own property in more than one state.  However, you can apply as soon as possible, but it’s for the following year.  If you have any more questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

Who qualifies for homestead exemption?  First, homestead exemption is something that you apply for before January 1st of any year which you wish to obtain homestead exemption.  The application must be made on or before March 1st of a particular year.  By way of example, if you bought a home December 23, 2011, and you moved into the home, then you could apply for a homestead exemption in 2012, and you have until March 1 of 2012.  Now, in order to be qualified, besides owning and occupying the property, you must be a Florida resident. 

You cannot be a resident of another state and have two homestead exemptions. And you have to put this on the application- that you don’t have homestead in any other state.  In order to qualify for homestead exemption, you have to own the home prior to December 31st of the preceding year and you must be a resident of the state of Florida and occupy the property.  You cannot have two homesteads, whether they be in Florida or another state.  Our property appraiser, Mike Wells, researches this and will disqualify you for your homestead exemption if you have an exemption in another state and there are substantial penalties involved, also.

From time to time folks want to know, “Can I get a homestead on the property here and my wife get a homestead on a property up north?”  I don’t suggest your trying to do that- it may fail.  If you’re a husband and wife, then you’re considered a family unit, and they may not allow the above.  You also would not want to have to defend your actions if they found out later on.  You would need to discuss that with the property appraiser at the time you apply for homestead exemption, whether here in Pasco County, or with any property appraiser. 

So, in order to get a homestead exemption, be sure you’re a resident in the state of Florida and you’ve owned the property prior to the year you apply.  If you bought the property on January 2, 2012, you can’t get homestead exemption until 2013.  One last note is that you can apply for homestead exemption as soon as you get the property, up until March 1 of the following year.  If you have any questions, call me at (727) 847-2288.  Thank you.

Video Summary

What is a homestead exemption?  Under our Florida constitution, it provides that each property owner is entitled to exempt the first $25,000.00 of their home from taxes, provided that they are a Florida resident and applied for this exemption.  In addition to the first $25,000.00, there’s an additional $25,000.00 exemption for the assessed value between $50,000.00 and $75,000.00.  The difference between the first $25,000.00 and the second $25,000.00 is the school taxes are not included in the second $25,000.00.  So, if you apply for homestead exemption and the assessed value of your property is $75,000.00 or more, then you will save approximately $800.00.  In order to apply for a homestead exemption, you must own the home prior to the year which you apply for a homestead exemption and you must be a resident of the state of Florida and reside in the home; you need to be a permanent resident in the state of Florida. 

You cannot claim homestead exemption from anyone else or any other state or any other place, so you can’t have two homestead exemptions.  Your homestead exemption is provided for under the Florida constitution and you save about $800.00 a year in taxes with a homestead exemption.  In addition to homestead exemption, they have Save Our Homes Constitutional Amendment, which once you apply, it locks in your assessed valuation for that particular year, and the constitution provides that the assessed value will not increase by more than the cost of living index or three percent, whichever is less.  Lately, the values have been declining rather than increasing, but if we get back into a market whenever the values continue to increase, then, Save Our Homes can be a huge benefit to property owners. 

Also, I might suggest it if you’re selling your property here in Florida and either downsizing or moving – or increasing your homestead, you can transfer that.  It’s called portability, so be sure to tell your property appraiser when you apply for a homestead exemption on your new home that you’re transferring your homestead and ask them whether or not you can get any benefit by transferring your homestead exemption from one house to another.  If you have any questions about what is a homestead, you can give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

What is a ‘Ladybird deed?’  A ‘Ladybird deed’ is a conveyance by an owner of real property, wherein they convey the property usually to a relative or a friend and they reserve to themselves a life estate.  In addition to a life estate, they also reserve additional powers and rights to the property, such as the ability to sell or transfer the property during their lifetime and to retain all the proceeds.

The reason why most people execute these deeds is to avoid probate.  With this deed, if they have their accounts as ‘payable on death’, there’s no probate involved.  If they have a brokerage account as ‘transfer on death’, where they have their real estate and don’t want to lose the benefits of their homestead exemption if in joint names (because of certain ramifications).  They also aren’t disqualified for Medicaid with a Ladybird deed; your homestead is not counted if you happen to have Medicaid.

The deed was developed by an elder law lawyer who set it up for the very purpose to avoid probate (which we use quite often), and also not disqualify the parties from obtaining Medicaid (as it being a conveyance of a gift).  You can use it on any real property that you like.

Some people say, “How did it get the name ‘Ladybird?’”  Well, the author (or the person who came up with this and published it in his elder law manual) named various deeds after famous persons.  And this deed’s named after Ladybird Johnson, and so therefore, the name ‘Ladybird’.

So it’s a Ladybird deed which is your ability to transfer the property after you pass away to a loved one (or whoever you’d like, for that matter) but retain all the rights of ownership during your lifetime as to not have it disqualify you from Medicaid; and/or to retain all of your rights, as far as homestead exemption is concerned.  So it’s a nice estate-planning tool if you have a simple estate.

If you’d like to have a Ladybird deed prepared or discuss it, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.  Thank you.

Video Summary

“What is a life estate?”  Usually, it has to do with real property, or when the time period in which you own something is measured by a life.  So, therefore, it’s for an indefinite period of time.  We usually encounter life estates when you’re dealing with real property, particularly with a homestead.  (Under our Florida constitution, homestead means where you reside.)  If you die married, then a life estate passes to your spouse with the remainder interest passing to your children.

So, the life estate is measured by the life of the widow, and she gets to use the property during her lifetime.  And then, upon her death, the decedents’ children receive the remainder interest, and they’re called remainder men and she’s called a life tenant, and so that is whenever you usually encounter a life estate.  The homestead statute has recently changed and now the widow does have an election to take a half-interest instead of a life estate.  That is one of the areas where life estates are created– through our Florida constitutional homestead – when the decedent dies, survived by a spouse and children.

The other time that you see a lot of life-estate deeds is in estate planning or elder law planning.  When a person owns real property and they want to see that it passes to any particular individual, (as long as they’re not married) they can deed the property to an individual and reserve a life estate.  And that has been expanded upon by what we call Lady Bird Deeds or enhanced life-estate deeds, and this came about as a result of an elder law lawyer preparing these deeds so that they would not disqualify his clients from obtaining Medicaid.  So, if you have a regular life-estate deed, it’s a completed gift of you convey the remainder interest.

A Lady Bird Deed, however, says that not only does the life tenant reserve the right to use the property during their lifetime, they also reserve the right to sell the property, transfer the property to anyone they would like and they don’t have to account for the remainder men for any monies that they receive from the sale of it, or if they mortgage the property.  The origin of the word “Lady Bird” comes from the author naming the various deeds he had in his publication after famous persons.  The Lady Bird Deed is named after Lady Bird Johnson.  So, that dates how long it’s been around and the author of the Lady Bird Deed, or the enhanced life-estate deed.

So, a life estate is measured by the life of a particular person and is usually created by someone conveying property to their children and reserving a life estate, or through our constitutional homestead, where the surviving widow receives a life estate and then the balance or the remainder goes to the decedent’s children.  So, if you have any other questions or would like a Lady Bird Deed or to do some estate planning to avoid probate, give me a call at 727-847-2288.  Thank you.