Fort Pierce Office Hosts “The End of the Perfect Storm of Estate Planning Is Nearing: Planning for the Remainder of 2012”

By Julia Thomas | October 25, 2012

2011 and 2012 have presented a unique environment for estate planning, with record high transfer tax exemptions and near record low values and rates. However, beginning in 2013, exemptions are scheduled to plummet while tax rates are scheduled to increase. This presentation will highlight planning opportunities for you and your clients for the remainder of…

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H.B. 503 – Permit Extensions for Two Years

By Julia Thomas | October 22, 2012

In 2009, 2010 and 2011, the Florida legislature passed legislation giving landowners the right to obtain two-year extensions of certain types of development permits simply by sending a letter to the permitting agency (S.B. 360, S.B. 1752 and H.B. 7207). This year the Florida legislature passed H.B. 503, which contains provisions very similar to the…

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Annual Exclusion for Gifts Increases to $14,000 in 2013

By Julia Thomas | October 18, 2012

As predicted, the gift tax annual exclusion amount will be increased from $13,000 in 2012 to $14,000 in 2013.  The IRS announced the change today.  Below is the relevant excerpt from Rev. Proc. 2012-41 that will be published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin on November 5. .19 Annual Exclusion for Gifts. (1) For calendar year…

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Dean Mead at the 47th Annual Southern Federal Tax Institute: Oct. 15 – 18, 2012

By Julia Thomas | October 15, 2012

Steve Looney, Charlie Egerton, Lauren Detzel and Christine Weingart are all participating in the 47th Annual Southern Federal Tax Institute in Atlanta, Georgia during the week of October 15-18, 2012. The Southern Federal Tax Institute, Inc. is a non-profit corporation organized for the exclusive purpose of developing and presenting annually a professional institute covering current…

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The Time to Act is Now! Take Advantage of 2012 Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Laws Before It Is Too Late

By Julia Thomas | October 15, 2012

On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the “2010 Act”), which substantially increased the amount of property an individual could give away during their lifetime free of transfer tax. Specifically, the 2010 Act raised the lifetime gift tax exemption from $1…

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New Developments in Florida’s Homestead Law

By Julia Thomas | October 12, 2012

Florida’s homestead laws and protections have been referred to by the commentators as Florida’s ‘legal chameleon’ because like a chameleon it is ever changing “to accord with the background against which it is viewed”.  There are, however, certain “distinct contours that remain distinguishable amid the camouflage of varying factual situations” (Crosby and Miller, Our Legal…

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Planning Options if Individual Tax Rates Rise to Pre-2003 Levels

By Julia Thomas | September 17, 2012

If Congress takes no action with respect to individual tax rates prior to 2013, then individual tax rates will revert automatically to their pre-2003 levels, which would mean that the highest marginal individual income tax rates will jump from 35% to 39.6% (a comparison of the 2012 and estimated 2013 individual marginal income tax rates,…

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