The New Florida Power of Attorney Act

By Julia Thomas | May 20, 2011

The Florida law governing powers of attorney and similar instruments is found in Chapter 709 of the Florida Statutes. The Florida legislature on May 4, 2011 voted to pass Senate Bill 670 which significantly revises Chapter 709 in an attempt to achieve greater consistency among the states by conforming Florida’s power of attorney law to the Uniform Power…

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Florida Legislative Update Regarding Trusts and Estates Law

By Julia Thomas | May 13, 2011

Governor Scott is expected to sign House Bill 325 into law shortly. House Bill 325 provides for several changes to the existing trusts and estates law. These changes are briefly summarized below. Fiduciary Lawyer-Client Privilege. There is a new fiduciary lawyer-client privilege rule, whereby a fiduciary client is protected to the same extent as any…

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Florida Legislation Regarding Inherited IRAs and LLCs

By Julia Thomas | May 4, 2011

The following article was recently submitted to Leimberg Information Services by Lauren Detzel and Brian Malec, contributors to this blog. Leimberg Article Executive Summary: In LISI Asset Protection Planning Newsletter #173, we reported on Florida’s legislative efforts to statutorily protect inherited IRAs from the claims of creditors of a debtor beneficiary under Florida state law….

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Disclaimer Planning During Uncertain Tax Times

By Julia Thomas | April 27, 2011

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 incrementally raised the federal estate tax applicable exclusion amount (“exclusion amount”) from $675,000 to $3,500,000 over a decade, ending with a full repeal in 2010. Now we have The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 setting the exclusion amount at…

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Florida Bankruptcy Court Exempts Inherited IRA

By Julia Thomas | April 19, 2011

The following article was recently submitted to Leimberg Information Services, a fantastic resource for any estate planning professional.  The article was authored by Lauren Detzel and Brian Malec, contributors to this blog. Leimberg Article Executive Summary: Recently, Bob Keebler and Michelle Ward reported on the January 2011 decision of In re Theim out of the…

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IRS Publication 4895

By Julia Thomas | April 12, 2011

On April 9, the IRS posted the following release regarding the forthcoming Publication 4895 concerning sales of property received from 2010 decedents.  Taxpayers that need to report gain or loss on sales of such property should consider extending their income tax returns and paying estimated tax.  If the estimate is based on a reasonable interpretation…

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The IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative

By Julia Thomas | April 11, 2011

In February, the IRS announced the 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI). The purpose of OVDI is to bring taxpayers that used undisclosed foreign assets to avoid tax into compliance with U.S. tax laws. OVDI, which is similar to the 2009 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, ends on August 31, 2011.   OVDI provides taxpayers with…

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Grantor Trusts

By Julia Thomas | April 5, 2011

During “tax season,” I often hear tax professionals say…”it’s not a grantor trust, it’s irrevocable.” All of us who deal in the world of trusts need to be aware of the grantor trust rules. The lawyer who drafts the trust, the CPA who prepares the income tax return (Form 1041), the money manager who allocates…

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