Florida Trust & Probate Attorneys Blog

Answer by Miami Probate Attorney Phillip B. Rarick Esq. Probate is the legal process through which the court makes sure that, when you die, your Will is legally valid, your debts are paid and your assets are distributed according to your Will and Florida law. It is a bureaucratic, costly, and time consuming procedure to…

Answer by Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Probate Attorney Everyone has a will, whether you know it or not. If you fail to plan for this certainty, the state of Florida has a will for you: it is called intestate succession. A common question we get from relatives of family members who die without a will…

By: Phillip B. Rarick, J.D., and Jay R. Beskin, J.D. Miami Asset Protection Attorneys Background Summary: Last year in a blog we advised you that the “Olmstead Patch” – the Florida legislature’s attempt to fix a hole in the Florida LLC statute as a result of the 2010 Olmstead decision – strengthened multi-member LLC’s, but…

I am pleased to announce a valuable new feature on our web site that I trust you will find helpful. We want to share with you all the Florida local and state legal resources that we routinely use in our probate, corporate, guardianship, and estate planning practices. Resources is a virtual law library of Florida…

Now may be an excellent time to attack a common misunderstanding about living revocable trusts: These trusts do not protect your assets if you are sued. If you can be sued, your revocable trust can be sued. Some people believe that the living trust is like a “pink pill” solution: it solves everything. While the…

Virtually all states are looking to increase tax revenues and Florida is no exception. One area in which the state is becoming more aggressive is the collection of documentary stamp taxes. As outlined in Florida Statue §201.02, this stealth tax must be considered in virtually all transfers of interests between or within Florida corporate entities,…

I. Executive Summary Florida probate attorney fees depend on whether the proceeding is Summary Administration – usually the quickest and least expensive – or Formal Administration. Many factors will enter into the fees, including whether the probate is contested, is subject to estate and other taxes, involves the sale of real estate, and requires advice…

Last year I reminded you of a corporate scam called Compliance Services. This year I need to advise you that this company is still in business – and now there another highly questionable company to be on the alert. First, if your client gets a letter that looks like an “official” letter from the state…

The scheduled rates and exemptions are as follows Year Top Gift & Estate Tax Rate Gift Tax Exemption Amount Estate Tax Exemption Amount GST Tax Rate GST Exemption Amount 2009 45% $1 million $3.5 million 45% $3.5 million 2010 0 estate tax / 35% gift tax $1 million N/A 0 N/A 2011 35% $5 million…

A common over-sight of persons moving to Florida is failing to take their trust. They may have packed their trust and taken it with them, but the trust situs remains in their original state. This is usually a mistake. The fact that a client has moved to Florida will not generally mean that the law…