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Two Updates in the Anna Nicole Smith Case
As I Iook out the window of my office, I can see the Broward County Courthouse. As an estate planning attorney who also practices probate administration, having an office across the street from the courthouse makes attending hearings very convenient. But today, as I look …
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The three “types” of Homestead in Florida, Part II (A) — Protection from Creditors
This is the second of three (actually four) posts regarding the different "types" of Homestead in Florida. In my previous post on the subject, I discussed "descent and "distribution," in which the state sets forth the rules governing the situations in which your Homestead may, …
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Recent Private Letter Ruling Shows Need for Precision and Specificity in Drafting Documents
One of the issues in drafting estate planning documents is that if there is a mistake in the will or the trust, it is often not discovered until many years later after the testator or grantor has passed away. Sometimes these errors are glaring, such …
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New York Times: Review Your Estate Plan Now, Before Laws Shift
On February 25th, the New York Times published an article entitled Study Estate Plans Before Laws Shift. The author Deborah L. Jacobs, points out what most estate planners have been saying for a while — that there is going to be a new law (hopefully) by …
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Twitter Tax Tips from Taxgirl
Taxgirl, the nom de blog of Kelly Phillips Erb, an attorney and tax blogger and among my daily tax must reads, is twittering tax tips between now and April 15. Tip #1, Sign your Return.
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The Three Types Of Homestead in Florida: Type 1 — “Descent and Distribution” of your Property upon Death
If you live in Florida and own your own home, you have probably heard of the term "Homestead." Most people in Florida think of Homestead in terms of their real property taxes — both in the exemption from taxes that they receive, and the amount …
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Congressman Introduces Bill to Permanently Repeal the Estate Tax — Chance of it Passing? Zero.
H.R. 533, "the Opportunity for Family Farms and Small Businesses Act of 2009" was introduced by Rep. Randy Neugebauer, a Republican of Texas. The Bill tries to repeal the estate tax with one sentence, stating, "Section 901 of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act …
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Estate Planning in a Down Economy
With the stock market significantly done from its all time high, many people are putting of doing their estate planning. So the question is, is now a good time to engage in estate planning transactions? Of course! First, if you don’t have a will or …
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WalMart to Offer Free Tax Prep
According to the Taxgirl (who has a must read blog for people interested in current tax developments), WalMart will be teaming up with the IRS to offer free tax preparation to low income individuals. She has more info at her site, but I wonder if …
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Good article in the WSJ on Charitable Lead Trusts
There was a good article in yesterday’s Wall Street Jounral on an esate planning device known as a chartiable lead trust or CLT. Under a CLT, the donor sets up an trust, drafted by an estate planning attorney in which the donor funds the trust …
