Finally. For those who have been following, the issue of “digital assets” is a fast developing problem in the estate planning world. Putting aside for a moment who has the right to “inherit” your assets, the bigger problem with estate planning attorneys is who has access to certain assets and online accounts when you die. Take for...
We are excited to announce that Florida Bar Board Certified attorney and Senior Partner Jill Ginsberg has been selected as one of Florida’s Super Lawyers for 2020 in the area of Elder Law. Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have...
This is the second of three (actually four) posts on the different types of homestead in Florida. In my previous post, I discussed descent and distribution — the rules governing how your homestead may and may not be disposed of upon your death. Today I’m writing about an incredibly important and complicated aspect of homestead:...
One of the things that’s becoming more and more frustrating for trusts and estates lawyers in Florida is the refusal of banks and other financial institutions to accept properly drafted powers of attorney. A power of attorney is a document in which a person (the principal) grants another person (the agent) the authority to act...
In my previous post, I wrote that contrary to media reports, it was highly likely that the Michael Jackson Family Trust did not distribute his assets to his mother and children outright. Various sites reported that the mother “gets” 40%, the three children receive 40% between them, and charities receive 20%. But his estate had...
Sometimes posts on law blogs can get a little esoteric. Every now and then it’s useful to go back to the beginning and set forth the documents that comprise a basic estate plan. Every single adult should have these in place, regardless of age, marital status, wealth, or whether they have children. Last Will and...
One thing that makes our country both great and frustrating is that for certain types of law, there are often different, incompatible, conflicting laws that vary by state. On occasion, various committees are formed to draft “Uniform” Codes, but it is still up to the individual state legislatures as to whether or not they should...
On February 3, 2010, the Tax Court released its decision in Estate of Shurtz v. Commissioner. This case is interesting for a number of reasons. First, even though it involves a family limited partnership, the case is not about the estate taking substantial discounts. In fact, the word “discount” is not even mentioned in the...