By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Probate Attorney Introduction Most states have streamlined probate procedures for smaller estates. Florida’s procedure is called Summary Administration and can be used to expedite administration of estates not exceeding $75,000 or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. F.S. 735.201(2). It…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Asset Protection Attorney Executive Summary: Last summer in the case of Olmstead V. F.T.C the Florida Supreme Court held that a charging order is not the exclusive remedy against a single member LLC and indicated that it may not be the exclusive remedy against…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Probate Attorney Executive Summary Probate is the legal process for transferring assets owned by decedent according to the decedent’s will or Florida intestate law to his or her beneficiaries after all legitimate creditors of the estate have been paid. The Personal Representative (in other…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Trust Attorney Time for a Spring Check-Up for your Florida corporate entities. This note is our annual reminder to review your Florida corporations, LLC’s (limited liability companies), or partnerships. Here is our 7 Point Checklist: 1. Annual Minutes Up-to-date? 2. Are any Special Meeting Minutes…
If you get a letter or an email from a company called COMPLIANCE SERVICES (not to be confused with the Florida corporation, Compliance Services, Inc.) asking for a fee of $125 for corporate minutes BEWARE. Minutes are not required to be posted with the Florida Secretary of State. Rather, they…
On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, simply known as the “2010 Tax Relief Act” (TRA 2010). TRA 2010 includes significant changes for estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax relief in 2011 and 2012, as…
Good news for taxpayers! The new tax bill was signed into law today. This law will extend for two additional years the Bush-era tax rates, including the 15 percent long-term capital gains and qualified dividends rate. It will provide substantial estate tax relief: the law will reintroduce the federal estate…
It “appears” the President will agree to a future estate tax with a $5 million exemption and a 35% tax rate, although he is getting tremendous resistance from his own party. We need to wait and see how this shakes out. Regardless of your political affiliation, note that this agreed…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Trust Attorney Executive Summary In addition to our sunshine, Florida has one of the best tax and asset protection climates of any state in the country. Florida has no state income tax, no fiduciary tax, no intangible tax, no estate tax, and arguably the most…
______ #1. Trust Funding. After we signed your trust, we reviewed the funding of your trust and I gave you detailed Funding Notes. Have you followed up on these instructions? Funding is simply the transfer of your assets into your trust. It is a good idea to annually review the…