Miami asset protection attorney

4 Take-Away Points To Know Under Florida’s New LLC Law

Published on: February 3, 2015 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney

Florida’s new LLC statute that became effective this past January 1, 2015 made fundamental changes in the state’s limited liability company laws. These changes are so basic that we recommend that you should have a Miami asset protection attorney review all LLC’s created prior to 2015. A key provision of the new law states that an LLC will be Member Managed unless the Operating Agreement or Articles of Organization expressly provide otherwise. F.S. § 605.0407(1). The new law drives home four Take-Away Points:

Every LLC should have an Operating Agreement. It may be tempting to use an on-line service to create an LLC. This service will likely file a simple 1-3 page Articles of Organization for you and send you a corporate book and seal. Under the new law, the default provision will mean you have established a Member Managed LLC and it may be construed as a single member LLC unless you clearly provide otherwise in the Operating Agreement or Articles of Organization. In Florida, we never recommend Member Managed LLC’s and you usually want to avoid a single member LLC. The Operating Agreement is the true “control center” of your LLC: it controls management, ownership, administration, and if properly drafted and structured, has strong provisions to make it difficult for creditors to attack. An LLC without an Operating Agreement is most likely a weak entity providing little or no asset protection and possible control issues for the primary investor.

Our Real Estate Services – and 3 Important Tips

Published on: January 5, 2015 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

A big focus of our practice is helping our clients better protect their real estate investments. However, some of our clients are surprised to learn that our legal services extend beyond real estate asset protection. Here is a short list of our real estate services:

– Purchase or Sale of Residential or Commercial real estate. We will represent you on your sale or purchase. It is often difficult to find reliable, cost efficient title companies. We work in close collaboration with local, experienced attorneys who provide excellent title services. We can help you close virtually any real estate transaction at a cost often below other title companies.

– Commercial Leases. A good commercial lease is essential to protecting the value of your property by insuring that good tenants stay, and bad tenants can be quickly and economically removed. A strong, modern lease can help insure that you keep all your properties fully rented and tenants current in their payments. My partner Jay Beskin is experienced with commercial leases and is available to help make sure that your new lease protects your interests. An old lease may not be doing a good job of protecting you in 2015. If you have an old lease, Jay is available to review it.

7 Point Checklist for Pre-Divorce Planning

Published on: August 6, 2014 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

First, let’s hope you don’t need this. But, if you do, here is a checklist of key estate planning items that should be considered prior to filing a petition for dissolution of marriage:

Note: This is a partial list of key items. Invariably there are other considerations. Consult your estate planning attorney.

1. Revise living revocable trust or will:

Estate Planning For Florida Same Sex Partners or Spouses: What You Should Know About TBE Delaware LLC’s

Published on: June 8, 2014 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

Introduction

Florida same-sex partners and same gender couples who were legally married in a state outside of Florida and have now moved to Florida should consider using a TBE (Tenants by Entireties) Delaware LLC to own Florida real estate or intangible property. Here is why.

Strategy

Asset Protection Checklist For The Florida Small Business Owner

Published on: May 26, 2014 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Wealth Protection Attorney*

ASSET PROTECTION CHECKLIST FOR THE FLORIDA SMALL BUSINESS OWNER

FLORIDA DOMICILE CHECKLIST

Published on: May 13, 2014 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Trust Attorney

A. Domicile vs. Residence

“Domicile” and Residence are two different legal terms, but often confused. A person can have only one domicile, but any number of residences in different states. Domicile is your actual residence in the state joined with your intention to make that state your permanent home. In order to establish a new domicile, you must first abandon your old “domicile”, but not necessarily your old “residence.” The Florida test is both a subjective and objective test. The following checklist is a list of important objective criteria.

The New Consensus From Heckerling: The Estate Planning World Has Flipped 180 Degrees By ATRA

Published on: March 24, 2014 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

How fundamentally has the 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) changed estate planning? It may have taken a year for this consensus to develop, but the simple answer that was apparent at the recent 48^th Annual Heckling Institute on Estate Planning is this: Profoundly; there is a new paradigm in estate planning.

Paul Lee, the National Managing Director of Bernstein Global Wealth Management, captured the essence of the new consensus in his presentation. The new law increases the estate tax exemption to $5.34* million per person and $10.68* million for a married couple. With the increased exemptions and permanence of portability of the deceased spouse unused exclusion (DSUE), Mr. Lee’s major Take-Away Points are:

Estate planning is now far more complicated for estates above the $5.34* million threshold

Three Smart Legal Points To Know if You Own a Boat – or Jet Skies

Published on: March 1, 2014 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney

The saddest and most tragic call I have ever received as a lawyer came when a parent called and said her teenage son, while operating a jet ski, had run over a young girl who happened to be about the age of my daughter. I declined the case. The young girl later died, and of course there was a large law suit.

These are the nightmare scenarios you never want to encounter. Of course, the most obvious, common sense step to avoid such tragedies is to make sure that whoever is operating your boat or jet ski is well trained on operation of the vessel and in fact follows safe, recommended operating procedures. With the excellent and free Coast Guard training programs in south Florida there is no excuse not to take advantage of these programs.

What’s Wrong With This Picture? NY Attorney Names Himself As Personal Representative For A Florida Resident

Published on: February 15, 2014 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Probate Attorney

We have written about this issue in the past, but it is one that keeps popping up. Here are the relevant facts. Note: I have changed some facts to avoid disclosure of private information.

Recently, we reviewed a New York will where the drafting attorney named himself and his client’s CPA as Personal Representative for the estate. Neither the attorney nor the CPA were blood related to the client and neither were residents of Florida.

Bad Advice You Hear All The Time

Published on: February 9, 2014 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Trust Attorney

Quote: There are three things that are real – God, human folly and laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension. So we must do what we can with the third. – John F. Kennedy

Here are five bad items of advice – that you hear all the time from otherwise smart persons: