Articles Posted in miami trust attorney

Answer by Miami Trust Attorney Phillip B. Rarick, Esq. Below is a summary of the basic obligations of a successor trustee of a trust. Note: Trust administration requires strict compliance with the trust terms and often analysis of complex tax requirements. If you are a successor trustee, we can help. It is important that you…

Answer by Miami Trust Attorney Phillip B. Rarick, Esq. The most common purpose of the Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (“ILIT”) is to help preserve the full value of the policy by protecting the insurance proceeds from the U.S. federal estate tax – currently at a 40% rate. The ILIT is the owner and beneficiary of…

By Miami Trust Attorney Phillip B. Rarick, Eq. Is there someone in your family who has or may have special needs? Does someone in your family currently receive, or potentially in the future will be receiving, government benefits for their medical or other needs? If so, it is important that you know the benefits of…

Answer by Miami Trust Attorney Phillip B. Rarick, Esq. The estate tax exemption for 2012 is $5.12 million; estates above $5.12 million are taxed at the rate of 35%. Unfortunately, absent congressional action, the estate tax exemption will fall back to $1 million per person with a top rate at 55% on January 1, 2013.…

Answer by Miami Trust Attorney Phillip B. Rarick, Esq. The best way to avoid probate is to have a basic estate plan that includes a living revocable trust as your master set of instructions to make sure you give what you have, the way you want, and when you want. When you set up a…

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…

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…

Introduction The Florida legislature recently enacted the “Florida Power of Attorney Act” (“FPOA”, Fla. Stat. §§709.2101-.2402), fundamentally overhauling existing law, and making sweeping new changes. Even though the new law recognizes durable power of attorneys (“DPA’s) executed under the prior law, we are advising clients to update their DPA, if more than a year old,…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Probate Attorney Introduction The commencement of a Florida guardianship is typically used in two situations – either when a person may be incapacitated or when a minor receives assets in excess of $15,000. If a guardianship is sought because someone may be incapacitated, then typically the court sets two…

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 avoids the appointment of a…