The national budget plan recently proposed by President Obama may remind estate owners in Florida that "permanence" isn't necessarily permanent. At the beginning of this year, a tax exemption for estates of $5 million or less was put in place, with legislators and the...
Month: April 2013
The tale of the mysterious diamond
If you own a diamond, you might be interested in the history of the gem - especially if cost 40 million dollars. However, a 34-carat pink "Princie" diamond, which was recently auctioned off for a whopping $39,323,750, has a disputed history, which is creating legal...
Planning for your heirs’ unforeseeable divorce or debt problems
Say you want to do what most estate planners in Florida want to do: leave your assets to your chosen heirs and beneficiaries with as little tax liability and probate friction as possible. Unfortunately, what happens in many cases is that unforeseen incidents in...
Probate dispute leads to second will being thrown out
It's no secret that, as people get older, they tend to become more vulnerable to scams that could threaten the assets the elderly person has worked so hard to accumulate. Undue influence is the legal term for wrongfully persuading or otherwise tricking a person into...
Florida domestic partnership bill could affect estate planning
A bill recently passed by a Florida Senate committee would give unmarried couples, including gay couples, the right to register as domestic partners. In terms of estate planning, the bill, if eventually signed into law, could have a major effect on unmarried couples'...