Estate Planning

Question: How much can I give away as a gift without having to pay gift taxes? Answer: For gifts made in 2013 and 2014, the gift tax annual exclusion is $14,000. This means that anyone can gift [...]

Question: How do I benefit from setting up a QIT or Qualified Income Trust for Florida Medicaid – and what is it? Answer: A Qualified Income Trust is commonly called a QIT or a Miller Trust.  It [...]

Question: I want to give gifts to my family. What are the tax rules on giving away gifts during your lifetime? Answer: You are free to give away gifts forming part of your estate while you are [...]

Question:     Are the federal income tax incentives for donating conservation easements going to change in 2014? Answer:    The “enhanced conservation easement incentive,” which applied to [...]

Question:     I was the guardian for a ward who has recently died.  Can I petition to open a probate proceeding and be appointed personal representative also? Answer:    Usually, the named [...]

Question:     Should I let the person I have designated as my personal representative know about my estate plan? Answer:    Your personal representative—referred to as an executor in some [...]

Question:  If I am the personal representative for an estate in Florida, am I required to have an attorney for the probate administration in the Florida circuit court? Answer:    Florida law [...]

Question:     Where can I find trusted, general information on the probate process in Florida? Answer:    One obvious source of information on probate law topics in Florida is on the Bach & [...]

Question:     How do I talk to my family about my estate plan?  We’ll all be together this year for the holidays and I thought now would be a good time. Answer:    Talking to your family and [...]

Question:  I was appointed personal representative of an estate and I saw in the will that the lawyer who drafted it wrote himself in as a beneficiary of the estate.  That seems inappropriate.  [...]