Because skilled nursing facilities are basically medical facilities, all expenses incurred including room and board are deductible for income tax purposes. However, independent living facilities are different as only expenses directly associated with medical care are deductible.
For personalized tax planning advice from a Florida Board Certified Tax Attorney, contact our office at (941) 906-1231.
If the client’s physician prescribes assisted living pursuant to a plan of care and the client has either severe cognitive impairment or is chronically ill, 100% of the cost of the client’s monthly charges in the assisted living facility will be tax deductible as medical care expense. The IRS defines “chronically ill” as applying to a person who is unable to perform at least two activities of daily living without substantial assistance for at least 90 days. The activities of daily living are eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing and continence. This tax exemption would not apply to purely discretionary items such as telephone costs or extra meals for visitors.
For personalized tax planning advice from a Florida Board Certified Tax Attorney, contact our office at (941) 906-1231.
Executors are tasked with locating the heirs identified in estate planning documents but this can often prove difficult and, sometimes, an heir cannot be located. When this happens, Florida Probate Code directs PRs to determine the worth of the unclaimed assets and, depending on their value, deposit the proceeds with the clerk who will publish a notice to attempt to locate the heir. If a missing heir finds out that they were to inherit assets, even after their sale, they can contact the Chief Financial Officer and obtain the proceeds from the assets within 10 years of the date of their deposit.
If you are the personal representative or trustee of an estate, you have certain fiduciary obligations regarding the investment and use of the probate or trust assets. You should be careful to keep all statements from the estate account and records of activity. The attorneys at Bach & Jacobs, P.A. can advise you on the prudent investor rule and your responsibilities as a fiduciary to protect against liability. If you are the designated TTEE or PR for an estate, contact Bach & Jacobs, P.A. at (941) 906-1231 for a consultation.
No, a testamentary trust is usually created by a person’s will and has assets transferred to it during the probate process. These assets are then distributed by the trustee according to the terms of the trust. One advantage to a testamentary trust is that its administration would be carefully overseen by the courts. However, this type of trust does not avoid the process of probate which can be costly in terms of time and money. For advice on what kind of estate planning documents would best serve your individual needs, contact one of our experienced estate planning attorneys at (941) 906-1231.
Florida law does not allow for a total disinheritance of a surviving spouse or surviving minor children. These family members have the right to claim an “elective share” of assets which usually amounts to 30% of certain probate and non-probate assets. Surviving spouses who are trying to decide between inheriting under the terms of a will or taking an elective share should consult an attorney to explore the implications of the two options. Prenuptial agreements can impact the ability of a spouse to take the elective share.
If you have questions about the probate process, contact one of our probate attorneys at (941) 906-1231.
A children’s trust or a standby trust for minors can be set up to help manage the inheritance of a beneficiary who is underage. If a beneficiary is not 18 or another minimum age chosen by the benefactor, a children’s trust can be used to designate a trustee who will manage the minor’s assets until a certain age. The trust creator can choose at what age the child receives part of all of the inheritance and under what circumstances and for what purposes the child will access to the funds in the trust.
If you need advice about planning for the young people in your life, contact one of our experienced estate planning attorneys at (941) 906-1231.
Letters of Administration are issued by probate judges and name a personal representative to act on behalf of an estate during probate proceedings. Many times, these letters are requested by banks to ensure they are issuing funds to the correct people after an account holder’s death. These letters can take time to receive through the courts so it is essential to consult a probate attorney to review the titling of the decedent’s assets and determine if Letters of Administration and a formal probate administration is necessary. For advice from an experienced probate attorney, contact our office at (941) 906-1231.
Financial accounts can be set up to designate a person to whom the funds are payable on death, meaning the named beneficiary can claim the funds without going through the probate process. If you are the named beneficiary of a payable on death account you should be able to receive the funds from the account after providing documentation of the decedent’s death and your identity.
When an account is designated as payable on death, the named beneficiary has no right to access the money until the death of the account holder. It is important to remember that these accounts should be coordinated with other estate planning documents to prevent confusion and disagreement during the settling of an estate. To set up estate planning documents or for advice on how to best ensure your assets will be distributed as you want after your death, contact one of our experienced estate planning attorneys at (941) 906-1231.
In Florida, married couples can hold jointly owned property as tenants by the entirety which can help couples to avoid probate and protect one spouse from creditors of the other. When someone dies and they and their spouse owned a property as tenants by the entirety, the property is automatically passed to the surviving spouse and the creditors of the deceased spouse cannot reach any property which the couple owned as tenants by the entirety.
Any property, including bank accounts, can be held as tenancy by the entirety. If a married couple owns a bank account jointly, it is presumed under Florida law that this account is held as tenancy by the entirety.
For more information about estate planning and probate avoidance, contact one of our experienced estate planning attorneys at (941) 906-1231.
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