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Recent News

24 Mar 2019

Applicable Federal Rates — April 2019

23 Mar 2019

Qualified Beneficiaries–Recent Case is Puzzling in its Logic and Scope [Florida]

A recent 4th DCA opinion on who is a “qualified beneficiary” under Florida’s Trust Code is a puzzler, at least to me. Status as a qualified beneficiary is important – it determines who is entitled to receive an accounting for a trust.

To simplify the facts, 3 separate trusts were held for 3 daughters – each daughter was the current income and principal beneficiary of their own separate trust. At the death of a daughter, the assets of her trust would be transferred to the trusts of her surviving siblings. At the death of the last daughter, the trust assets would go outright to 3 named charities.

Fla.Stats. §736.0103(16) provides general rules on when a living beneficiary is a qualified beneficiary. Generally, the rules include the current beneficiaries, and the next level of persons who would take if the trust. . .

12 Mar 2019

Rizk v. Rizk

By Jenna G. Rubin

This decision centers around the ability of a beneficiary to challenge a will executed in another country even if they did not contest that will in the country where it was executed. Here, the will was purportedly executed in Haiti in accordance with Haitian law. The beneficiary tried to challenge the will in Florida, alleging that the decedent was not actually in Haiti on the day the will was purportedly signed, and that the witnesses did not sign the will on that date.

12 Mar 2019

Bitezakis v. Bitezakis

By Jenna G. Rubin

While it seems easy enough to execute a will, this case reminds us that a client’s attempt to do so at home without the guidance of a lawyer may have serious unintended consequences if the will is not executed in strict compliance with the signature requirements of F.S. 732.502.

09 Mar 2019

Bernie Sanders’ Tax Proposals

We all know that come 2025 the aggregate transfers covered by the unified credit for estate and gift taxes will revert to pre-Trump levels (subject to adjustments for inflation), thus ensnaring more taxpayers in the estate and gift tax web. Of course, should a Democrat be re-elected in 2020, changes in taxes to the higher side may occur even sooner than 2025.

A recent tax bill filed by Senator Bernie Sanders, a candidate for President, gives some insight about what tax legislation might look like if a Democrat is elected – more so if he is elected, but perhaps also as to other Democratic candidates.

Some key changes he would make to the high side include:

a. Increases in estate, gift and GST rates, to a maximum of 77% for members of the billionaire’s club. . .

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