Posted in Business & Corporate Law,Real Estate Law

Recent legal developments have once again drawn attention to an area that has experienced heated debate and spurred litigation: vacation rentals.  “Vacation rentals” are defined by statute as “any unit or group of units in a condominium or cooperative or any individually or collectively owned single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family house or dwelling unit that is also a transient public lodging establishment but that is not a timeshare project.” 
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Posted in Asset Protection,Business & Corporate Law,Tax Law & IRS Defense

Calendaring important IRS and tax authority deadlines can save you a lot of headaches at tax time.  To avoid paying penalties and other tax consequences, keep a calendar and review tax deadlines with your Accountant, CPA, Enrolled Agent, or Tax Attorney.  Jackson Law Group has tax attorneys that can assist you with IRS or other tax problems.  The below items are a few examples of important dates:
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Posted in Asset Protection,Probate & Trust Administration,Tax Law & IRS Defense,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

1. Not Understanding the Purpose of Asset Protection: Asset protection will not make you “judgment proof.” Someone can still obtain a judgment against you.  You must distinguish obtaining a judgment and collecting on a judgment, which is typically only done after a judgment is rendered.
2. Waiting Too Long To Begin Planning: Preventative planning is both most effective and least expensive before you have legal problems.
3. Believing That It Is Too Late To Protect Assets: It’s never too late to improve protection. Anything is better than doing nothing.
4. Thinking Creditors are Lazy or Not Smart: Don’t underestimate the skill and intelligence of your adversaries. Creditors and their attorneys are not lazy or thoughtless.  The court system can be a slow process.
5. Failure to Comprehend Vulnerability of Your Business: The shares of stock or membership interests you own are vulnerable to creditor attack.
6. Fraudulent Transfers and Conveyances: You cannot protect assets by giving them to family members.
7. Misunderstanding Salary Exemption: Salary exemptions can be complicated. Don’t be trapped into misunderstanding these concepts, especially for business owners.
8. Confusing Estate Planning With Asset Protection: Asset protection is oftentimes part of estate planning, but a living trust or will does nothing to protect your assets from creditors.
9. Confusing Bankruptcy Law and Asset Protection Law: The new bankruptcy law does not affect Florida’s unlimited homestead exemption and other exemptions outside bankruptcy court.
10. Giving Up Control Over Your Assets: The easiest asset protection plan is to give someone else control over your assets. This is all too often a poor solution.

If you own assets and are concerned about protecting them, avoid making the mistakes mentioned above.  For more information on developing an asset protection plan that is thorough and unique to your particular situation, we encourage you to contact a qualified, licensed attorney.

Posted in Real Estate Law

Procedurally, the State of Florida treats deficiency judgments on foreclosed residential homes differently than the foreclosure actions themselves.  Although the deficiency judgment may seem like an extenuation of the foreclosure action to homeowners, the reality is that a deficiency judgment action is its own legal proceeding.  In fact, the deficiency judgment cannot even take place until after the sale on the subject property.  That’s because a deficiency judgment action is filed by the lender to collect, in general, the difference between the amount owed by the borrower and the fair market value.  Recently, the State of Florida made a few changes to the procedural rules that govern deficiency judgments on real property that further distinguish deficiency actions from foreclosure actions.
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Posted in Asset Protection,Real Estate Law,Tax Law & IRS Defense,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

In a previous blog (click here), we posted about the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act (“MFDRA”) and how it had yet to be extended by Congress to cover mortgage debts forgiven in 2014.  MFDRA prevents homeowners who went through a short sale, foreclosure sale, a principal reduction, or some other type of waiver of a deficiency regarding their primary residence from being taxed on the amount of mortgage debt cancelled or forgiven.
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Posted in Tax Law & IRS Defense

The Internal Revenue Service has made a change to a policy that was rejected in 2010.  Based on the proven health benefits of breastfeeding for women and their children, the IRS will now allow mothers to count the costs of breast pumps and other supplies as a medical deduction on their taxes.  Breastfeeding women can spend as much as $1,000 each year on nursing supplies, thanks to the efforts of the American Academy of Pediatrics and other breastfeeding advocates that fought in recent years to advance this proposal.
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Posted in Asset Protection,Probate & Trust Administration,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

A power of attorney is a written instrument pursuant to which an individual (the “principal”) grants to another (the “agent”) the authority to act on behalf of the principal, primarily for financial and business matters.  Powers of attorney and similar instruments are governed by Chapter 709 of the Florida Statutes, also known as the Florida Power of Attorney Act (FPOAA).
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Posted in Asset Protection,Probate & Trust Administration,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

Florida Gun Trusts, also known as NFA Trusts, Class 3 Trusts, Title 2 Trusts, or Firearms Revocable Trusts, are a great way to deal with the unique issues of owning, transferring, and possessing gun suppressors, silencers, fully automatic rifles, short barreled rifles and shotguns, or other Title 2 or Class 3 weapons.  Listed below are some key benefits of a Gun Trust:
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