Posted in Probate & Trust Administration,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

Many people believe that if they die without a will, the state (or government) gets their property.  While this is possible, it is very unlikely to occur.  So, what happens to your property if you die without a will?

When a person dies without a will, they die intestate (whereas dying with a will is called testate).  The Florida Statutes, under Part I of Chapter 732, titled Intestate Succession, presents a hierarchy of classes of people who are to inherit your “intestate estate” if you do not have a will.  That hierarchy is as follows:

Posted in Asset Protection,Probate & Trust Administration,Tax Law & IRS Defense,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

Many people worry about filing or paying taxes to IRS or the federal government at death. The truth of the matter is that very few need to be concerned. According to IRS data, just 0.15% of decedents needed to file an estate tax return (Form 706) in 2019, and only 0.07% will pay any estate tax. That’s lower than the historical 1% to 2% share. Note there are some states that also have an estate or inheritance tax. Florida is not one of those states.

Posted in Business & Corporate Law,Tax Law & IRS Defense

Calendaring important IRS and tax authority deadlines can help you avoid stress. To avoid paying penalties and other tax consequences, calendar tax deadlines and plan for tax filings with your accountant and other members of your professional team. Below are few examples of important tax deadlines:

Posted in Business & Corporate Law

Has your business received cash or currency exceeding $10,000 in one transaction or related transactions within a year’s time from a client or customer? If so, the IRS requires you to file Form 8300 within 15 days of receiving the payment. If any additional payments are made during the course of a year, you must report those as well and file additional forms. Transactions that require Form 8300 include:

Posted in Asset Protection,Business & Corporate Law,Probate & Trust Administration,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

People need an estate plan if they want to ensure that their intentions will be honored after death with respect to the distribution of their assets. If you have an estate plan in place, does it also include a trust (sometimes called a living trust or a revocable trust)? If your current estate plan only consists of a last will and testament, you may want to consider also creating a trust.

Posted in Business & Corporate Law,Tax Law & IRS Defense

The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (“TFRP”) was created to encourage prompt payment of withheld income and employment taxes such as social security taxes, railroad retirement taxes, or collected excise taxes. Typically, the employee’s money is held “in trust” until the business owner or responsible party makes a tax deposit to the IRS for the amount owed, e.g. tax withheld on IRS Form 941 Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.

Problems arise when a business owner or person responsible for collecting or paying withholds these taxes from employees but does not pay the same over to IRS. Some businesses may ignore payment because they are struggling to make ends meet or choose to spend the withheld money elsewhere. Other businesses are simply unaware of the tax obligation or the person responsible takes action contrary to what the business is aware of. Either way, the IRS will seek payment from the business and also look to apply personal liability for the TFRP to certain people who are responsible for payment and willfully do not make payment.

Posted in Asset Protection,Probate & Trust Administration,Tax Law & IRS Defense,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

Under Florida law, the personal representative of an estate (sometimes also called an executor) and the trustee of a trust are entitled to compensation, as are the attorneys who represent the personal representative and trustee.

Compensation of Personal Representative The personal representative is entitled to a commission from the estate assets, which can be calculated using a percentage of the inventory value of the probate estate assets and the income earned during administration. For a formal probate administration, the following table sets forth what amount is deemed to be reasonable compensation:

Posted in Business & Corporate Law,Real Estate Law,Tax Law & IRS Defense

A legislative bill was recently enacted that may reduce the sales tax rate on commercial leases to 2%. The timing of the decrease depends on the economic recovery of the unemployment compensation trust fund. Once this balance has reached its pre-pandemic level, the sales tax rate will adjust. You may need to periodically consult with your accountant to determine the current tax rate since it is contingent upon the amount in the employment compensation trust fund.