Basic Estate Planning in Florida

Discussion of new laws, cases, and rules, including the effect of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) on:
•     various estate planning tools; and on
•     taxable rates; estate, gift, generation skipping, and income taxes; applicable exclusion amounts; and the portable deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount for citizens and noncitizens;
•    general and limited powers of appointment, including "decanting", and releases and disclaimers of power; a spouse's election to take homestead as a tenant in common rather than through a life estate; and the treatment of insurance proceeds payable to a trust;
•    community property; the homestead exemption, and estate planning issues for same-sex couples;
•    compliance with Treasury Dept. Circular No. 230 for written tax advice; and
•    ethical issues, including the attorney's duty to third parties, asset protection planning, and gifts to lawyers and their relatives

Revised forms and checklists