Did you know that your tax planning and your estate planning can impact each other? Do you know how important creating a Florida estate plan is for yourself and your family? Your estate plan will let you protect yourself, those you love most, your business, and ensure the legacy you are creating will survive you. In our firm we recognize the importance of your goals and work with them to create a plan that will work for you.
When assisting our clients in their planning process we not only look at who they want to inherit from them and who should make their decisions in a moment of crisis, but what implications their planning can have or not have. This involves a very candid look at their financial picture, including their tax structure.
Have you heard the phrase “there is nothing certain in life but death and taxes?” We hear this idiom all the time. However, most people do not realize that taxes play an important role in their Florida estate plan. The decisions they make now can have both a lifetime and deathtime impact on their estate, which is critical to plan for. We have four main items we want to give you.
1. Avoid federal estate taxation…plan now. As you know, one of the benefits of living in Florida is that no state death tax exists. This is not the case on the federal level. All Americans, with a taxable estate high enough in value, may face estate taxation. Our goal, through your comprehensive Florida estate planning, is to minimize the risk that your estate will be taxed at your death. This is completed by a careful consideration of factors including, but not limited to, your family structure, what assets comprise your taxable estate, the structure and nature of those assets, and the strategies available to you.
2. Lifetime gifts should be carefully made. Your estate planning and donative intent can impact your annual taxes as well. This occurs through the gift tax. While you can give your loved ones the annual exclusion amount each year, which is $17,000 per person this year according to the IRS, you can make larger gifts each year and still avoid lifetime taxation. To engage in an advanced strategy like this, you need to meet with your experienced Florida estate planning attorney to learn more about the pros and cons of this type of strategy as well as how it may benefit your estate down the line.
3. Incorporate the Generation Skipping Tax (GST) as an estate planning strategy. There are careful rules to plan around when it comes to using the GST as a part of your estate planning. This comes into play when you leave to a family member where there is a thirty-seven and a half year age difference or more. While there can be significant benefits to this type of planning and reasons to complete it, this should not be undertaken without the advice of an experienced Florida estate planning attorney.
4. Do not have any unprotected property that could affect your probate estate. You must plan now to not leave your assets unprotected. Anything you own at the time of your death that does not have a co-owner or beneficiary, could be subject to the probate process. This is the legal court process that allows solely owner property to pass to the intended beneficiaries. Because of the probate process, this is after creditors have the opportunity to file their claims against your estate. When you are planning for your estate and your taxes, it is critical to work with your Florida estate planning attorney to create the right trust agreement for you. It is a trust agreement, and not a last will and testament, that can help you avoid the probate process.
Our office can help guide a family through long-term care planning for aging parents and loved ones. No matter where you are in life’s journey, we can help. The most important thing is to protect yourself and those you love. Whether you need to update your estate plan, are preparing for future long-term care needs, or have a loved one entering or already in a nursing home, we are ready to assist you. We have three convenient locations and are ready to serve the communities around Highlands and Polk County, Florida. Take your first step by contacting us today.
