What Are Blended Families?

Sometimes referred to as stepfamilies, blended families are those where the original spouses remarried or created a new partnership after ending a previous relationship. In most cases, one or both spouses bring children from previous relationships into the new family. It can happen due to divorce or the death of a spouse.

Blended families can include children of one or both spouses being brought into the new family and / or new children born of the new marriage or partnership. Everyone must adjust to the new family roles and manage the complexities of co-parenting with ex-spouses.

Challenges of Estate Planning for Blended Families

One of the biggest challenges of estate planning for blended families is conflicting interests. Your biological children may believe they should receive more, while stepchildren may fear being left out. They are competing interests that require careful consideration.

Another challenge is providing for your current spouse while ensuring children from a previous relationship receive their fair share of the inheritance. This can be tricky, especially if you have substantial assets or if your current spouse and stepchildren do not get along. It can take some creative estate planning to protect your assets and ensure equitable distribution.

Addressing these challenges head-on can help protect assets and ensure they go to the person you wish.

Clarify Goals and Priorities

When planning your estate for a blended family, it is imperative to clarify your goals and priorities. Different family dynamics and financial situations require a clear understanding of what you want to achieve – and what matters the most to you and your family.

Your objectives might include financial security for your spouse, biological children, stepchildren, or other dependents and minimizing potential conflicts between family members from your previous family and current family.

Once you set your objectives, you can prioritize your beneficiaries and assets. Consider how you want your assets distributed while keeping potential challenges such as fair distribution between your original family and your new family.

Communication and Transparency

You can significantly minimize fighting and lawsuits against your estate when you communicate with your loved ones and are transparent with them. Make sure you discuss your wishes openly with your children, your spouse – and other relevant parties. When you are transparent with your family members, it goes a long way in preventing misunderstandings and can mitigate future disputes. Additionally, when you involve your family members in the decision-making process, they can better understand why you make the choices you make.

Choosing the Right Estate Planning Tools

When you have a blended family, it is important that you choose the correct estate planning tools. Because of the unique dynamics involved in estate planning, you should choose select strategies and documents that accommodate your diverse familial relationships and financial considerations.

• Wills: The foundation document in estate planning, a will outlines how you want your assets distributed. A carefully drafted will can address the complexities of a blended family and the degrees of financial dependence. It can also clarify beneficiaries and specify asset distribution to help minimize potential conflicts.
• Trusts: Add more flexibility and control over the distribution of your assets. Florida has several types of trusts that allow you to transfer assets to beneficiaries, including a revocable living trust, which allows the transfer and modification of assets during your lifetime. A revocable living trust allows you to provide for children from previous marriages and stepchildren – and can evolve as priorities and circumstances change.
• Beneficiary Designations: Life insurance policies, retirement plans and investment accounts all allow you to name a beneficiary. Be sure to update beneficiary designations to reflect your current family structure.
• Powers of Attorney: Florida has two types of powers of attorney: Financial and health. These documents allow for decision-making should you become incapacitated. You can name one or more powers of attorney on each type of document, though we recommend naming one person on each document. It can be the same person.
• Advanced Directives: Your advanced directives instruct your medical professionals on certain actions to take in certain circumstances, such as long-term comas and health issues that could cause your death.

Seek Professional Advice

Contact a Florida estate planning attorney at France Law who has experience in handling the estates of blended families to ensure your wishes are documented and legally enforceable.

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• Living wills
• Durable power of attorney
• Designated health care proxy

Each one performs a function for the subject of the document that may be preferred over another.

Living Will

The living will informs a medical professional regarding your preferred end-of-life medical treatment. The legally binding document will provide instructions on what kind of treatment you receive should you:

• Become terminally ill or injured
• With little hope of recovery; and
• Are incapable of communicating your wishes regarding medical treatment.

You can inform the medical professional that you do not wish to receive any kind of life-sustaining treatment. You can also specify what types of treatment you would want to receive or refuse.

Power of Attorney

You may have heard of this for use in other contexts. Power of attorney is a document that allows you to give permission to another person to make legally binding decisions on your behalf, like signing contracts. In the context of health care and end-of-life issues, a durable power of attorney allows you to bestow this right to make decisions on your behalf and this power will endure even if you become legally incompetent.

You may give a family member the power to make decisions regarding medical bills, government payments and insurance. Outside of health care matters, the person to whom you give power of attorney will be able to pay your bills or sign up for disability payments.

Health Care Proxy

The health care proxy could be considered parallel to the durable power of attorney. You can designate a person to be your health care proxy. This person will have the right to make decisions regarding your health care. This person will have access to your medical records and will speak to the doctors on your behalf. They can decide what treatment you will receive or refuse.

You could designate the same person to make legal and medical decisions within a power of attorney document. However, you may find good reason to have one person designated to make financial decisions and another to make decisions about your health care.

No Advance Directive No Problem

Most Americans do not have an advance medical directive in place. We may feel uncomfortable bringing up the subject with family or we may believe we’re too young to be thinking about such matters. However, some landmark legal cases like the Schiavo and Quinlan matters have shown the difficulties that may arise from not having an advance directive in place.

You may be more comfortable discussing such end-of-life issues with a lawyer. At the France Law Firm, we’re experienced in helping our clients through difficult decisions with compassion and clarity. Call us today to discuss advance medical directives with one of our attorneys.

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Dying Without a Will in Place

Intestacy is the condition of an estate that is not governed by a will or other legal document. A person who dies intestate may have died unexpectedly or merely neglected to make a will before passing. It is possible to write a will that only covers part of your assets. Those parts of your estate not addressed in the will may be intestate despite the existence of a will.

Intestacy Leaves Matters to the Court

If you die intestate, the decision of how your estate is distributed falls to the courts. In Florida, as in most states, probate court will handle these matters. Probate courts only address assets that were solely or jointly owned by the person who dies, and those assets were not addressed in a will or other document. It also addresses assets that don’t have an automatic succession of ownership at death (for example, a bank account where you have named your spouse as the person who would access that account when you die).

Florida law specifies who will be the beneficiary of your estate. It also specifies the order of priority. The law discusses whether your spouse or any descendants (“heirs”) will be the beneficiaries of your estate. “Descendants” refers not only to your children but anyone directly descended from you (like grandchildren).

Who Gets What if You Die Without a Will

Your spouse will be the primary beneficiary of your estate should you die without a will. This is true even if you have children with that spouse who survive you or any other direct descendants that you share with your spouse.

If you have a spouse with whom you share children, but you have descendants from another marriage or relationship, your spouse will receive half of the estate. Your spouse will share it with your other descendants not related by blood to your spouse, who will receive the other half. Those descendants will divide their share among themselves.

If you are not married but have children or other descendants, your children will be the beneficiary of the estate. If you have more than one descendant surviving you, the law dictates the order of the distribution of benefits based on the generation. Your children will get the estate and it will be divided among them if you have more than one.

If you die without leaving a spouse or descendants, your parents will be the beneficiaries of your estate. If they have passed, your siblings will get the estate. If there are no siblings, then the court will try to find other relatives who are in the line of succession.

In some cases, the distribution of assets without a will can become complicated. Your heirs may need to hire an attorney to help sort these out.

Appointing an Executor When No Will Exists

Often, a will designates an executor, a person who is responsible for sorting out various issues that arise from probate matters. If you die without a will, the court will have to appoint a person to handle these issues. That person is called a personal representative.

If you die intestate, your spouse, if you have one, will have the primary right to be appointed as the personal representative by the court. The spouse may also refuse the right, and the spouse or a collective of heirs may elect a personal representative.

Hire an Experienced Florida Probate Attorney to Help

Given the complications of issues involved in probate, the personal representative should choose to have an experienced probate attorney represent them. This attorney will help the personal representative make sound decisions regarding estate issues and if necessary represent the personal representative in court. The attorney will not act as the lawyer for any specific heir but will represent the interests of the estate.

At the France Law Firm, our attorneys combine a knowledge of estate law with compassion for our clients in the most difficult circumstances. We can provide clarity on complexities and give you confidence that your problems will be handled efficiently and to your satisfaction. Whether you are considering creating a will or you need to untangle issues when a spouse has died without a will, call us to find out how we can help.

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If you recognize red flags, it’s important to contact an experienced lawyer who can walk you through potential legal causes of action to remedy the issue. At the end of the day, the person’s wishes should be carried out in a meaningful fashion.

Who Can Challenge A Will?

It’s important to understand that not everyone can contest a will. Despite your feelings that the disposition of assets would be better served in a different way, only what the court calls “interested persons” have the standing to bring a challenge. This can be particularly frustrating when a Last Will and Testament may not have been updated to reflect the person’s final wishes. Those in a position to contest a will include the following.

• Beneficiaries: By virtue of being named in the legal document, these people and entities have standing. They may include immediate and distant family members, friends, religious institutions, non-profits and others. Some wills even name beloved pets.
• Heirs: When a person dies without making a will, a wide range of relatives gain standing and can hire an attorney to argue on their behalf. The courts generally distribute assets to next of kin and others in descending order. When an heir has been left out of a will, you may also challenge based on an error by omission.

Another area that heirs would be wise to challenge are “in terrorem” or “no contest” clauses. These often amount to all-or-nothing stipulations in will disagreements. Fortunately, Florida probate courts generally do not recognize such stipulations as lawful. If you discover such as clause, it may be in your best interest to contact an experienced Florida attorney.

What Are The Legal Grounds For Contesting A Will?

It’s not uncommon for beneficiaries and others to believe that a will does not accurately reflect the wishes of the deceased. In some cases, the person had not updated the document in many years. Other times, the will may have significant flaws that raise a legal eyebrow. These may include:

• Testamentary Capacity: In simple terms, this legal test considers whether or not the person was of “sound mind” when they made the will. An attorney would challenge the validity of whether they understood what they were doing and the impact. Questions might include: Did they understand the actual values of their wealth? Did they recognize the impact of excluding certain people? Did they suffer any debilitating mental disorder? The core issue boils down to the person understanding and knowingly executing the document.
• Invalid Execution: The validity of a will may turn on the person having legitimate witnesses at the signing. Many wills are notarized to overcome such objections. The courts generally presume validity and the burden falls on the contester to prove otherwise.
• Undue Influence: While this idea is often bandied about in TV courtroom dramas, it definitely happens in real life. When our valued elders become frail and dependent on others for care, bad actors can influence their decisions. While this ranks among the more common problems, there are a wide range of situations in which vulnerable people are manipulated into signing over assets.
• Fake Wills: Fraudulent and forged wills are orchestrated in a number of ways. The straightforward fashion involves a forged signature. But in more subtle cases, one party may manipulate the person into taking an action they might not have otherwise. This might include making false claims in an effort to have someone removed from the will, thus gaining a greater portion of wealth.
• Ambiguous Wills: Whether due to clerical error or misinterpreting the person’s intentions when crafting the will, the final document simply misses the mark. Rectifying this may require clarification of ambiguous language or a professional negligence cause of action.  

How Can A Florida Last Will And Testament Attorney Help?

Contesting a will because you have been left out or believe the document lacks validity often requires a skilled attorney’s scrutiny. It can be difficult for people emotionally invested to see the difference between legal and personal dilemmas. An experienced attorney can walk you through the elements of a will and explore your concerns. If they are legally actionable, the will can be contested in probate court.

In many cases, settlement agreements can be reached with other parties and submitted to the court for approval. In others, a hearing or trial may be necessary to get you the benefit you or a loved one deserve. Contact the experienced legal team at the France Law Firm for a consultation.

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How to Prepare Your Business for Tax Season

With just 5 simple but important steps, you can easily help to better prepare your business for the upcoming tax season and give yourself peace of mind. While our experts are here to handle the more confusing elements of filing your taxes this year, these preparation steps will help to keep you organized and make the whole process run smoothly.

1. Send Out Your Own 1099s

If your business works with independent contractors or freelancers that were paid $600 or more in 2017, you must file a 1099 IRS form. You must send this form to your contractors is January 31, 2018, and the form must be sent to the IRS by February 28, 2018.

No one wants to be stuck scrambling to find the right social security numbers and addresses of the people who need 1099 forms from their business at the last minute, so be sure that you always have freelancers complete a W-9.

2. Create a File Folder

If you are on the receiving end of 1099 or other tax forms from your clients, you should receive them all no later than January 31, 2018. However, it’s always a good idea to be prepared for some late forms to trickle in. To keep this paperwork better organized, create a “taxes” folder to store each form as it comes in. This folder will grow in size over the next few months, so be sure to keep it readily accessible.

3. Have Old Forms Ready To Go

While you may still be a few months away from filing your taxes, gathering important forms ahead of time is one of the easiest ways to stay organized as your business prepares to take on a new quarter.

To get a better sense of how much income you’ll get taxed on and how much you spent last year on tax-eligible expenses –like business travel, payroll, office supplies, etc –you need to print out a profit and loss statement from last year. This report should be easy to find in your accounting software and once you’ve found it, be sure to stick a copy in your taxes folder.

4. Get a Head Start on Your Payment Planning

It’s really never too early to start thinking about your payment plan. Most businesses are likely to have to pay something for their taxes, so take the time to consider how you plan on doing so. Whether you’ve got money set aside in savings already or you need to start putting some money into your savings account right now, if you aren’t able to pay your taxes in full right now, don’t get too carried away. The IRS is usually happy to work out a payment plan with businesses.

5. Bring in the Professionals

Now that you’ve done some important prep work, it’s time to contact our team of income tax planning specialists. The tax process is always complex and when it comes to your business, there’s no use in taking chances. With our expert guidance and thorough knowledge of tax laws, we can easily help you identify any income adjustments that should be made and ensure that you pay the lowest amount possible to the IRS.

Schedule an Appointment Today

Now is not the time to get behind on your tax preparation; March will be here before you know it! So get yourself organized and contact the team at France Law Firm to schedule an initial income taxation planning session.

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The Importance of Taxation Planning

For the average single person, you can have an estate valued up to $5.45 million before your heirs have to worry about paying estate taxes. While that sum may make some people feel like estate planning is only necessary for the super wealthy, the world’s best financial planners say that you shouldn’t overlook the process. Meeting with an estate attorney and an accountant will not only give you peace of mind but it will help you to sort through many of the complex issues and laws that make up estate taxation. Some of the best ways to make sure your money stays in the family include:

• Drawing Up a Will – This is an obvious first step that many people overlook. In fact, according to a 2014 study, nearly 65 percent of Americans do not have a will and 17 percent feel like they don’t need one. But without a will, your estate will likely be divided up in probate court, leaving your loved ones to pick up the bill.
• Revisit Your Beneficiaries – Some of your assets are not eligible to be distributed through a will but instead ask that you name a beneficiary. In these cases, it’s important to make sure that all information is up to date. Whether you need to remove an ex-spouse as a beneficiary or simply name someone to avoid the account going to a probate court, this will also help you determine where your money will go.
• Set Up a Trust – If you have a sizeable estate that needs to be divided up among multiple family members or you want to make sure that your heirs are ready for the responsibility that comes along with their inheritance, you may want to set up a trust. Trusts offer the most tax benefits and protect the assets from estate taxes.

Understanding Estate Laws

Over the past decade, estate laws have been a hot topic in politics and significant changes have been made several times. The 2013 tax act ensured that the basic $5 million estate tax exemption was made “permanent” but it also included a higher rate of 40 percent. While the law will continue to adjust the exemption level for inflation, with an adjustment to $5.43 million ($10.86 for married couples) in 2015, it also includes an exclusion “portability.” This means that if one spouse passes before the other, the surviving spouse can pass on the unused portion of their late spouse’s exclusion. However, this portability is not automatic and the unused portion must be transferred by the surviving spouse’s executor. Additionally, a special tax return must be filed within a period of 9 months. During this time, the surviving spouse is not required to pay estate taxes.

How Can I Optimize My Estate Plan?

If you’re interested in other ways to maximize the amount that you can pass on to your heirs, annual gifting is a great option. In the US an individual can legally gift up to $14,000 per year to another individual, tax-free. However, if you gift more than that sum, it will reduce the amount of your basic lifetime exclusion.

With the help of our experienced estate tax planning attorneys, you can minimize your future estate taxes in a variety of different ways by identifying taxable assets, creating a will or living trust, keeping up to date with federal and state tax law changes and more. Take control of your legacy and give the greatest gift possible to your loved ones with guidance from France Law Firm. Visit our team online today for more information on the benefits of preparing for the future with estate taxation planning.

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Qualified Organizations

A qualified organization is one which has a non-charitable status with the IRS. Specific individuals, and political candidates and organizations are not qualified organizations. If you are not sure if an organization is qualified, ask to see their letter from the IRS. In some cases, the organization may be listed on the IRS Exempt Organizations Select Check. Do not solely rely on this list. You should ask the organization for their IRS letter to ensure that they are a qualified charitable organization.

Donations and ‘Gifts’ in Return

If you receive a ‘gift’ for your donation, you cannot deduct the entire donation. For example, if you are given a pair of tickets to the football game when you donate $1,000, you must deduct the value of the tickets from your donation. If the tickets are worth $300, you may only deduct $700 of the $1,000 you donated.

Non-Cash Property Donations

When you donate items instead of cash, including stock, the items are usually valued at fair market value – that is, what you could sell it for on the day you donate it. If you donate household goods and clothing, they must be in good condition. Some special rules apply to that caveat, including rules for vehicles and antiques that are not necessarily in the best of condition.

• If you have a coffee maker that you paid $25 for three years ago, and it still works perfectly, and is in good condition, you may claim the fair market value of the coffee maker. In all cases, that would be less than $25 – probably around $8 for an inexpensive coffee maker.
• If you have an old organ that was made in the 1800s and the bellows do not work, the foot pedals need to be recarpeted and it needs to be restrung, it might not be worth much. However, since it’s an antique, it probably has some value to it, even in poor condition. Items such as this should be appraised. You may be able to deduct the appraised value rather than what it is worth on the day you deduct it, which may be next to nothing since it’s in poor condition.

Keeping Receipts

While you do not have to turn in receipts when you claim a deduction for a donation, you must have a receipt on hand for every qualified donation you are claiming. The receipts should be on hand should you have an audit. It’s also a good idea to keep receipts as you may not remember all of the donations you made throughout the past years if you make several.

Additionally, if a donation has a value of over $250, you must have a bank record, a written acknowledgment, such as a receipt from the charity, or a payroll deduction showing the donation. For non-cash donations valued over $500, you must complete IRS Form 8283 and attach it to your return.

Claiming Donations

If you claim donations, you must itemize your deductions on Schedule A and file form 1040. You will not be able to use 1040EZ. If your deductions are less than the standard deduction, you may claim the standard deduction instead of itemizing your deductions. Furthermore, if you are donating one item or similar items that are valued at $5,000 or more, you must complete Section B of Form 8283.

Also, be sure to know how much your charitable write-off is limited to. Depending on your situation, it may be limited to as little as 20 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI) or up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income. You may find your AGI at the bottom of the first page of your 1040. If your contributions exceed the AGI limit for your situation, you may be able to carry them over for up to five years.

Contact France Law Firm

Even if you have an accountant, you may want to retain the services of a tax attorney if your taxes are complicated. Contact France Law Firm to set up a consultation regarding your tax situation.

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Emancipation or “Removal the Disabilities of Nonage”

Florida Statutes §743.015 provide guidance to the court to “remove the disabilities of nonage” on a person that is at least 16 years of age. Once the minor goes through the court process, he or she is subject to all civil and criminal laws of Florida and has all of the rights of an adult 18 years or older.

Why You Should Write a Will at an Early Age

Having a will protects any assets that you may own. Florida has rules and probate statutes that determine how property is distributed if you should die without a will. Your property may not be distributed in the manner that you may wish if you die without a will.

If you are thinking that you are 18 or 20 or even 30, and that you have a lifetime to get an estate set up – a will, trust and other probate documents – you could be taking a huge chance. Just because you are healthy doesn’t mean that you will live to a ripe old age. A vehicle accident or a sporting accident could claim your life at a very early age.

Is a Will Enough?

If you do not have debt, a will may be enough. However, if you have debt, you will need a way to protect your assets. A living trust is a way to protect everything that you own. A living trust is in place even before you die or before you become unable to take care of your own financial affairs.

Keep in mind that if you are not of sound mind, you will not be able to make and sign a will or a trust. That has to be done while you are of sound mind. Should some infliction, such as Alzheimer’s, run in your family, it is always better to get your estate in order earlier in life. This way, you will be able to name the person you want to oversee your affairs. A living trust allows that person to take over your affairs almost immediately.

Subsequent Marriages

A will is also important if you have been married more than one and you have children with a previous wife. According to Florida Statutes §732.102 states that if you are survived by children from a prior marriage, and you die without a will, your current wife will only receive one half of your estate. The children from your first marriage will split the other half.

You may not think that this would be a problem, since you probably want to leave something to your children. However, if your children do not get along with your current spouse or vice versa, your estate could be held in probate for years. This could also cause your current spouse to lose your home if the children decide to sell the home and take the equity. Of course, there would probably be a lawsuit, but again, this wastes assets for both your children and your current spouse, and keeps your property in probate for an undetermined amount of time.

Protecting Your Assets

Your creditors are entitled to payment of any accounts you hold with them. The probate court will use any assets possible to pay some or all of what you owe. Creating a will and a trust helps to protect some of your assets from creditors. Furthermore, should you have no choice but to live in a nursing home, a living trust protects your assets from the nursing home.

Contact France Law Firm

Regardless of your age, contact France Law Firm to schedule an appointment to discuss your estate needs, whether you have minimal assets or many assets. You will learn how to protect your estate from creditors should something happen to you; and you will ensure that your property is disbursed to the family and friends of your choosing.

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