By Jason Palmisano
On October 1, 2015 the Florida Supreme Court held in Jones v. Golden that if a creditor of a probate estate is reasonably ascertainable and they never received a copy of the notice to creditors from the personal representative of the estate then the creditor has two (2) years after the decedent’s date of death to file a claim against the estate.
By: Linda Hankins
An heir, beneficiary or interested party could seek to have a person’s testamentary plan voided on one or more grounds after the testator’s death. Such actions are common if the interested party is not satisfied by the testator’s plan. Those causes of action typically include:
By Jason Palmisano
Adding a responsible adult child to mom’s bank account to give the child access to funds to pay bills and expenses for mom as she gets older seems harmless enough, right? After all, mom really needs the help and the account will now avoid probate since the child is a joint owner of the account. And mom did tell her child to divide the funds equally with his siblings after she passes (which, of course, the child assures her will happen).
A Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) account is a custodial account established for the benefit of a minor. The property in an UTMA account belongs to the minor but is controlled by a custodian until the UTMA account terminates. An UTMA account created by an individual, or pursuant to the terms of a will or trust, terminates upon the minor attaining age 21. If a decedent’s will or trust did not specifically provide for the creation of an UTMA account, one may still be established but it will terminate when the minor attains age 18.
By: Amanda Wilson
Last Friday, President Obama signed into law a bill that provides temporary funding for the highway trust fund. Buried in the law are several permanent changes to the tax code that are unexpected. Specifically, the deadline for filing tax returns for partnerships and S corporations has been moved up a month, from April 15th to March 15th. The deadline for filing tax returns for corporations has been moved back a month, from March 15th to April 15th. These changes will apply for tax returns due for tax years starting in 2016. Be aware of how these changes could affect your private business.
