THE DUKE & DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE debuted their little dashing-debonair progeny yesterday.  Although the little Prince has been gracing this earth with his royal presence for two days now, he still remains unnamed. But you know what they say about newborn babies: once you figure out the name, the hard part is over, right? Everyone from here to Timbuktu is hand on hip, tapping their foot, awaiting this name; so no pressure!

While William & Kate are debating a name fit for a Prince, hop on the royal bandwagon and start considering an Estate Plan fit for a King. In the spirit of all that is royal, lets consider your family to be a monarchy – making you the head of state, as King or Queen. It is your role to give a sense of stability and continuity to your little nation. Protect your assets; protect your people! Create an estate plan fit for a King with these 5 documents:

1. Living Trust – gain control, asset protection, & preclusion of unnecessary taxes;  designated a trustworthy (no pun) Trustee.
2. Assignment of Property – place all of your property into the trust, and avoid costs & headache associated with probate.
3. Last Will & Testament – used to distribute property to beneficiaries (or a trust), specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.
4. Durable Power of Attorney – gain control by designating someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated.
5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – gain control by making important healthcare decisions for yourself in advance.

As far as our little Prince goes, all we can do is hope that he will receive an original name (like James or George) so we can all rest assured that the poor little guy won’t get teased in the school yard … palace courtyard.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

AS WE MOVE CLOSER TO AUGUST, it’s time to mark your calendars for your “back to school sales tax holidays” – which are now expanding to cover just about everything in some states. In previous years, this sales tax holiday provided a couple days for shoppers to ravish the malls and department stores for clothing and school supplies. In states like Louisiana, you can purchase anything up to the price of $2,500 without tax being imposed, including guns! However, here in South Florida, your tax breaks will cover the standard clothing and school supplies, as well as computers and tablets (priced up to $750).

Florida state Rep. Larry Ahern, stated “[w]e are trying to take some of the burden off Florida families as they prepare for their children going back to school in August.” Speaking of burden’s – if you are participating in back-to-school tax savings, your child’s college years are probably just around the corner! While you can shop ‘til you drop every year, there are other tax planning techniques that can be used to save for your child’s college expenses, while avoiding those pesky mall folk!

The 529 Plan – a 529 plan allows you (or really, anyone) to contribute to an account to save for your child’s college education, and it is not subject to federal taxation. There is no age limit for when the plan can be used, and it can roll over to another family member. You can maintain control beyond your own natural years by appointing a guardian/trustee to manage it upon death. Not only do you avoid tax on withdrawals, but any capital gains are tax-free as well. Also, as an alternative, the Florida college savings plan is the largest prepaid plan in the nation.

No Generation Skipping Tax for College Payments – Lets say that you want to assist your grandchild in broadening their minds and finding a career path. You can create a trust, and give the trustee (you can be the trustee) a power to distribute the money for your grandchild’s tuition. This means, your trustee power is limited by an ascertainable standard, and may not be included in your gross estate (aka, you are not taxed on the amount).

So while stretching your legs for the mall-marathon that will be taking place  in South Florida on August 2-4, take a moment to consider the significant tax-free benefits of planning ahead for your child’s college education!

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

When he was the lead mafia boss in the Soprano’s, the IRS would not be a threat to James Gandolfini; as he’d simply bribe a Federal agent, or have “his people take care of it.” But here in the Wild world of reality, only attentive estate planning keeps the IRS monsters at bay. And in this case, the only “hit” that’s taking place, is that against Gandolfini’s estate.

Gandolfini died with an estate that is currently estimated to be $70 million. While he has been a very successful man, his use of poor estate planning has resulted in a lot of grief for both his legacy & loved ones. Although he devised his property through a will to the beneficiaries of his choosing, the IRS has claimed the biggest share, weighing in at about $30 million. Furthermore, his entire will is now a public record that anyone can view, because it was subject to probate (where the court determines the validity of a will).

This estate planning (or lack thereof) catastrophe demonstrates two very critical points in strategic estate planning: (1) avoiding taxes, & (2) creating a private and smooth distribution of property. 

In terms of tax, married couples have an incredible safeguard, called the martial deduction. One of Gandolfini’s biggest mistakes was devising only 20% of his estate to his wife. Due to the unlimited marital deduction, anything you transfer to your spouse is not subject to transfer taxes, and therefore that money goes free & clear of estate taxes upon the death of the transferor (Gandolfini). When you have such a large estate, it is often advisable to include the amount in your gross estate that covers the full applicable exclusion amount (the transfer tax exemption that each individual receives upon death), which is currently at $5,250,000. Then you can transfer the rest to your spouse, and it goes transfer tax free for the time being.

So why did he fail to take advantage of a tax-free transfer? This often happens in cases where there is a child that is from a previous marriage, or a similar complicated family situation. Gandolfini has a son from a previous marriage, and therefore possibly did not want to devise all his assets to his wife, in efforts to ensure his son would be provided for. While this is a valid concern, there are estate planning strategies that can be implemented to obtain these goals, while still safeguarding your assets from excessive taxes. A marital trust is often used in theses situations. The instrument provides that the income from the trust property will be paid to the spouse for life, and then upon the spouse’s death, to the children. This could have dramatically shrunk the IRS bill that will come due in only 9 months.

On the second point, whenever you devise all of your property directly through a will, it will go through probate before the property is distributed to the beneficiaries. The problem with this is that the will becomes public record, and it’s contents are exposed for the whole world to see. This is why it is desirable to use a “pour-over will” that filters all of your assets into a trust. By doing so, you avoid the costs and grief associated with probate, and preserve privacy for yourself, and loved ones.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

Within the past several days there have been two horrific plane crashes, leading to a total of 12 deaths. On Saturday, an Asiana Airlines flight crashed while landing in San Francisco, with 307 passengers on board. Two have been reported dead, with many in critical condition. The next day an Alaskan air taxi crashed, killing all 9 passengers, as well as the pilot.

With devastating events such as these, we are confronted with the grave reminder of how fleeting life can be, and the importance of planning for the unknown. For many, such planning is for the benefit of family; while others want to keep their memories alive through good deeds & charity donations. Although we have little control over our fate; you can gain control over your legacy with the following estate planning documents:

Living Trust – gain control, asset protection, & preclusion of unnecessary taxes; ensuring asset protection for your beneficiaries.

• gifts to charities that qualify for income tax and estate tax deductions can be made through Charitable Lead Annuity Trusts or Charitable Remainder Trusts.  Furthermore, a Charitable Lead Annuity Trusts (“CLATS”) allow an individual to transfer their assets to a beneficiary upon their death who can then donate the assets to a charity of their choosing.

Assignment of Property – place all of your property into the trust, and avoid costs & headache associated with probate.

Last Will & Testament – used to distribute property to beneficiaries (or a trust), specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.

Durable Power of Attorney – gain control by designating someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated.

Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – gain control by making important healthcare decisions for yourself in advance.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

IN THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, our nation is encouraged by the latest job market rise. The labor department’s reports have shown that the economy has added 195,000 jobs in both May & June, when analyst were projecting only 160,000.

The thirteen colonies didn’t gain independence for four hundred forty-two days after start of American Revolution. Similarly, it’s taken a good minute to find that same sense of freedom from the depressed job market in South Florida.

The Red, White & Blue’s will to overcome the job market adversity is demonstrative of the motivating force we celebrate this week. With raising job rates, its increasingly more important to keep your triumphant spirit preserved with asset protection strategies. Such strategies will not only protect your hard earned assets, but provide you with the freedom to control their disposition.

When considering your future, claim independence from the unknown, and plan ahead with the following documents:

1. Living Trust – gain control, asset protection, & preclusion of unnecessary taxes through the use of this document.

• Consider: Who would you appoint as your Trustee? Keep in mind, you can be the Trustee, giving yourself greater control over your assets. Make sure you appoint a back-up (successor) Trustee(s) within the document.

2. Assignment of Property – place all of your property into the trust, and avoid costs & headache associated with probate.

• Note: Probate is a very expensive and time consuming process, therefore most prefer to avoid it altogether by assigning all of their property to the trust.

3. Last Will & Testament – used to distribute property to beneficiaries (or a trust), specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.

• Note: Again, in efforts to avoid probate, it may be wise to use a pour-over will so that anything that was not assigned to the trust will be directed to the trust upon the Testator’s death. While the will still has to go through probate, the pour-over will makes the process much more expedient & leaves less room for anyone to contest it’s validity.

4. Durable Power of Attorney (“DPA”) – gain control by designating someone to legally act on your behalf in the event that you become incapacitated.

• Consider: Who will you designate to make decisions on your behalf? Remember, the DPA can only make decisions for your benefit, not their own.

5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – gain control by making important healthcare decisions in advance.

• Note: This outlines important healthcare decisions in advance, and appoints a healthcare surrogate to make healthcare decisions for you when you become unable to do so yourself.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM