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Practice Areas > Estate Planning > Estate Planning for Florida Residents

The attorneys of Clark Skatoff ^PA have decades of experience in preparing estate plans for our clients. We walk our clients through the estate planning process, from analyzing a family’s financial circumstances and goals, to educating our clients about the range of estate planning options, and to drafting and implementing the estate plan. We draft estate plans for a wide range of clients, from young families with children, retirees and seniors, and to business owners.

We regularly create plans that rely on one or more of the following planning techniques:

• The preparation of wills and trusts, including living trusts, to control the disposition of property upon death, avoid probate, and to protect against incapacity during life.
• The creation of life insurance trusts to keep insurance proceeds out of the taxable estate and to ensure that life insurance proceeds are protected and invested for the protection of the beneficiaries.
• The use of estate tax reduction techniques and structures, such as family limited partnerships and sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts.
• The use of Dynasty Trusts, to protect assets of future generations from additional estate tax, and from creditors and spouses.
• The preparation of living wills, health care proxies and powers of attorney to protect our clients against subsequent incapacity.
• Estate planning for second marriages.
• Estate planning with special needs trusts for families with special needs children.

The Federal Estate Tax is scheduled to change each year from now until the year 2011. Under current law, the federal estate tax exemption amount is $2,000,000, and the rate is 46%. By 2009, the exemption amount is $3,500,000, and the estate tax rate is 45%. In the year 2010 there is no estate tax, and in 2011, the estate tax exemption goes back down to $1,000,000 and the rate goes up to 55%. Although Congress is likely to amend these provisions before repeal would take effect in 2010, effective planning is required to take into account whatever these estate tax rates might be. For a table of current estate tax rates and exemption amounts, please click here.

Florida residents need to be particularly aware of the Florida Homestead provisions of the Florida Constitution and certain Florida Statutes. These rules can restrict how a primary residence can be bequeathed to heirs, and they also protect homestead property from the creditors of a decedent and the beneficiaries, in some cases.

To learn more about the estate planning practice of the firm, please call attorney Jeffrey Skatoff, at (561) 842-4868.