Tenants by entireties and retirement accounts are popular and effective asset classes that are exempt from creditors under Florida law. In both cases, married individuals have an interest in each other’s assets, either as co-owners or as a beneficiary. The termination of the marriage can affect the protection that these…
Trusts have many purposes, including avoiding probate, reducing estate taxation, or protecting assets from creditor risk. The type of trust and the terms of trust depend on the priority of various planning goals. When it comes to estate planning, trusts can be a powerful tool for protecting your assets and…
An entrepreneur builds a profitable business with many years of hard work, long hours, and some luck. Dreaming of an exit and comfortable retirement, he makes the business available for sale. A larger company makes a generous purchase offer above the full asking price. The entrepreneur, surprised by his good fortune,…
Many people moving to Florida have previously made a will or created a living trust. Is their existing will or trust valid in Florida? Should they make a new will or amend their living trust? Florida law recognizes and enforces existing wills and living trusts executed in another state. Florida…
The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) issued a new rule (Rule 2021R-08F) addressing stabilizing braces used to convert pistols into short-barreled rifles, defined as a rifle having a barrel of fewer than 16 inches (“SBR”). The Rule regulates pistols that are made and intended to be fired from…
A vacation home LLC is a family business that allows a vacation home owner to pass down their property, specifying how the property can be used and how decisions will be made. Many people from northern states and retirees from all over own vacation homes in Florida. Florida vacation homes…
Protecting real estate after a lawsuit is filed against you is relatively difficult. Creditor collection remedies targeting real estate are easy and effective, and that real estate is fixed in place and cannot be moved beyond the jurisdiction of the court enforcing a judgment. The creditor’s recording of a final…
Most withdrawals or distributions from retirement accounts can be protected even after being deposited into a bank account. The protection is dependent on state law and proper asset protection design. IRA, Pension and 401k Retirement Plans Retirement accounts are generally protected from creditors under Florida law. Florida statute 222.21 protects IRAs, 401k plans,…
Reduction of employment taxes is part of asset protection planning involving limited liability companies. An LLC may elect to be treated for income tax purposes as either a partnership or a Subchapter S corporation. Advisors typically suggest taxation as an S corporation in order to minimize the amount of LLC…
In Florida, a trust protector is an individual or financial institution named in the trust agreement that facilitates the administration of a trust. Having a trust protector is not required—it is an optional feature of a revocable or irrevocable trust. A protector can increase the asset protection benefits of trust…
