The ways that statutes are written still leave plenty of room for interpretation in any area of law. Estate laws in Florida are no exception to this rule. This seems to have been the case in a recent legal dispute between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and a family trust. The ruling could become relevant for some people’s trust planning strategies.

The case involved the court’s interpretation of what it means for a trust to materially participate in business activities….

Details matter when it comes to many things in life. They also matter when it comes to death and estate planning implementation in Florida and elsewhere. Even small mistakes can result in serious consequences when it comes to estate administration. It can even cause intended beneficiaries to not receive their inheritance.

This is what happened with one woman who made a simple administrative mistake in her estate plan. She created a trust stating that all of the assets in her estate should be given to her children….

Most estate planning strategies are aimed at leaving the largest amount of assets as possible for intended beneficiaries. This is why many people in Florida are utilizing Roth IRAs in their estate planning. Although avoiding taking any distributions from traditional IRAs can help to save money for the next generation, many times, at a certain point, it makes sense to partially convert to a Roth IRA if one is aiming to reduce income tax liability.

The problem with traditional IRAs is that they force a person to take out minimum distribution amounts once the person has reached 70-1/2 years of age….

Parents, following their deaths, typically do not want their kids to fight one another over their inheritances. Unfortunately, these kinds of conflicts often take place in Florida and other states because parents have neglected to create wills. This is particularly a problem when parents have loaned or gifted money to one kid and not to the others.

Some key words can help to minimize the chances of having conflicts between the surviving children. First, if one child gets money, the child’s siblings might naturally believe that this child should thus get a smaller share of the late parents’ estate….

Estate planning is an important step for Florida families. However, it is important that estate planning be approached the right way and done correctly. The correct approach to estate planning will differ from case to case, based on the individual needs of the family at that time. These plans can be adjusted over time as needed.

One of the first steps to take in estate planning is to have a will. This is a basic step and is not necessarily all that should be done, but it provides a basic protection for heirs and beneficiaries in the event of an unexpected death….