Tampa Estate Planning Attorney
There are many components involved in creating a comprehensive and effective estate plan. Depending upon the size and complexity of your estate, some combination of wills and trusts will likely be needed to accomplish the goals of distributing your estate in a way which minimizes probate and maximizes the tax advantages available to you and your heirs. Other important matters that must also be taken into account often include issues of asset protection and business succession planning. Equally important are the powers of attorney and advance directives that must be included to ensure that your health care and financial affairs are looked after properly during any period of incapacity you may ever experience. Let our Tampa estate planning attorney help you.
Attorney David Toback has been serving the people of Tampa for 17 years in the areas of estate planning and tax planning. He has worked with business owners and high-net worth individuals, bringing a high-level of knowledge, skill and experience to advise them and assist them in tailoring an estate plan to meet their goals.
The Right Combination of Wills and Trusts to Meet Your Needs
Every person making a will has unique needs, and every estate plan is unique. At a minimum, every estate plan should include a will to make any special or personal dispositions, appoint an executor or personal representative for the estate, appoint a guardian for minor children, and make sure that all property is accounted for and properly disposed of. Beyond the will, some combination of trusts will likely effectuate the testator’s unique needs and goals, which may include maximizing tax benefits while minimizing probate, transferring business interests, funding charities, and creating a lasting legacy for future generations. Tampa estate planning and trust attorney, David Toback, can advise and assist in the creation of any number of trusts necessary to meet your needs.
Comprehensive Tampa Estate Planning for All Your Needs
Estate planning is about more than just what happens to your property after you die. In addition to wills and trusts, David Toback drafts living wills, powers of attorney, health care surrogate designations and other advance directives to make sure your health care and financial affairs are looked after by someone you trust and in accordance with your wishes, in the event you ever become incapacitated and cannot make decisions for yourself, even temporarily.
Tampa Estate Planning FAQs
Even knowledgeable and sophisticated investors have questions about tax and estate planning. In fact, the more sophisticated an investor becomes, the more complex become the questions concerning how to maintain and transfer assets with the minimum of tax liability. Below are some brief answers to basic questions about the estate and gift tax, and different types of trusts and asset transfers. Your own estate planning should be undertaken with the help of a knowledgeable estate planning attorney who is experienced in estate planning and tax law and the tax implications of any trusts you create or other transfers you make. In Tampa, contact David Toback, a 17-year veteran of tax law and estate planning, for assistance.
What constitutes a “gift” for the purpose of the estate and gift tax?
The IRS interprets a gift very broadly, so that a gift may include any transfer of property or assets, or the use of income-producing property, without expecting something of equivalent value in return. Even selling something to another may be considered a gift, when it is sold at less than full value. Likewise, an interest-free or below-market loan may also create a gift for gift tax purposes.
Fortunately, taxpayers may make annual gifts to individuals without the gift incurring any gift tax liability, up to the annual gift tax exclusion amount. This amount can be doubled when the gift is split between spouses. Gifts made within the annual exclusion do not reduce the available lifetime credit under the estate and gift tax, and they can be made every year. Moreover, certain gifts, such as direct payments to qualified education institutions or health care providers, are not counted at all toward the gift tax, regardless of amount. Preparing and filing a gift tax return will be required under certain circumstances.
How does a Family Limited Partnership work?
A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) is a legal entity that may hold property, including cash, real property, a business interest, or other assets. Like any limited partnership, there are general partners and limited partners. In an FLP, senior family members act as general partners and have a greater role in the management and control of partnership assets. As limited partners, younger family members have less authority over the partnership but retain a greater share of FLP property. The FLP, then, is a tool to pass wealth to younger generations while reducing the taxable estate and tax liability of the transferring generation.
What is a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust?
A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust, or GRAT, is another way to transfer assets from one generation to another while reducing the amount of estate and gift tax. A GRAT is an irrevocable trust that is established for a limited time period. During the life of the trust, an annuity is paid out every year to the grantor, with the income typically generated by interest on the assets in the trust. When the trust expires, the beneficiary receives the assets tax free. This way, the cost of the transfer is only the gift tax on the value of the remainder interest, instead of the entire transfer becoming a taxable gift to the beneficiaries.
What is a 1031 Exchange?
A 1031 Exchange, also called a like-kind exchange, is named after section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. This section basically says that the no gain or loss is recognized on the exchange of property held for productive use or investment when it is exchanged solely for a like-kind property held for productive use or investment. In other words, if you exchange an investment property for another property which qualifies as a like-kind exchange, you can avoid (defer) paying capital gains taxes on the transaction. Before selling or reinvesting property, talk to an experienced tax planning attorney to see whether the transaction can be structured as a 1031 like-kind exchange.
Contact an Experienced Tampa Estate Planning Attorney
Trust your estate planning to an attorney with 17 years of high-level experience drafting wills, trusts and powers of attorney for high-net worth individuals and business owners, utilizing expertise in tax planning, business succession planning, asset protection and probate. Contact Tampa estate planning attorney David Toback.
