Florida offers several advantages for those who are residents or who are contemplating making Florida their primary residence.
- No income tax (and the Florida intangible tax has been
eliminated); - No state estate or inheritance tax;
- No state gift tax;
- Save Our Homes Property Tax Assessment Cap;
- Florida Homestead Exemption;
- Florida Homestead creditor protection; and
- Favorable Trust Laws.
To take advantage of these laws one must become a Florida resident.
While there is no “bright line” test to determine Florida residency several factors are considered, such as:
- Declaration of Domicile;
- Voters Registration;
- Drivers’ License;
- Registration of Motor Vehicles
- Homestead Declaration;
- Place of Primary Mailing Address;
- Place of Primary physicians, accountants and lawyers;
- Location of Primary House of Worship and
- Length of Time Spent in Florida
If one has become a Florida resident, it makes great sense to conform one’s legal documents, including wills and trusts, to Florida law. While becoming a Florida resident won’t invalidate properly executed documents
from a former state of residence, each state does have different laws. The difference in each state’s laws could have a dramatic effect on one’s
estate plan.
Florida laws related to the following topics might be very different from other states, therefore requiring amendments to estate and wealth preservation planning.
Here are just a few of the various Florida laws that differ from several other states and consequently may affect a typical estate plan:
- Homestead descent and devise laws (who you may or may not leave your home to in your will or trust);
- Rule Against Perpetuities (how long a trust may be in existence);
- Principal and Income Act (determining what constitutes income
and what constitutes corpus or principal when making distributions
from a will or trust);
- Apportionment of taxes and expenses (determining whose share in your estate might be charged with certain taxes and expenses of administration);
- Spousal elective share statutes;
- Small trust termination statutes;
- Ability of a trustee to amend otherwise irrevocable trusts;
- Trust powers of fiduciaries;
- Wasting assets laws;
- Conversion of income trusts to total return trusts;
- Durable Power of Attorney laws;
- Health Care Surrogate/Medical Power of Attorney laws;
- Living Will laws and
- Trustee fiduciary standards, including prudent investor rules.
To name but a few. Only an experienced professional can analyze your current documents and compare those documents to your stated intent and current assets to determine whether your plan requires amendment.