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Estate Planning Tax Law Changes 2021
Changes To Estate And Gift Tax Law The New Tax Law: The 99.5% Act On March 25, 2021, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a bill into the U.S. Senate to impose higher taxes on certain estates. The bill is called “For the 99.5% Act” and proposes changes to estate tax law and gift tax law. Shannon Miller and her team explain how these proposed tax law will impact you. Changes to Estate Tax Threshold Currently, the estate tax exemption amount for 2021 is $11,700,000.00 per individual ($23,400,000.00 for married couples who use their estate tax...
read moreCompassionate Care Provider: New Access To Senior Facilities
Update On Visitation Inside Senior Facilities In Florida During The Pandemic By Shannon Miller, Founder The New October 22, 2020 DeSantis Executive Order on Facility Access To Loved Ones appears to take into account the CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) Guidelines of September 17, 2020 in order to increase access for ALL facilities in Florida. Compassionate Care Provider In the Governor’s new order, eliminates “essential caregiver” status and incorporates “compassionate care provider” from the...
read moreCOVID-19 Safe and Limited Re-Opening of Long-Term Care Facilities
by the Agency For Health Care Administration On October 22, 2020, at the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz issued Emergency Order 20-011 revising some of the requirements for individuals entering residential and long-term care facilities. The information in this blog is content written and published by the Agency For Health Care Administration. Key revisions in the Governor’s Order Collapse Essential Caregiver into the Compassionate Caregiver definition Require signage...
read morePrevent Isolation By Accessing Loved Ones In Facilities in Florida
Governor Desantis’ Order 20-009 Allows Us To Visit Loved Ones Again–And Help With The Devastating Effects of Isolation. The pandemic has been especially hard on our special loved ones in facilities, who are missing their family and friends. The isolation is hitting those in memory care units and skilled nursing especially hard. Of course, we suffer as well with not being to hold and visit with our loved ones. Sadly, my amazing grandmother was a victim of the isolation during the pandemic. She was 102 years young and the light...
read moreDurable Power of Attorney: The Document You Need Right Now
The Durable Power Of Attorney is the most important document that we, as attorneys, draft for our clients. If you reach the age of 70, you have an 80-85% chance of becoming incapacitated before you die (yes, for women, it is 85%, sorry gents!). This means you need a trusted person as your Agent under your Durable Power Of Attorney to take care of financial decision-making if/when you cannot. If you do not have a Durable Power Of Attorney, and bills need to be paid, or managed (let’s say you get the corona virus and...
read moreAsset Management: Avoid Adding People Onto Your Accounts As A Joint Account Holder
How To Title Your Assets So They Are Distributed The Way You Intend Unfortunately this happens on a regular basis. And it may cause some unexpected problems with maintaining control of your assets. Here is a scenario: You are having health care issues or lost a spouse and need some help. Your banker, trying to be helpful, suggests adding your daughter to your accounts. These accounts may hold the majority of your assets. You may not realize making her a joint account holder gives her unlimited access to the accounts. In...
read moreUse An Enhanced Life Estate Deed To Avoid Probate
Why You Want To Avoid Probate Almost all of our clients at The Miller Elder Law Firm want to know how to pass assets, including property, to their children (or other beneficiaries) without the expense or delay of a formal probate process in Court. The goal is to avoid probate. We often recommend the use of an enhanced life estate deed, which is unique to Florida. A Florida Enhanced Life Estate Deed can avoid probate for your real property, speed up the transfer of a property to loved ones upon your death, maintain your continued...
read moreWills Or Trusts: Which Is The Right Fit For You?
Questions To Answer “Wills Or Trusts?” To make the right choice, there are some very important questions and discussions that need to happen to make the right decision. Questions We Ask To Determine If You Should Do A Will Or Trust: Is this a second marriage? Do you have kids by a first marriage Do you have property in another state? Do you assets exceed 3.5 million? Do you have a special needs child? Do you have a child in financial difficulty or a shaky marriage? These answers will help us determine if a trust is the best fit...
read moreThe Aging Brain: The Reason Seniors Are Most Vulnerable To Scams
by Shannon Miller, ESQ. The Snake Oil Salesman has existed in society from the beginning preying on those who were old, weak, or compromised in some way. Unfortunately, the increased demand for Alexa, Zoom and social media as delivery methods for the snake oil sales pitch coupled with a thinning of the cortical insula in the brain as we age has created the Perfect Storm for exploitation of our most vulnerable citizens. And these attacks can be devastating– 80% of our nation’s wealth is held by those over the age of 65, which can be...
read moreWhat To Do And Not To Do With Your Estate Planning Documents
Shannon Miller, founder of The Miller Elder Law Firm, is a Florida Bar Board Certified Elder Law Attorney talks about what to do with your estate planning documents. A common question I get in my practice is “I have an estate plan in place, my affairs are in order, now what do I do with it?” First of all, congratulations! 50% of Americans do not have an estate plan. You are on the right track for planning many events you will experience as an older adult. The better the planning, the easier the decision making process will...
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