Posted in Asset Protection,Probate & Trust Administration,Tax Law & IRS Defense,Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning

How did tax reform affect estate planning? The tax reform signed into law on December 22, 2017 increased the estate tax exclusion from $5.49 million[1] to slightly over $11 million.[2]  Estate tax is a tax on property transferred upon your death, but only estates valued in excess of the exclusion may owe tax.  In general, assets of a decedent in addition to any lifetime gifts that exceed the annual gift tax exclusion[3] on which gift tax has not been paid, are included in the calculation. For married couples, each spouse could have an exclusion[4]. Most individuals and couples do not have assets exceeding $11 million and $22 million, respectively, so the group to which estate tax is relevant has drastically reduced.
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Posted in Business & Corporate Law

Last year, the Florida Division of Corporations saw a total of 395,777 business entity filings.[1]  Some of these entities may have received correspondence from various companies, claiming the entity has “one step left in order to attain your elective Florida Certificate of Status and corporate agreement templates.”  The correspondence goes on to request a fee, usually approximately $70.00, with instructions for remitting payment.

Most, if not all, of this type of correspondence is not sent by the Florida Division of Corporations.  Once a business entity or registration is properly formed, incorporated, organized or registered on record with the Florida Division of Corporations, it is not required to purchase or receive a certificate of status to be considered valid.
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