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Cross Border Trust
Means Protection |
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Unfortunately, Susanna passed away lastyear and the title to the property was solely in her name. With her husband as the main beneficiary of her estate, the condo was left to him. According to Florida law, the property is subject to probate. Probate is the legal procedure required to transfer legal title to the beneficiaries upon death. As per Florida statutes, probate may cost up to approximately three per cent of the value of the Florida estate, which in this case translates into approximately $30,000. After completing a long, expensive and demoralizing probate process, Tom came to see us. The situation had become further complicated by the fact that six months ago his father, Maurice, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. With his father unable to travel, there was no longer a use for the condo and Tom was keen to put it on the market. It was at this point that Tom began to run into more trouble. Legally, the title still remained in his father’s name and only he could sell the condo. Tom came to us again. In order for Tom to sell the property he needs to be appointed his father’s guardian by a Florida court. Once the court makes a finding of incapacity, a guardian can be appointed. Guardianship proceedings require legal representation, and are often lengthy and can be costly. After we guided Tom and his family through the guardianship procedures, we met again to discuss the sale of the condo. Reflecting back on all the difficulties he had been through, Tom asked if there was anything that could have been done to avoid what he had just gone through. Simply, the answer is yes. Creating a Cross Border Trust SM and transferring the title into it would have allowed Tom to completely avoid probate and the long guardianship proceedings. Transferring property into a Cross Border Trust SM, avoids probate upon death as the Cross Border Trust SM does not die. As well, it avoids issues regarding incapacity and guardianship determinations. Rather than going through a guardianship proceeding, The Cross Border Trust SM enables the successor trustee(s) to step in to manage assets without Court intervention. Other benefits in the Cross Border Trust SM include the possible reduction and/or differing of U.S. estate taxes upon death and can also protect the children as beneficiaries against their creditors and/or a beneficiary’s divorcing spouse realizing rights to the property in the Cross Border Trust SM. Fortunately, the story does have a happy ending of sorts. With our firm representing Tom, the sale of the condo ran smoothly. We then created a Cross Border Trust SM for his Miami Beach property, protecting his wife and children from any of the complicated legal issues such as probate and incapacity. For more information: www.altrolaw.com or call 1-800-370-4860 David Altro, Florida Attorney & Canadian Legal Counsel |
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