CS/HB 311--Probate.This bill was designed to update the Florida Probate probate (prō`bāt), in law, the certification by a court that a will is valid. Probate, which is governed by various statutes in the several states of the United States, is required before the will can take effect. Code. A number of the changes made by the bill are technical in nature. The effects of the provisions of the bill are described below. The bill integrates the language of Florida Probate Rule 5.260(f) into [section]731.110. As a result, the bill may clarify that a person who files a caveat is entitled to be served with a petition for administration before a will is admitted to probate. However, this provision of the bill, read in conjunction with existing [section]733.2123, likely requires the caveator to challenge the will and the qualifications of the personal representative before a personal representative is authorized to take actions on behalf of an estate. The bill makes enforceable provisions of a will or trust requiring arbitration to resolve disputes between or among beneficiaries or beneficiaries and a fiduciary. A requirement for the use of arbitration will be interpreted to mean binding arbitration, unless specified otherwise. The bill conforms the value of property not subject to a spouse's elective share Statutory provision that a surviving spouse may choose between taking that which is provided in the will of the deceased spouse or taking a statutorily prescribed share of the estate. , which was given as a gift within a year of the decedent's death, to the current amount excludable from taxable gifts under [section]2503 of the Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code is the body of law that codifies all federal tax laws, including income, estate, gift, excise, alcohol, tobacco, and employment taxes. These laws constitute title 26 of the U.S. Code (26 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq. . As a result, this amount will increase to $12,000 from $10,000. Moreover, statute will track future changes in the amount excludable from taxable gifts resulting from the cost-of-living adjustment cost-of-living adjustment n. Abbr. COLA An adjustment made in wages that corresponds with a change in the cost of living. in [section]2503(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code. The bill makes pensions, retirement or deferred compensation plans, or similar arrangements that were not subject to creditor claims during a decedent's life available to fund a spouse's elective share. As such, these funds, which are available under existing law to pay creditor claims on the death of the owner, may no longer be available to pay creditor claims under the bill. This bill revises the definition of "elective share trust" in [section]732.2025(2)(b), to no longer include trusts "subject to the provisions of former [section]738.12, " to ensure that an elective share trust will qualify for the Federal estate tax marital deduction marital deduction n. when one spouse dies, the survivor may take a tax deduction of half of the value of the estate of the dying spouse. Thus, the minimum value of the estate before there is a possible federal estate tax rises from $600,000 to $1,200,000 at the death ." The bill revises the description of a protected charitable interest in [section]732.2075(2). The changed description clarifies that certain transfers to protected charitable interests are not available for the payment of the elective share. The bill restricts the enforceability of a provision of a will which limits the liability of a personal representative for a breach of a fiduciary duty Noun 1. fiduciary duty - the legal duty of a fiduciary to act in the best interests of the beneficiary legal duty - acts which the law requires be done or forborne . Accordingly, under the bill, a personal representative cannot be relieved for a breach of a fiduciary duty committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the purposes of the will or the interests of interested persons. However, limitations on liability inserted in a will at the behest of a personal representative may be enforced if the limitation is fair and was communicated to the testator One who makes or has made a will; one who dies leaving a will. A testator is a person who makes a valid will. A will is the document through which a deceased person disposes of his property. A person who dies without having made a will is said to have died intestate. or the testator's attorney. The bill clarifies that the terms "descendant" and "lineal descendant lineal descendant n. a person who is in direct line to an ancestor, such as child, grandchild, great-grandchild and on forever. A lineal descendant is distinguished from a "collateral" descendant which would be from the line of a brother, sister, aunt or uncle. " are synonymous. Moreover, the bill changes references in existing law to descendant from lineal descendant. The bill also provides a definition of collateral heir A successor to property—either by will or descent and distribution—who is not directly descended from the deceased but comes from a parallel line of the deceased's family, such as a brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or cousin. and makes other technical changes. The bill increases the amount of time to 90 days from 60 days that a debtor to a decedent An individual who has died. The term literally means "one who is dying," but it is commonly used in the law to denote one who has died, particularly someone who has recently passed away. domiciled in another state must wait, in certain circumstances, to pay the debt to an out-of-state personal representative. These provisions were approved by the governor and these provisions take effect July 1, 2007. Chapter 2007-74 L.O.F. |
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