For tax purposes, the basis of an asset generally equals its purchase price, and an asset’s basis determines the gain or loss when sold. If, for example, you purchase stock for $50 that you later sell for $75, you have a $25 taxable gain (i.e., $75 sale price less your…
S corporation stock, whether owned individually or by a trust, merits special attention upon death. Congress presumably did not want a shareholder’s death to terminate an S election, so an estate of a deceased S corporation shareholder is a permitted shareholder during the period of administration. If the executor transfers…
The Florida Trust Code provides that “the trustee shall keep the qualified beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.” Fla. Stat. § 736.0813. The trustee owes a duty to inform and account. The trustee’s duties to each qualified beneficiary include but are not limited…
A probate estate may be re-opened after it has been closed and the personal representative has been discharged for several reasons. If assets are discovered after an estate is closed, the estate may be reopened to probate the recently discovered assets. See, e.g., Continental Motors, Inc. v. Rosenthal, 278 So.…
Under Florida law, attorneys for personal representatives shall be entitled to reasonable compensation payable from estate assets without court order. See, Fla. Stat. § 733.6171(1). Florida law requires that an estate have both a personal representative and an attorney during the administration of an estate. The attorney requirement may be…