The Thursday Report – May 23, 2013 – Florida Bills That Will Affect RPPTL Section Members, 30 Days Rental Exception for Florida Homestead, How to Remove a Mug Shot from Google and Lawyers in History
THE NEW 30 DAYS RENTAL EXCEPTION FOR FLORIDA’S HOMESTEAD TAX LAW – JUST ONE OF MANY LAWS ABOUT TO BE SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR
NOT AGAIN, COLONEL! – HOW TO REMOVE A MUG SHOT FROM GOOGLE IN 48 HOURS FOR AS LITTLE AS $99
A DOUBLE FEATURE FROM DENIS KLEINFELD: IRS-Gate and the Continuing Absurdity of Tax Reform and Asset Stripping – A Fine American Tradition
NEW YORK TIMES STORY ON KFC SMUGGLING IN GAZA
LAWYERS IN HISTORY: THE IMPACT OF LAW PRACTICE ON THEIR LIVES AND CAREERS: MAHATMA GANDHI
PART II OF OUR BNA ARTICLE ENTITLED “WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA LAW TO ADVISE YOUR CLIENTS WHO LIVE HERE”
DIRECTIONS FROM OUR TAMPA OFFICE TO KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN ON KENNEDY AND SOUTH DAKOTA
“Thanks for doing the Thursday Report. You make me look forward to Thursdays!”
– Nick Jovanovich, Berger Singerman Law Firm
We welcome contributions for future Thursday Report topics. If you are interested in making a contribution as a guest writer, please email Janine Ruggiero at Janine@gassmanpa.com.
This report and other Thursday Reports can be found on our website at www.gassmanlaw.com.
THE NEW 30 DAYS RENTAL EXCEPTION FOR FLORIDA’S HOMESTEAD TAX LAW – JUST ONE OF MANY LAWS ABOUT TO BE SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR
Thanks to the above-mentioned summaries from Martha and Peter, we found Senate Bill 342, which was presented to Governor Scott on May 21, 2013. If signed, the bill will go into effect July 1, 2013. The new bill creates a 30 day exception to the rule that rental of a property constitutes abandonment of a homestead for purposes of the Save Our Homes assessment cap. The total number of rental days used will be calculated based on the calendar year, January 1—December 31. Here is the Florida Senate’s brief summary of Bill 342:
The rental of all or substantially all of a dwelling previously claimed to be a homestead for tax purposes constitutes the abandonment of the dwelling as a homestead. If the homestead is terminated, any Save Our Homes assessment limitation is forfeited and the property is assessed at just value.
The underlying rationale for the termination of homestead due to a rental is that the owner’s rental activity signifies the owner’s intent to reside elsewhere. There are occasions though when a property owner does not intend to abandon their residence through rental. Examples of these types of short-term rentals include those associated with annual sporting events, arts festivals, college graduations, or business-related symposiums and conventions.
SB 342 amends s. 196.061, F.S., to allow the rental of homestead property for up to 30 days per calendar year without the property being considered abandoned or affecting the homestead status of the property.
If approved by the Governor, these provisions take effect July 1, 2013.
This is great news for those who want to rent their home periodically while keeping their property taxes in check. Click here to view the bill in its entirety on the Florida Senate’s website and here for a copy of the Senate’s Analysis of the bill.
NOT AGAIN, COLONEL! – HOW TO REMOVE A MUG SHOT FROM GOOGLE IN
48 HOURS FOR AS LITTLE AS $99
Sometimes bad things happen to good colonels. And sometimes good colonels make mistakes. Unfortunately these types of situations can result in an arrest and mug shot, like the Colonel’s above. Regardless of innocence or guilt, mug shots often end up online and can appear when someone searches an arrested person’s name. This can be very harmful in many situations, such as when someone is searching for a new job or deciding which fried chicken proprietor to visit. Well don’t fear. The Thursday Report has found an inexpensive and quick way to stop mug shots from appearing in Google searches. Read on for details.
In most counties in Florida, the county sheriff’s office will make mug shots available online. Most county sheriff’s websites have a feature where you can search to see if a person has ever been arrested. If the person has been arrested, then the county sheriff’s website will usually display details of the arrest and a mug shot. But the good thing about most county sheriff’s office websites is that the arrest information and mug shots normally do not show up in a regular Google search for a person’s name.
The real problem is third party websites like www.mugshots.com and www.florida.arrests.org. These types of websites take the mug shots from county sheriff’s office websites and then publish the mug shots on their own website. Mug shots on these third party websites will then show up in regular Google searches and Google image searches.
Fortunately, there are services that can stop a mug shot from showing up in a Google search. We do not know how they do it, but they do work. We also do not know if the mug shot websites and the removal services are in cahoots, but we would be very interested if someone looked into this.
An online search for “mug shot removal service” will yield a number of different companies offering the service. We have found one website that works well and is very inexpensive: RemoveMyMug.com. We do not endorse this website or have any affiliation with RemoveMyMug.com; we can only say that it has worked in the past for us. We can’t get into details, but the Thursday Report has a “checkered” past.
RemoveMyMug.com costs $99 per mug shot removal. This means that you will have to pay $99 for each website that displays a mug shot. RemoveMyMug.com claims they typically take 24 hours or less for a removal, with some taking only minutes. They also offer a money back guarantee if they are unsuccessful.
Once the mug shot removal service removes the mug shot, the Google search result will not disappear automatically. Eventually Google will see that the link to the mug shot website no longer works and eliminate all search results. Until then, the mug shot listing will appear in Google’s search results, but if someone clicks on the search result they will receive a message that the page is no longer available. This is called a dead link. Google’s removal process can take anywhere from one to thirty days. But it is possible to make the dead link disappear in a few hours.
Google allows people to report dead links, like a removed mug shot. To do this, first you go to the Google content removal page. Click here for the page. Click on the option that says “Remove content that’s not live.” Then log in using a Google account. You can make one up if you do not already have one. After that you will see a button in the middle of the Google webpage that says “Create a new removal request.” Click on this button and paste the URL for any mug shot webpage that was deleted. The easiest way to do this is to open a second webpage or browser, perform a Google search for the person’s name, and then copy and paste any search results that are showing. We have found that Google will often remove a dead link in just a few hours.
That should take care of any Google search results. If you or your client are interested in expunging an arrest record, then you should check individual county websites to learn how to do so.
A DOUBLE FEATURE FROM DENIS KLEINFELD: IRS-Gate and the Continuing Absurdity of Tax Reform and Asset Stripping – A Fine American Tradition
Attorney Denis Kleinfeld has been kind enough to provide us with two articles for this week’s Thursday Report, one on “IRS-Gate” and one on asset stripping. Read on for Denis’ articles.
Denis is Of Counsel to Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph, PL, in Miami, Florida and Professor of Law, LLM International Tax Program, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, California. Denis advises both U.S. and international businesspersons, investors, professionals, families, and individuals in asset protection and wealth preservation, U.S. and international estate planning, income tax analysis and planning, tax compliance, business transactions, asset and personal migration, and investment planning, structuring and implantation.
Mr. Kleinfeld is co-author of the two-volume treatise “Practical International Tax Planning.” To learn more about this must-have reference tool, or to purchase this book, please click here.
You can contact Mr. Kleinfeld at deniskleinfeld@fuerstlaw.com or (813) 227-7487.
IRS-Gate and the Continuing Absurdity of Tax Reform
By: Denis Kleinfeld
Denis Kleinfeld’s opinions are his own and do not reflect those of the Thursday Report or Colonel Sanders.
What is the background for the current astounding example of Congressional investigations of the IRS?
Ever since Congress pushed through legislation to enact an income tax and the 16th Amendment in 1913, the income tax system has been a never-ending source of abuse, corruption, fraud, malfeasance and class-warfare.
Name any president or Congress and you’ll find the IRS was being used as a social and political weapon.
Exactly what the signers of the Constitution did not want, Congress in their own arrogance of power did — and are still doing.
The self-righteous outrage by Congress, and the typical “Gee, I didn’t know what was going on” response by the president is just their usual kabuki dance.
This strikes me as nothing more than the king and his nobles being surprised that the Royal Torturer is mistreating the peasants.
This same scenario played out rather dramatically under President Clinton in 1997. A rather long history of tax abuse by the government against its taxpayers finally came to a head.
As reported by CNN in September of that year, accusations of “gestapo-like tactics employed by the tax agency” abounded.
IRS historian Shelley Davis, who wrote about the IRS in “Unbridled Power,” described the IRS activities that are as true today as they were then.
“Davis described the IRS as ‘the best secret-keeping agency in our government today. They are better than the CIA, better than the FBI,'” CNN reported.
What were some of the discoveries about the IRS that she relayed to the Senate Finance Committee?
“I discovered that the IRS does keep a list of American citizens for no other reason than their political activities might have offended someone in the IRS; about how the IRS believes that anyone who offers even legitimate criticism of the tax collector is a tax protestor; about how the IRS shreds its paper trail, which means that there is no history, no evidence and, ultimately, no accountability.”
David Burnham, author of “A Law Unto Itself: The IRS and the Abuse of Power,” told the Committee that audits motivated by politics can occur; however, there doesn’t need to be direct pressure from the administration to get one started, according to CNN.
CNN reported Burnham as saying, “It is not as simple as the White House calling the commissioner and saying, ‘Go get these guys,’ because if there is a perception inside the IRS that the administration wants to protect itself from this kind of scrutiny, the IRS may very well do it on their own. It doesn’t take direction from the White House; the IRS has the power on their own to do it — there’s nothing to stop them from doing it.”
Out of the hearings came new legislation. In 1998, the Senate and the House passed the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act.
Among other provisions, it created the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board. However, since the date of inception, this board has never found any abuse of power by the IRS.
Then-Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Roth, Jr., R-Del., published a book titled “The Power to Destroy: How the IRS Became America” in 1999 where he explained the IRS’ power to destroy the taxpayers, but how Congress is taking back control.
Be prepared for new cries by Congress to really reform the IRS this time. That is, of course, with a generous campaign contribution from you.
Ultimately, the only answer to the abuse of the taxing power inherent in an income tax system is to repeal income tax (flat or progressive) and repeal the 16th Amendment.
Denis Kleinfeld’s opinions are his own and do not reflect those of the Thursday Report or Colonel Sanders.
Asset Stripping – A Fine American Tradition
By: Denis Kleinfeld
The legal battle between debtors and creditors has two centuries of American tradition behind it. This was recognized on March 30, 2000 by the New York Court of Appeals in deciding an international debt collection case. The fact that it was decided in New York has significant importance because of New York’s prominence in the worldwide financial markets.
In Credit Agricole Indosuez v. Rossiyskiy Kredit Bank, 94 N.Y. 2d 541 (N.Y. App. 2000), the debtors were attempting to put liens on assets prior to judgment. Creditors, as might be expected, sought the help of the New York courts by requesting preliminary injunctive relief. But New York’s highest court, in overturning the decision of two lower courts, rejected the plaintiff’s position and held that the New York courts cannot be used by general creditors to freeze globally the assets of a debtor. A great decision for those trying to protect assets.
In this case, three European banks were trying to collect on thirty million dollars in promissory notes which had been issued by Russia’s sixth largest bank and its Dutch subsidiary, a securities company. In view of the financial crisis occurring in Russia, it is understandable that the creditors were concerned that assets that might otherwise be available to pay the debts would be stripped away. The promissory notes provided for jurisdiction in New York in the event of default and, acting on those provisions, the creditors obtained a preliminary injunction from the lower court freezing the banks’ assets in New York.
The Court of Appeals, in lifting that injunction, reviewed the historical legal principles of these forms of claims.
Under U.S. law, a creditor must usually have a judgment before taking actions to obtain ownership, force a sale, or obtain control over a debtor’s assets. The court noted that since the 18th century, the American courts have “consistently refused to grant general creditors a preliminary injunction to restrain a debtor’s asset transfers that allegedly would defeat satisfaction of any anticipated judgment.” This certainly has a decided impact even when considering that creditors would have legal rights under fraudulent conveyance statutes or bankruptcy law.
The New York court relied on the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court case of Groupo Mexicano de Desarrollo, S.A. v. Alliance Bond Fund, Inc., 119 S.Ct. 1961 (1999), where a preliminary injunction was sought in a parallel factual situation. Plaintiffs in that case also asserted that the debtor was at risk of insolvency, if not already insolvent, and that dissipating its most significant assets would frustrate any judgment the creditors would obtain. In Groupo Mexicano, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that the law ever since the Federal Judiciary Act of 1789 provided that preliminary injunctive relief was beyond the traditional principle of equity jurisdiction, and that the courts should not allow such actions. As the Supreme Court found, “a general creditor (one without a judgment) had no cognizable interest, either at law or in equity, in the property of his debtor, and therefore could not interfere with the debtor’s use of that property.” A simple accurate statement of fundamental law.
Creditors’ lawyers, if nothing else, are ingenious at thinking up legal arguments. In Credit Agricole, they came up with a cause of action alleging that the defendant bank, being presently insolvent, owed a fiduciary duty to preserve assets for the benefit of general creditors. They alleged that when the bank transferred the principle assets to avoid the creditors, they breached their fiduciary duty and therefore the courts should award permanent injunctive relief to protect the expected money judgment.
The New York court didn’t buy that argument. As it observed, the fiduciary duty argument was only incidental to the enforcement of the primary relief sought – the money judgment. “Making an exception on the basis that permanent equitable relief is sought in support of a suit essentially for money only would be too facile a way to avoid and undermine the settled proscription against preliminary injunctions merely to preserve a fund for eventual execution of judgment in suits for money damages” That is, the mere danger of asset stripping is not a sufficient basis for the courts to make an exception to the general rule that has been recognized for two centuries in American law.
Although the lawyers for the creditors urged a change in the law, the New York court specifically rejected the idea of liberalizing and expanding the remedies that are already available under the American legal system. The Plaintiffs urged that they follow the example of the English courts and establish Mareva type injunctions which would allow worldwide freezing of assets. They stated that this would be necessary in response to the increase globalization of capital markets. This argument was also raised in the Groupo Mexicano, and like the United States Supreme Court, the New York court also rejected this argument.
There really is nothing new about these cases. For example, in Florida under Bayview Estates Corp. v. Southerland, 154 So. 894 (Fla. 1934), the Supreme Court of Florida noted that “the mere fact that a person may be indebted to another does not render a conveyance of his property a fraud in law upon its creditors. The owner of property, whether real or personal, possesses the absolute right to dispose of all or any part of it as he sees fit.” The traditional view has always been that a creditor has no cognizable interest in the property of a debtor until the creditor obtains a judgment.
This of course has profound impact upon asset protection planning. For one thing, it makes it clear that a debtor has the absolute legal right to transfer his property so long as that property is freely alienable and the transfer is not illegal. Even though a creditor apparently may be able to obtain a judgment on the debt, the fact remains that the creditor’s legal rights do not rise until that judgment is actually obtained. Cases such as Groupo Mexicano, which is the federal law of the United States, and Credit Agricole, which is the law in New York, provides support for many planners who for years have espoused the view that asset protection planning is not only perfectly legal but is in the great American tradition.
A big Thursday Report thank you goes out to Denis for both of his articles!
NEW YORK TIMES STORY ON KFC SMUGGLING IN GAZA
Thursday Report Reader and Consulting Structural Engineer extraordinaire Carl Jenne of Winter Park, Florida sent us an incredible story from the New York Times about an Egyptian entrepreneur who smuggles KFC into Gaza through smuggling tunnels. From customer order to delivery, the process is very complicated and takes many steps, including ordering through a Facebook page, wire transfers of money, coordination with and approval from the Hamas government, and of course smuggling tunnels. The author said it took about four hours to receive his order.
The complicated process from order to delivery is almost unbelievable, unless you have tried the Extra Crispy style chicken of course. Click here to read the story in its entirety. A big Thursday Report thank you to Carl, who may someday smuggle Thursday Reports into Gaza.
LAWYERS IN HISTORY: THE IMPACT OF LAW PRACTICE ON THEIR LIVES AND CAREERS: MAHATMA GANDHI
As part of our ongoing search for ways to entertain and educate, the Thursday Report is proud to introduce our new regular feature: Lawyers in History: The Impact of Law Practice on Their Lives and Careers, which will share some of our favorite stories about the law and lawyers. This week’s story is about Mahatma Gandhi’s initial struggle to find his way in law.
Mahatma Gandhi
The true function of a lawyer is to unite parties driven asunder.
Everyone knows Mahatma Gandhi was a symbol of peace and non-violent civil disobedience, but not everyone knows about his inauspicious start in law. After graduating from University College London in England, Gandhi attempted to establish a law practice in Bombay but the practice failed because Gandhi was too shy to argue in court. Gandhi then tried to open a practice in Rajkot, India. Gandhi’s practice in Rajkot was successful enough that he was able to make a modest living, but he was eventually forced to close his practice because he had angered a British officer. After closing his practice, Gandhi moved to South Africa to practice law. In South Africa, Gandhi finally began to develop into the world leader we know today.
It is a good thing that Mr. Gandhi did not remain practicing law full time. If he had not led the India freedom movement, the civil right movement in the United States would have been completely different, and our continuing progress towards societal change for the better would be decades behind where it is now.
PART II OF OUR BNA ARTICLE ENTITLED “WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA LAW TO ADVISE YOUR CLIENTS WHO LIVE HERE”
Our article “What You Need To Know About Florida Law to Advise Your Clients Who Live Here – Part II” was included in the May/June Bloomberg BNA Tax Management Estates, Gifts and Trusts Journal. A copy of this part of the article can be viewed by clicking here. If you do not subscribe to Tax Management Estates, Gifts and Trusts Journal please consider doing so. If you subscribe electronically please ask someone in your organization to print this out for you periodically. It is one of the best estate planning magazines available.
DIRECTIONS FROM OUR TAMPA OFFICE TO KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN ON KENNEDY AND SOUTH DAKOTA
Many readers have asked how far our Tampa office is from the Kentucky Fried Chicken on South Dakota and Kennedy. As you walk out of the front door near the free beverage refill station (and take unlimited napkins) you make left and go straight down South Dakota to our office.
APPLICABLE FEDERAL RATES
Please click here to view a chart of this month’s, last month’s, and the preceding month’s Applicable Federal Rates, because for a sale you can use the lowest of the 3.
SEMINARS AND WEBINARS
- THE 444 SHOW – PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS
Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013 | 4:00 p.m.
Guest Speakers: Ky Koch, Esq. and Judge Jirotka
Sponsor: Clearwater Bar Association
Additional Information: To register for this $30 CLE credit webinar please click here.
- VALUABLE PLANNING FOR SNOWBIRDS: TIPS, TRAPS AND TACTICS FOR ADVISORS WITH CLIENTS IN FLORIDA
Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013, 12:30 p.m.
Sponsor: Bloomberg BNA Tax & Accounting
Additional Information: Please click here to register.
Thursday Report Readers can use the top secret, very confidential promotional code “GASSMAN” to receive a $100 discount off the price of the webinar or the webinar and CD package. Please don’t tell anyone who attended Florida State University.
- LUNCH TALK: HEALTH CARE REFORM 2013: WHAT LAWYERS NEED TO KNOW
Date: Monday, June 3, 2013 | 12:30 p.m.
Guest Speaker: Andrew McLaughlin, Esq.
Sponsor: Clearwater Bar Association
Additional Information: To register for this free webinar, please click here.
- THE JOINT EXEMPT STEP-UP TRUST (JEST)
Date: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 | 12pm Eastern/9am Pacific
Sponsor: The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc.
Additional Information: If you would like to attend this teleconference please click here to register.
- FLORIDA LAW FOR TAX, BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTING ADVISORS
Date: Wednesday, June 19,2013
Location: Chili’s U.S. 19 in Port Richey
Sponsor: North Suncoast Chapter of FICPA
Additional Information: If you would like to attend the meeting or receive a copy of the materials please email agassman@gassmanpa.com
- INTERESTING INTEREST QUESTIONS, PLANNING WITH LOW INTEREST LOANS, PRIVATE ANNUITIES, DEFECTIVE GRANTOR TRUSTS, AND COMMERCIAL ANNUITY PRODUCTS
Date: Wednesday, October 16 through Friday, October 18, 2013
Location: Notre Dame College, South Bend, Indiana
Sponsor: Notre Dame Tax Institute
Additional Information: Professor Jerry Hesch’s Notre Dame Tax Institute will once again emphasize the importance of income tax planning and implications in addition to estate, estate tax, and related concepts.
Email us now to get your football tickets to the Notre Dame-USC game on October 19.
We welcome questions, comments and suggestions for the presentation that we are assisting Jerry in preparing and presenting.
- HOT TOPICS FOR ESTATE PLANNERS
Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Location: TBD
Sponsor: Pinellas County Estate Planning Council
Additional Information: To attend the meeting or to receive information on joining the Council please click here or email agassman@gassmanpa.com
- WHAT HEALTH LAWYERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA LAW
Date: Friday, November 1, 2013 | 9am – 5pm
Location: Seton Hall Law School, Newark, New Jersey
Sponsor: Health Law Section of the New Jersey Bar Association
Additional Information: To receive a copy of the materials please email agassman@gassmanpa.com
- WHAT NEW JERSEY LAWYERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA LAW
Date: Saturday, November 2, 2013
Location: Wilshire Grand Hotel, West Orange, New Jersey | 9am – 12pm
Sponsor: New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, A Division of the New Jersey State Bar Association
Additional Information: For additional information please email agassman@gassmanpa.com
- PRACTICAL ESTATE PLANNING, WITH A $5 MILLION EXEMPTION AMOUNT
Date: Thursday, November 7, 2013
Location: Hilton Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah
Sponsor: Sale Lake Estate Planning Council
Additional Information: If you would like to attend this event or receive the materials please email agassman@gassmanpa.com
For details about each event, please visit us online at gassmanlaw.com/newsandevents.html
Alan S. Gassman, J.D., LL.M. is a practicing lawyer and author based in Clearwater, Florida. Mr. Gassman is the founder of the firm Gassman, Crotty & Denicolo, P.A., which focuses on the representation of physicians, high net worth individuals, and business owners in estate planning, taxation, and business and personal matters. He is the lead author on Bloomberg BNA’s Estate Tax Planning and 2011 and 2012, Creditor Protection for Florida Physicians, Gassman & Markham on Florida and Federal Asset Protection Law, A Practical Guide to Kickback and Self-Referral Laws for Florida Physicians, The Florida Physician Advertising Handbook and The Florida Guide to Prescription, Controlled Substance and Pain Medicine Laws, among others. Mr. Gassman is a frequent speaker for continuing education programs, publishes regularly for Bloomberg BNA Tax & Accounting, Estates and Trusts Magazine, Estate Planning Magazine and Leimberg Estate Planning Network (LISI). He holds a law degree and a Masters of Law degree (LL.M.) in Taxation from the University of Florida, and a business degree from Rollins College. Mr. Gassman is board certified by the Florida Bar Association in Estate Planning and Trust Law, and has the Accredited Estate Planner designation for the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. Mr. Gassman’s email is Agassman@gassmanpa.com.
Thomas J. Ellwanger, J.D., is a lawyer practicing at the Clearwater, Florida firm of Gassman, Crotty & Denicolo, P.A. Mr. Ellwanger received his B.A. in 1970 from Northwestern University and his J.D. with honors in 1974 from the University of Florida College of Law. His practice areas include estate planning, trust and estate administration, personal tax planning and charitable tax planning. Mr. Ellwanger is a member of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel (ACTEC). His email address is tom@gassmanpa.com.
Christopher Denicolo, J.D., LL.M. is a partner at the Clearwater, Florida law firm of Gassman, Crotty & Denicolo, P.A., where he practices in the areas of estate tax and trust planning, taxation, physician representation, and corporate and business law. He has co-authored several handbooks that have been featured in Bloomberg BNA Tax & Accounting, Steve Leimberg’s Estate Planning and Asset Protection Planning Newsletters, and the Florida Bar Journal. He is also the author of the Federal Income Taxation of the Business Entity Chapter of the Florida Bar’s Florida Small Business Practice, Seventh Edition. Mr. Denicolo received his B.A. and B.S. degrees from Florida State University, his J.D. from Stetson University College of Law, and his LL.M. (Estate Planning) from the University of Miami. His email address is Christopher@gassmanpa.com.
Kenneth J. Crotty, J.D., LL.M., is a partner at the Clearwater, Florida law firm of Gassman, Crotty & Denicolo, P.A., where he practices in the areas of estate tax and trust planning, taxation, physician representation, and corporate and business law. Mr. Crotty has co-authored several handbooks that have been published in BNA Tax & Accounting, Estate Planning, Steve Leimberg’s Estate Planning and Asset Protection Planning Newsletters, Estate Planning magazine, and Practical Tax Strategies. Mr. Crotty is also the author of the Limited Liability Company Chapter of the Florida Bar’s Florida Small Business Practice, Seventh Edition. He, Alan Gassman and Christopher Denicolo are the co-authors of the BNA book Estate Tax Planning in 2011 & 2012. His email address is Ken@gassmanpa.com.
Thank you to our law clerk that assisted us in preparing this report:
Eric Moody graduated from Stetson University College of Law in December 2012 and was recently admitted to the Florida Bar. While at Stetson, Eric was an Articles and Symposia Editor for the Stetson Law Review. In 2009, Eric received a B.S. in Business Management from the University of South Florida. Eric’s email address is Eric@gassmanpa.com.