For more than eight decades, Therrel Baisden attorneys have provided corporate, estate and trust planning, taxation, and fiduciary services to a diverse domestic and international clientele. Therrel Baisden is among the oldest law firms in the State of Florida, tracing its roots to the Miami Beach firms Copeland, Therrel & Baisden formed in 1925 and Lipton and Meyer, formed in 1927. Baron De Hirsch Meyer, one of the founding members of Lipton & Meyer was instrumental in establishing the Law School at the University of Miami. The descendants of those firms merged in 1985 to form the present Therrel Baisden, LLP The firm’s office is located in downtown Miami in the SunTrust International Center. Although the firm is very proud of its long history and outstanding legal reputation, it prides itself on staying current with the often changing legal developments that take place on a daily basis. The Therrel Baisden philosophy is simple. We endeavor to provide our clients with the highest quality of legal service, expert advice, prompt action, vigorous advocacy, thoughtful counseling and attention to detail.
Services/Products
ncome tax Estate planning, estate and gift tax planning Probate, guardianship and trust administration Business planning International tax planning Asset protection
In Florida, a surviving spouse is entitled to take 30% of the decedent’s elective share estate which includes a broad reach of assets set forth under Florida law. The surviving spouse’s share may be waived before or after marriage by a prenuptial agreement or post-nuptial agreement, as the case may be. The spouse’s elective share cannot be defeated by will and is in addition to any assets which the spouse may receive outside the will such as jointly owned assets.
Guardianship
A trust may be created in a Will. A trust would provide that the estate, or some portion of the estate, will be kept intact with income distributed or accumulated for the benefit of your beneficiaries. Minors can be cared for without the expense of guardianship proceedings. A trust can detail the terms and conditions under which the beneficiary receives the funds. It is an excellent vehicle for keeping assets out of the hands of creditors of the beneficiary, including former spouses.
Commerce of the University of Pennsylvania where he was an accounting major, maintained minors in finance and insurance, and was admitted as a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honorary Business Fraternity. He also graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania Law School where he was an editor of The Law Review. Upon graduation, Larry became an Associate Member of a major Philadelphia law firm and at the same time taught accounting at the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce and taught accounting and business law at the Philadelphia Community College.
Limited Liability Companies
A sole proprietorship is the most simple form of engaging in business since there is actually no separate legal entity required to be formed and to which assets are transferred. All profits of the proprietorship are taxed directly to the proprietor by filing Schedule C to Form 1040. Since the proprietor is subject to unlimited personal liability for the debts of the proprietorship, a sole proprietorship is never recommended as an appropriate form of engaging in business. “S” corporations or single member limited liability companies are more favorable entities to operate a business or hold assets.
In the corporate context, the firm is often called upon to drafts shareholders’ agreements, partnership agreements and operating agreements, as well as buy-sell agreements, employment agreements and other documents relating to tax, asset protection or business planning.
Asset protection is basically the placing of assets beyond the reach of future creditors. It incorporates traditional estate planning, which is the preservation and protection of assets for the benefit of one’s beneficiaries upon such person’s death as well as the preservation and protection of assets during the life of the person.
Wills
The first document to be produced as part of this plan is your “Last Will and Testament.” A Will is a written direction controlling the disposition of property at death. A Will provides for the disposition of your probate assets. Probate administration is the process through which your Will is filed with the Court, admitted to probate, your Personal Representative (executor) is appointed, your debts and taxes are paid and your remaining assets are distributed to your beneficiaries, all subject to court supervision. The laws of each state set the formal requirements for a legal Will. In Florida...
Trusts
If your assets exceed the anticipated reduced estate tax exemption amounts ($6,000,000 Single / $12,000,000 Married), then maximizing the use of the current $12,060,000/$24,120,000 exemption, prior to a change in the law, should be considered. The most common strategy used to capture the current exemptions is to gift appreciating assets to an irrevocable trust for the benefit of a spouse, children and grandchildren. Some other strategies to consider are as follows...
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a legal document delegating authority from one person to another granting that person (the “attorney-in-fact”) the right to act on behalf of the maker of the Power of Attorney (the “principal”). The extent of the authority is granted would turn on the specific language of the Power of Attorney. A person giving a Power of Attorney can make it very general or can limit the Power of Attorney to specific acts.
In addition to our tax planning services, we represent our clients, whether individuals or businesses, in various tax controversy matters before the Internal Revenue Service and Florida Department of Revenue Such tax controversy includes, but not limited to, income tax, gift tax, estate tax, and generation skipping transfer tax.