Avoiding Disaster in the Sunshine State: How to Respond to Florida's New Durable Power of Attorney Rules

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Learn how to avoid catastrophes that will result under Florida's new Durable Power of Attorney Law, for powers of attorney signed after September 30, 2011. The new statute requires enumeration of all authorized powers in a power of attorney document, separate signing or initialing next to a number of powers that would normally be assumed effective, and prohibition against springing powers of attorney signed after September 30, 2011.

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Attorneys Alan S. Gassman, Kenneth J. Crotty and Christopher J. Denicolo will provide their new durable power of attorney form, discuss the primary traps for the unwary, provide instructions and forms for a new escrowed power of attorney arrangement, and provide their extensive outline materials which clarify and explain this complex statute in a new BNA webinar on October 19, Avoiding Disaster in the Sunshine State: Responding to Florida's New Durable Power of Attorney Rules.

The new paid advisor limitation rules and special limitations that apply to grandfathered springing powers of attorney will also be discussed.

This live 90-minute webinar will address the following items:

• Post September 30, 2011, Springing Powers of Attorney will not be effective- it is time to evaluate any Springing Powers of attorney that you now have in place and to possibly replace them or supplement them with escrowed Power of Attorney arrangements. Pre-September 30, 2011, Springing Powers of attorney will require special physician verifications to be valid.
• A number of important post-September 30, 2011, Power of Attorney provisions will not be effective unless the principal signs or initials next to each individually specified grant of power or authority.
• The act severely limits gifting ability on the part of the appointed agent unless special language is added to address the statute, with 2 stages of authorization required.
• Only "qualified agents" will be able to charge for Power of Attorney agency services, which is a major change brought about by the new law.
• The new statutes impose specific and systematic requirements upon any individual who acts as an agent under a Power of Attorney, with limited opportunity to reduce liability exposure with proper Power of Attorney language.
• Effective October 1, 2011, Powers of Attorney will have to be executed with the same formalities as a deed.

Participants will learn:

• How the new rules affect Powers of Attorney from a practical standpoint.
• How Power of Attorney forms will need to be drafted, with sample clauses to accomplish clients' objectives.
• How to avoid common pitfalls and traps that have been created by the New Law, including a catastrophe avoidance checklist.
• Why this change in the Florida Power of Attorney law can be beneficial for your clients and for your practice.

BNA is in the process of seeking CPE approval through NASBA for Group Internet Based Programs. Credit approval for this program is not guaranteed.

About the Speakers
Alan S. Gassman, J.D., LL.M. practices law in Clearwater, Florida. Each year he published numerous articles in publications such as BNA Tax & Accounting, Estate Planning, Trusts and Estates, The Journal of Asset Protection, and Steve Leimberg's Asset Protection Planning Newsletters. Mr. Gassman is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Executive Council of the Tax Section of the Florida Bar, and has been quoted on many occasions in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Medical Economics, Modern Healthcare, and Florida Trend magazine. He is an author, along Kenneth Crotty and Christopher Denicolo, of the BNA Tax & Accounting book Estate Tax Planning in 2011 and 2012. He is the senior partner at Gassman Law Associates, P.A. in Clearwater, Florida, which he founded in 1987. 

Kenneth J. Crotty, J.D., LL.M., is a partner at the Clearwater, Florida, law firm of Gassman Law Associates, 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 and Estate Planning magazine. He, Alan Gassman and Christopher Denicolo are the co-authors of the BNA book Estate Tax Planning in 2011 & 2012.  

Christopher J. Denicolo, J.D., LL.M. is a partner at the Clearwater, Florida, law firm of Gassman Law Associates, P.A., where he practices in the areas of estate tax and trust planning, taxation, physician representation, and corporate and business law. He is the author of several noted articles in The Florida Bar Journal, BNA Tax & Accounting, Estate Planning Magazine and Leimberg Information Services, Inc. He, Alan Gassman and Kenneth Crotty are the co-authors of the BNA book Estate Tax Planning in 2011 & 2012.

Avoiding Disaster in the Sunshine State: Responding to Florida's New Durable Power of Attorney Rules will take place October 19, 2011, from 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM, ET.  To register for this webinar and obtain further information about CLE and CPE credits, go to http://www.bna.com/avoiding-disaster-sunshine-w12884903692/?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=PR&utm_content=TM&utm_campaign=Webinar-101311 or call 1-800-372-1033, menu Option 6, then Option 1.  

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About BNA
BNA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bloomberg L.P., is a leading source of legal, regulatory, and business information for professionals. Our network of more than 2,500 reporters, correspondents, and leading practitioners delivers expert analysis, news, practice tools, and guidance — the information that matters most to professionals.  BNA's authoritative coverage spans the full range of legal practice areas, including tax & accounting, labor & employment, intellectual property, banking & securities, employee benefits, health care, privacy & security, human resources, and environment, health & safety.

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