DAVID C. NOLTE, AS PROPERTY APPRAISER OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA; AND LAWRENCE H. FUCHS, AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, APPELLANTS,
v.
RITA M. WHITE AND JOHN DUNN, AS TRUSTEE OF THE QUALIFIED PERSONAL RESIDENCE TRUST OF RITA WHITE DATED JANUARY 28, 1998, APPELLEES
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Florida appellate court affirmed that a homestead exemption may be claimed on property transferred to a qualified personal residence trust where the settlor retains a right to reside for a term of years, even without holding a life estate.
A property owner who transfers her residence to a qualified personal residence trust while retaining the right to reside for a specified term of years retains sufficient equitable title to claim homestead exemption.
[1] A homestead exemption may be claimed on property transferred to a qualified personal residence trust where the settlor retains a right to reside for a term of years, with…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRita M. White conveyed her property to a qualified personal residence trust and retained the right to reside in the property for eight years. The Prop…
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PER CURIAM.
The trial court granted final summary judgment in favor of appellee Rita M. White, who claimed a homestead exemption in property that she conveyed to a qualified personal residence trust (QPRT)1 and in which she retained a right to reside for a term of eight years. The Property Appraiser of Indian River County and the Director of the State of Florida Department of Revenue appealed, arguing that Mrs. White does not have sufficient equitable title to claim homestead exemption because she does not hold a life estate in the property.
We affirm, adopting the rationale in Robbins v. Welbaum, 664 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (taxpayers were entitled to homestead exemption even though the qualified personal residence trust limited taxpayers’ use of their residence to earlier of ten years from trust’s creation or one of taxpayer’s death).
FARMER, TAYLOR, JJ., and MAY, MELANIE G., Associate Judge, concur. . A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) is an estate planning device whereby the settlor creates "an irrevocable trust funded by the transfer of a personal residence to the trustee while retaining in the transferor a right to reside on the property for a term of years.” Jeffrey A. Baskies, Understanding Estate Planning with Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, 73 Fla. B.J. 72 (1999).