team

Tax & Estate Planning & Real Estate Services

Performed Statewide through Our Naples, Florida Office

Kelly, Passidomo & Alba, LLP is located in Naples, Florida. We believe our clients deserve high-quality and individualized attention by both our attorneys and our staff. As such, our prestigious attorneys and knowledgeable staff bring over thirty-nine (39) years of experience to benefit and support our clients. Practice areas for Chuck Kelly and Kyle Kelly include estate planning, estate administration, tax planning, entity planning and corporate law and Kathleen Passidomo specializes in Real Estate Law.

Our clients are entitled to and receive personalized attention from our highly experienced team of legal experts. Please contact us concerning your legal needs to set up an appointment with one of our experienced attorneys. Whether it’s a question about your estate plan or a real estate transaction, the attorneys at Kelly, Passidomo & Alba, LLP are dedicated to providing you with effective and high-quality legal services.

REACH US

The Attorneys

Our attorneys are experts in their individual fields for estate planning, taxation, business law, and real estate law, they take the time to meet with clients on an individual basis and to structure personalized goals for each client.

Charles M. Kelly, Jr.

Charles M. Kelly, Jr.

Member
Charles M. Kelly, Jr.

Kathleen Passidomo

Member
Charles M. Kelly, Jr.

Kyle B. Kelly

Member

Charles M. Kelly, Jr.

Member

CHARLES M. KELLY, JR. graduated from Florida Southern College (B.S. 1979); Cumberland School of Law (J.D., 1983); University of Miami (LL.M. in Estate Planning, 1985); Certified Public Accountant, Florida, 1983. He is a member of the Collier County and American Bar Associations; The Florida Bar; American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is a Board Certified Tax Lawyer (since 1990) and a Board Certified Wills, Trusts and Estates Attorney (since 1990) (Florida Bar Board of Certification). He was the creator of the original Florida Intangible Avoidance Tax trust known as the Flint™ Trust.

Practice Areas: Estate Planning Law; Estate Administration Law; Tax Planning Law.

Kathleen Passidomo

Member

SENATOR KATHLEEN PASSIDOMO was elected to the Florida Senate in November 2016. She was formerly a member of the Florida House of Representatives having first been elected in November, 2010 and re-elected in 2012 and 2014.

Senator Passidomo graduated cum laude from Trinity University (Washington, D.C.) in May of 1975 and received her law degree from Stetson University College of Law in December of 1978. She is a partner in the firm Kelly, Passidomo & Alba LLP and has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1979. She is a Florida Bar Board Certified Real Estate Lawyer. She received the 1990 Attorney of the Year Award from the Florida Law Related Education Association of the Florida Bar and was named as the “Attorney of the Year” by the Collier County Women’s Bar Association for 2005. She also received the 2010 Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award.

Senator Passidomo is a Past President of the Board of Directors of the Collier County Bar Association and of the Collier County Women’s Bar Association. She was a founding member of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Collier County Bar Association. She also administered the Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Program for Collier County from 1982 through 1984 and coordinated the Court Procedures Intern Program of the Collier County Bar Association and the Collier County Public Schools from 1989 to 2008. She was a member of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee for the 20th Judicial Circuit from 1983 through 1986 and a member of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission from 2001 through 2008. She was a founding member of the State of Florida Twentieth Judicial Circuit Juvenile Justice Board and the founding Chairman of the Collier County Juvenile Justice Council. She also served as a Commissioner of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women and was Chairman in 2006.

Senator Passidomo is a graduate of Leadership Florida Class XII, Leadership Collier Class of 1991 and Leadership Marco Island Class of 2014 and served on the Leadership Collier Foundation Board from 2004 to 2010. She also was a founding member and served as Vice-Chairman of the Collier County Foreclosure Task Force, a partnership of community, civic and governmental organizations formed to provide pro bono advice and assistance to people living in Collier County facing foreclosure during the past economic downturn. She currently serves on the Collier County Identity Theft Task Force.

Other past community service of Senator Passidomo include serving as Co-Chair of the Community Engagement Initiative of the Education Foundation of Collier County-Champions for Learning (“Connect Now”); founding Member, and a Past President of the Board of Directors, Southwest Florida Land Preservation Trust, Inc., member of the R/UDAT Open Space and Recreation Committee and a Past President of United Way of Collier County. She was also a long term member of the Collier County Junior Deputies League, The Collier County 100 Club, the Junior Achievement of SW Florida Corporate Board, the Shelter for Abused Women and Children of Collier County Advisory Board and a founding Member and Past President of the Collier County Child Advocacy Council, Inc. She was also a founding director of the Collier County Senior Resource Center, Inc. and also served on the Leadership Council on Aging. She recently concluded her service as a member of the Board of Trustees of Hodges University where she served on the Executive Committee.

In 1991 Senator Passidomo received the Girl’s Incorporated of Naples-Collier County “She Knows Where She’s Going” Award. In 1996 she was awarded the Leadership Collier Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2007 she received the Wallace Benevolent Award by the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collier County. In 2010 she received the Attorney of the Year Award by the Legal Aid Service of Collier County, the Ad Miller Service Award by the Naples Area Board of Realtors and the “Glass Slipper” award of the Education Foundation of Collier County. In 2000 she and her husband were co-recipients of the Naples Daily News Collier County Citizen of the Year award.

For her work in the legislature Senator Passidomo received numerous recognitions including the 2014 Florida Council on Aging Advocacy Award; the 2014 Legislator of the Year Award from the Elder Law Section of the Florida Bar; the 2013 Legislator of the Year Award from the Florida Land Title Association; the 2013 Legislator of the Year Award from the Florida Bankers Association; the 2013 Legislator of the Year Award from the American Institute of Architects; the 2013 Legislator of the Year Award from the Community Advocacy Network, the 2016 Legislative Champion Award from the Florida Sheriff’s Association and the Distinguished Advocate Award from the Florida Chamber of Commerce in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. She also received the 2016 State Legislative Achievement Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Kathleen and her husband, John, have lived in Naples for 37 years and have three (3) children, Catarina, Francesca and Gabriella and two (2) grandsons, William and Emilio.

Kyle B. Kelly

Member

KYL B. KELLY graduated from the University of Central Florida (B.S. 2008); Thomas Jefferson School of Law (J.D., 2011). He is a member of the Collier County and American Bar Associations as well as The Florida Bar. He focuses on tax preparation including Federal Estate Tax Returns, Forms 706, Federal Fiduciary Income Tax Returns, Forms 1041, Federal Gift Tax Returns, Forms 709 and various other tax forms.

Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Estate Administration; Tax Planning and Entity Planning.

Advanced Estate Planning

Deciding what will happen to your home, your financial assets, and your personal possessions after your death and the death of your spouse can be a difficult process. Our attorneys work with both individuals and their families to preserve, manage and efficiently transfer assets to their beneficiaries. Charles M. Kelly, Jr. seeks to create a comprehensive estate plan tailored to meet the ultimate goals of each client. Estate plans developed by the firm include wills and trusts, partnerships, charitable foundations, corporations, and various other documents and entities to enhance and further our clients’ estate planning goals. Our guidance can be individualized to the specific area in which you want to plan.

You may reach us by telephone or email to set up an appointment with one of our attorneys to see how we can assist you in the creation of your advanced estate an tax planning.

Real Estate Law

Kathleen C. Passidomo works with individuals, corporations, and financial institutions in all aspects of transactional real estate, structuring and completing residential real estate closings for our clients and she is also a transactional expert. She assists clients with issuance of title insurance and the negotiation and completion of purchase and sales transactions involving real property.

She is just a call or email away. Please contact our office to set up an appointment with her so she may assist in your real estate needs

Our Legal Staff

VICKI BOLTON DURAND

Paralegal/Office Manager (1993 - Present)
Vicki has been employed by Charles M. Kelly, Jr. since February 3, 1993. She attended Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, Edison Community College in Naples, Florida and is a Florida Registered Paralegal. She works closely with Chuck Kelly to provide efficient and knowledgeable service in the areas of estate planning and corporate law. Vicki also is the firm’s office manager handling all financial matters for the firm as well as administrative duties such as payroll, accounts receivables and account payables.

JACK L. ASHBY

CPA (2006 - Present)
Jack joined the law firm of Kelly Passidomo & Alba, LLP on January 1, 2006. He is a certified public accountant and his area of expertise is in tax preparation including Personal Income Tax Returns, Fiduciary Income Tax Returns, Federal Gift Tax Returns, and various other tax forms.

JUDITH A. ANDERSON

Paralegal (2017 - Present)
Judi was employed by Kathleen C. Passidomo in December of 1996 and worked with the firm until December of 2008. She returned to the firm in November of 2017 to work with the Firm as a Florida Registered Paralegal. She attended Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan and has thirty (30) years of legal experience. Judi also has years of experience with FIRPTA (Foreign Investment Real Property Tax Act) transactions and filings with the Internal Revenue Service. She will be working closely with both Kathleen and Chuck in the areas of real estate, estate planning, corporate, estate administration and probate law providing the firm’s clients with extensive legal experience in her field.

PAIGE KELLY

(2015 - Present)
Paige joined the law firm of Kelly Passidomo & Alba, LLP full time on February 2, 2015 as a personal and legal assistant to Charles M. Kelly, Jr. and Kyle B. Kelly. Prior to working full time for the Firm, she completed her bachelor's degree at Florida Gulf Coast University and spent her summers working for the Firm. Over the years she has provided services to the firm's clients as well as general administrative support to the estate planning department.

ANA DE LA CRUZ

(2018 - Present)
Ana joined Kelly Passidomo & Alba, LLP on May 21 2018. She has degrees from Florida Southwestern University, A.S. Paralegal Studies, Florida Southwestern University, A.S. Criminal Justice and Hodges University, B.A. Business Management and is a Florida Registered Paralegal. She belongs to the Immokalee Inter-Agency Organization and has seven (7) years of legal experience in various areas of law, including probate and trust law, family law and education law (Title IX and special needs). She is working closely with Charles M. Kelly, Jr. focusing on probate and estate planning law.

The Flint™ Trust History

Florida’s intangible personal property tax was an annual tax on the market value of intangible property, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual fund shares, owned by Florida residents and businesses. In 2006, the Florida legislature repealed most parts of the tax effective January 1, 2007 (Ch. 312 (H.B. 209), Laws 2006).

How the Flint™ Trust Worked

The Florida Constitution Article 7, section 5 prohibits the imposition of a tax upon the income earned by a resident of the state of Florida in excess of the credit to federal income taxes on account of such tax. At the present, no such federal income tax credit exists. Accordingly, the State of Florida is forced to base its intangible tax upon the ownership of principal, not the right to receive income.

Prior to the 2000 Session of the Florida Legislature, there were basically two tests the State of Florida could have applied to determine whether a trust that contained taxable intangible assets was required to file an intangible tax return: the “Beneficial Interest” test and the “Florida Situs Trust” test. The 2000 Legislature amended §199.052 to state that the trustee of a trust holding intangible assets in the state of Florida would not be responsible for payment of annual tax on those assets, deleting references to A foreign trust and, thereby, doing away with the Florida Situs Trust test.

Beneficial Interest Test

Now, regardless of who the Trustees are and where they are located, the Beneficial Interest test requires an intangible tax return to be filed if a Florida resident has a vested interest, even if subject to divestment, which includes at least:

  1. A current right to (trust) income and
  2. One of the following powers or rights:
    1. Power to revoke the trust; or
    2. Power of appointment that is a General Power of Appointment, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code ‘2041(b)(1).

 

THE FLINTTM TRUST 

By establishing a trust that (1) will not grant the Creator of the trust any rights in the trust that would cause inclusion under the Beneficial Interest test, (2) will still provide the Creator with an income interest and a satisfactory degree of control over the assets of the trust without having the Creator of the trust being treated as the Beneficial Owner and (3) will not have any immediate or future adverse income, gift or estate tax consequences.

The critical fault with the Florida Intangible Tax statute is that the Florida Constitution prohibits the imposition of an income tax on individuals.  Therefore, the tax can be imposed upon a Florida resident only if he or she can be deemed to own the principal of the trust.  Under the Florida Statutes, requisite ownership interest is found when the Florida resident has a beneficial interest in the trust as outlined above in the Beneficial Interest test.

The desire to avoid the payment of Florida intangible taxes and the costs associated with the creation and administration of a FlintJ Trust should be weighed against each other.  The Florida Department of Revenue will no longer issue rulings on the particular provisions used in FlintJ Trusts but has developed Rules which set forth Asafe harbor@provisions to determine (without the need for a Ruling) whether the trust or its beneficiaries are subject to the Florida intangible tax.  Mr. Kelly was very involved in the molding of the Asafe harbor@ provisions from August of 1997 to April of 1998.

Mr. Kelly is a specialist in the areas of wills, trusts, estates, and taxation.  Mr. Kelly is one of only 34 Florida attorneys who have been Board Certified in both the areas of Tax Law and Wills, Trusts and Estates Law.  He is also a certified public accountant.  He is a graduate of Florida Southern College (B.A.), the Cumberland  School of  Law (J.D.) and the University of Miami (LL.M. in Estate Planning).  He is admitted to practice in Florida and before the U.S. Tax Court.

Mr. Kelly is a frequent lecturer on tax planning and estate planning.  Mr. Kelly developed the FlintJ Trust planning technique in 1992 and is one of the Floridas leading authorities on Intangible Taxes. He is the Past President of the Estate Planning Council of Naples.

Contact Us

Kelly, Passidomo & Alba, LLP
2390 Tamiami Trail North,
Suite 204
Naples Florida 34103
Tel: 1-888-NO-FL-TAX (1-888-663-5829)
Local: (239) 261-3453
Fax: 239-261-5711
Email: info@kpalawyers.com
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