John Jay Mangan

Beacon Legacy Law has one simple purpose: To help our clients to preserve and protect their legacy. We strive to accomplish our goal by providing estate planning and administration services for clients. We focus primarily on wills, trusts, asset protection, guardianship, and probate administration.

Our clients are special to us – much more than just a name in a file folder. We build relationships with our clients that last far beyond their initial engagement with our firm. We take a sincere interest in each client, in their family, and in their future. We look out for our clients’ interests and take proactive action in order to ensure that their affairs are in order. As a result, we do things quite a bit differently than what you might expect:

1. We charge by flat fee only for planning services.

2. We strive to build life-long relationships with our clients, which means they hear from us on a regular basis, even after their work is completed.

3. Each client’s plan is customized to their individual needs (no “cookie cutter” plans).

We serve clients throughout the Treasure Coast, Palm Beach County and Okeechobee County, as well as other parts of Florida.

To learn more, contact us today at 772-222-6124 or through the web at www.PalmCityLawyer.com.

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Florida

Since 2005

Attorney

Beacon Legacy Law (Law Offices of John Mangan, P.A.)

2010 - Current

Emory University School of Law

J.D. (2004)

2000 - 2004

Emory University

MBA (2004) | real estate, finance

2002 - 2004

Honors: Beta Gamma Sigma

University of Virginia

B.A. (1995) | Interdisciplinary Studies

1991 - 1995

Pro Bono Award

Martin County Bar Association

2014

Martin County Estate Planning Council

Member

2013 - Current

Martin County Business Exchange

Member, President (2017-18), Board Member (2015-2019)

2012 - Current

Palm City Chamber of Commerce

Board member (2015-present)

2011 - Current

Martin County Bar Association

Member

2011 - Current

Florida Bar, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section

Member

2010 - Current

Minimize Estate Tax Liability With These 5 Methods Designed for High Net Worth Estate Planning

2023

Does a Revocable Living Trust Really Protect the Settlor's Assets? The Answer May Surprise You

John Mangan

2017

Planning for Retirement Accounts, St. Lucie County Bar Association - monthly meeting

September 2, 2016

St. Lucie County Bar Association

Top 10 IRA Planning Mistakes, Treasure Coast Chapter of the Florida Society of Enrolled Agents - monthly meeting

May 25, 2016

Treasure Coast Chapter of the Florida Society of Enrolled Agents

Gun Trusts and Administration of Trusts & Estates, Martin County Estate Planning Council monthly meeting, Stuart, FL

November 16, 2017

Martin County Estate Planning Council

Board Certified - Wills, Trusts & Estates

Florida State Bar

Q. My daughter moved in with us, my question, how do we get her on our house deed so our home won’t go into probate?

January 27, 2025

A: Some of the prior responses provide excellent alternatives to putting your daughter on the deed, presumably as a co-owner. I thought it might be helpful to explain why putting her on title as a co-owner now generally is not the best idea.

1. Your daughter will likely incur additional income tax consequences upon your death. At that point, she could inherit the 50% you still own, but the 50% you are contemplating gifting to her will maintain the same tax basis as you have in the property now. Contrastingly, if she only receives ownership at your death, the property will generally qualify for a full step-up in adjusted basis so that she only pays gain on any appreciation that occurs after your death. Thus, from an income tax perspective, it's usually going to be a better result for your daughter to inherit only after your death.

2. You will likely need to file a gift tax return with the IRS to report the gift of 50% of the property's value to your daughter. If the value exceeds the annual exclusion amount for gifting ($19k in 2025), then the remaining value will be deducted from your lifetime exemption for gifts and estate tax purposes.

3. You could create asset protection issues for yourself now. If your daughter was sued and a judgment was obtained against her and recorded in the county where the property is located, that judgment could cloud the property's title and make it difficult to sell the property someday.

4. If you were to add your daughter as a co-owner now, which does not seem like a good idea, it still might not avoid probate, which I imagine is your primary motivation for considering this arrangement. There are 2 primary types of co-ownership between non-spouses in Florida: Tenants in Common and Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship. The former will not avoid probate, but the latter will so long as one co-owner is living. ... Read More