PRACTICE AREAS

ESTATE PLANNING
  • Last Will and Testament
    A will is a written legal document governing how all assets held in your individual name (as opposed to property titled in the name of a trust, jointly with others, passes via beneficiary designation, etc.) are to be distributed after your death. Among other things, t also specifies who should be the person that handles your probate administration, often referred to as your executor, in Florida known as your Personal Representative.
    If you die without a will, the State of Florida provides certain default rules for determining how your assets will be divided, and who your beneficiaries will be. The court will also determine who will handle the administration of your estate.

    Wills must conform to Florida law and must clearly and unambiguously state your intentions. Increasingly, people are tempted to use do-it-yourself or automated forms found online, however it is important to remember that a mistake which invalidates the will would most likely not be discovered until after your death when it's too late to correct, and which then results in costly procedures for your family, loss of control of the disposition of your assets, tax issues, or many other unplanned consequences.
  • Trusts
    Trusts often serve as the main dispositive instrument of your estate plan. All property and assets titled into the name of the trust will avoid the probate process and will pass according to the trust document. There are many types of trusts which can be used to achieve many different goals in planning your estate. The most widely used type is the Revocable Trust, commonly referred to as a "Living Trust." Not everyone will benefit from a Trust; this decision depends on the client's family situation, asset type and asset value.

    A Revocable Trust is an arrangement that allows you, as trustee, to manage your property as long as you are able to do so, and then provides for the continuity of management by the successor trustee in the event of your incapacity. The revocable trust is entirely revocable and amendable by you during your lifetime. Any property transferred to your trust during your lifetime will avoid probate. A revocable trust allows the client to retain complete control and ownership over trust assets and remains a confidential document, even after death.
  • Power of Attorney
    A "power of attorney" is a written document by which one person (as the "principal) appoints another to act on his or her behalf (the "attorney-in-fact" or "agent") and confers upon that person the authority to perform certain specified acts or kinds of acts on behalf of the principal while the principal is living. The document creating this relationship defines the scope and duration of the powers conferred upon the attorney-in-fact and informs third parties of the authority of the attorney-in-fact to step into the shoes of the principal for designated transactions. There are three types: limited, general, and durable.

    A Limited Power of Attorney allows the attorney-in-fact to perform acts only with respect to certain assets of the principal or for certain special transactions. For example, a power of attorney with respect to real estate owned by the principal.

    A General Power of Attorney gives broad power to act for the principal for a wide variety of matters, specified in the document, but is only applicable while the principal is competent.

    A Durable Power of Attorney is a general power of attorney with "durability" language. This allows the power of attorney to remain in effect if the principal becomes incapacitated - most clients have the goal of naming an individual to act in this very circumstance, therefore this is by far the most common type.

    Without a "durable" power of attorney, a court would be required to name an individual to make these financial decisions for the principal upon the incapacity of that person. A power of attorney may be revoked at any time by the principal.
  • Health Care Surrogate
    A Health Care Surrogate provides for the appointment of an individual who can act on your behalf with regard to medical or healthcare decisions, including providing informed consent for health care; to have access to your medical records; to apply for medical benefits on your behalf; or to authorize the admission or transfer of you to or from a health care facility.
  • Living Will
    A Living Will is your declaration directing the providing, withholding, or withdrawal of life prolonging procedures in the event you suffer from a terminal condition. Having a living will give a clear indication of your intentions and can serve to relieve the burden of guilt from family members and others who must make difficult health care decisions later.
  • Preneed Guardian
    A Declaration of Preneed Guardian is a declaration naming a person to serve as the guardian of the person, property, or both of an individual in the event the individual is determined to be unable to handle his or her own affairs. This document is useful both for the client, and for the client's minor children. The primary purpose of a declaration of preneed guardian (used in conjunction with a durable power of attorney) is to avoid guardianship proceedings; however, it also can be useful to avoid conflicts that could arise if you were to suffer incapacity. The filing of a petition to determine incapacity temporarily suspends a durable power of attorney, thus, there would be no person authorized to act on your behalf, and the court would follow certain default rules in naming that person, regardless of whether that person would have been your choice. Having a declaration of preneed guardian on file would help avoid this problem.
PROBATE AND TRUST ADMINISTRATION
Probate is the court-supervised process of administering the estate of a deceased person by identifying and gathering the decedent's assets, paying taxes, claims and expenses and resolving all claims against that person and distributing the deceased person's property according to that person's will or according to the Florida intestacy statute. More simply put, it is the process of clearing all financial claims and retitling assets. Upon the death of a person, all assets owned solely by that person then become property of that person's "estate." The estate is then treated as a separate entity until all claims are satisfied or extinguished and all assets are transferred out of the estate according to the will or the intestacy statute if no will. Depending on the size of the estate and the complexity or type of assets and debts included within, this process can take on average anywhere from five to fifteen months.

Probate is classified as either Formal or Summary. Summary administration is available if the value of the estate subject to probate in Florida is not more than $75,000 or more than two years has passed since the death of the decedent. Summary administration is much simpler, shorter, and less expensive. Formal administration applies to all other probate estates not qualifying for summary administration.