Practice Areas
Florida Estate Planning
Estate Planning
 Estate planning is a process that allows you to plan
for your future and which will let you best protect your
assets to the fullest extent allowed by law. This process
involves preparation of instruments such as wills, trusts,
advance directives to physicians, powers of attorney and
also preparing transfer
instruments and effectuating the transfer of assets in
order to protect them
Good Estate Plans are custom designed to fit the individual
or family for which they are designed. Therefore, we evaluate
our clients' needs and circumstances and then design an
Estate Plan that accomplishes your individual goals for
your estate. Estate Plans can include living revocable
trusts, an irrevocable life insurance trust, a special
needs trust depending upon what your circumstances require.
The best estate plans anticipate the future. The attorneys
at The Law
Firm For Family Law consult with every client
at length to determine their estate plan needs. We offer
practical advice to help clients avoid probate, transfer
assets to protected trusts, create living
trusts , provide for future medical expenses and
more.
Wills
A will is a document that tells a person’s family
or heirs and the courts how to distribute his or her money
and property. A will is a basic estate planning tool, and
a current and valid will is the best way to make sure your
property is distributed according to your wishes and your
family is taken care of after you’re gone. Many people
also use trusts in conjunction with their will, as an independent
estate planning tool, or both. Whether you want to prepare
your first will or you are interested in updating your
estate plan or exploring trusts, an estate planning lawyer
can help you tailor a plan to your needs.
Trusts
Trust are wonderful estate planning techniques because,
depending on the type of trust used, trust can reduce estate
taxes, protect assets from the creditors of the beneficiaries,
ensure proper investment and management of assets, and
reduce income taxes under certain circumstances.
The most significant advantage to the creation of a trust
is that if the trust is established properly it will permit
you to avoid Probate. Probate is expensive. You will
encounter significant attorney’s fees, court cost
and possibly appraisal fees in a probate administration.
But, a properly created and maintained living trust allows
you to avoid probate. When you are gone, your successor
trustee simply pays your last bills, reads your trust to
see who gets your property, and then distributes the property.
There are several different types of trust and the attorneys
at The Law Firm For Family Law can analyze
your particular situation so as to assist you in creating
the right type of trust for you and your loved ones.
Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney is a legal document in which a person
designates and authorizes another person (to transact business
or make certain decisions on his or her behalf, such as
health care decisions.
When a power of attorney is in effect, the agent essentially
steps into the shoes of the person granting the power of
attorney and makes decisions that are legally binding.
Powers of attorney can grant broad, general authority
or they can limit the attorney-in-fact's power to act on
behalf of the principal to particular situations. Because
there are many different types of powers of attorney available
to address a variety of situations, powers of attorney
are extremely useful estate planning tools. If you are
interested in drafting a power of attorney, contact our
firm to schedule a meeting with an attorney from The
Law Firm For Family Law.
Guardianships
There are times when an individual is no longer capable
of making important decisions for themselves. If you are
faced with this situation with a loved one, the attorneys
at The Law Firm For Family Law can assist
you in becoming appointed Guardian of your loved one. Being
appointed as their guardian allows you to ensure that they
will be secure and cared for and that you will be in control
of decisions pertaining to his or her person and property.
A guardianship is a probate court proceeding to appoint
someone to handle the financial matters for a person who
has been determined to be incompetent. There are several
different levels of incompetence and depending upon the
condition of the ward there are several different ways
to approach this issue. For example, a guardian
can be appointed for a minor, the mentally ill, the developmentally
challenged, those who are frail and anyone else the court
finds to be unable to properly function in any one of several
area such as handling money, driving a car, making medical
decisions and so on.
Guardianships may also be applicable for a minor child
who receives or inherits assets of any consequence. Since
the minor child cannot legally manage his own affairs a
guardian may be appointed to manage the child’s funds
until they turn 18. The guardian renders accountings to
the court every two years. When the minor turns 18, a petition
to terminate the guardianship is filed with the court and
the individual receives the money.
If you have been appointed guardian of the estate of
an incapacitated person, we can assist with the Annual
Accounting and reports required by law.
Call the attorneys at The Law Firm
For Family Law to see
how a guardianship can be of value to you and your loved
one.
Probate
Probate is the process of the Court supervising the disposition
of your assets and payment of your liabilities. Probate
is frequently used even when there is a will executed.
The process, called Probate Administration requires that
a personal representative being appointed to handle the
estate and the personal representative is required to is
required to quickly learn the legal procedures necessary
to ensure a smooth estate administration.
In some cases a simplified administration, called a summary
administration, can be used to settle estates quickly. In
other instances a formal administration must be done when
there are more assets or more complicated estates.
In any event, the attorneys at The law firm for family
law can provide you with the help and assistance necessary
to ensure a successful probate administration |
