How We Can Help
What can our team do for you?
Simply put, we develop a plan (an Estate Plan) to cover everything you and your family will need during your life and beyond.
Your Experience with our Team
Watch our short video about our team's Estate Planning process to answer some initial questions you may have!
We develop personalized Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives and more to meet your individual needs and goals. We will help you develop the plan that best protects your assets and your family’s future; while maintaining family privacy and keeping control of your wishes.
Estate Plan Questions and Answers
Because no one-size fits all, Estate Plans are prepared for you and your needs. Quite often people believe to have an Estate Plan means that you have very high net worth or many assets. That is not the case. Every adult needs to have some sort of planning in place for themselves and their families.
Everyone needs an estate plan. We will listen carefully to your goals and circumstances and will suggest the best methods for structuring your family’s financial future. If you die without a Will (intestate), the State of Florida determines how your assets get divided, and who your beneficiaries will be. A judge then decides who handles the administration of your estate.
For those with minor children, a Will is the only way to appoint a guardian for your child in the event of your death.
I hear clients ask “Why do I Need a Trust” every day. Because each client is different, there are different types of Trusts or Trust Planning services that we can provide. I like to say that “A Trust is a vehicle that is created to hold money or property in a way that survives your incapacity or lifetime. It is contractual and agreed upon by those involved. A Revocable Living Trust is usually known as a way to avoid probate, but it is also a powerful tool to keep your Estate Plan a Private Family Matter and to protect you, your family and your assets during life and its challenges now and in the future.
We are happy to prepare a "simple will" for you if that is what you need. But, your life is more than “simple!” A basic Will does not avoid the probate process, control your non-probate property, or provide for any special planning concerns, such as estate taxes or trusts. The Will is just one piece of the Total Estate Planning picture.
We are happy to meet with you to discuss your options. Click here to set an appointment!
Health Care Directives, sometimes called Advanced Directives, includes your Living Will and Health Care Surrogacy (also called Health Care Power of Attorney) and enables you to control your medical care in case you cannot communicate your wishes. We want to make sure your priorities are known and to prevent unwanted medical intervention and prevent family conflict during an emergency.
We discuss your concerns and your legal rights. We give you the appropriate tools to make sure your wishes are followed and your family has the ability to communicate those wishes and to direct your medical care in case you cannot.
A durable power of attorney is an extremely important estate planning tool, even more important than a will in many cases. This crucial document allows a person you appoint — your “attorney-in-fact” or “agent” — to act in place of you — the “principal” — for financial purposes when and if you ever become incapacitated due to dementia or some other reason. The agent under the power of attorney can quickly step in and take care of your affairs.
But in order to execute a power of attorney and name an agent to stand in your shoes, you need to have capacity. Regrettably, many people delay completing this vital estate planning step until it’s too late and they no longer are legally capable of doing it.
Other Areas of Law
Probate is a court-supervised process for identifying and gathering the assets of a deceased person, paying the decedent’s debts and distributing the decedent’s assets to his or her beneficiaries.
What is Probate Administration?
If you have lost a loved one, we understand how difficult this time is for you. If you are like most people, you don’t know what to do next. You need a trusted Florida Attorney to assist you in dealing with this overwhelming time in your life.
We will provide the trusted, compassionate and personalized care that you need at this difficult time.
Our office offers a variety of Asset Protection Plans for our clients. Whether you want to protect your many assets from potential creditors or whether you are concerned about having enough funds to provide for you as you age – we can help put together a personalized and comfortable plan for yourself and your family.
We are glad to help our clients prepare their businesses for the unexpected.
We are happy to provide:
- Business continuity planning for our clients.
- LLC filings, Operating Agreements and resident agent services.
- Deeds for our clients with rental real estate.
and more...
Pet Trusts are for those of us who are pet lovers. Our furry family member is an important and comforting part of life, and the care and well-being of our family member is essential.
Through Pet Trusts, we help you protect your furry children in case you become temporarily or permanently unable to care for the pet or if you are to pass away. You don’t have to worry about who will take care of your pets and how they will be cared for.