Estate Planning
Estate planning is the process arranging for the management and administration of your estate both during your life and after passing. This type of planning provides peace of mind that your wishes are clear and that your estate will be administered in accordance with the direction you provided.
Revocable living trusts are a common vehicle used to memorialize your intentions regarding your estate while providing a variety of other benefits including confidentiality of the terms of your trust and probate avoidance, which results in savings of time and money in the process of administering the estate.
We also assist clients with a variety of other estate planning documents in order to preserve your estate-related desires with the intention of taking the burden off your family of making those decisions on your behalf. We service the estate planning needs of our clients in the areas of:
Revocable Living Trusts
Revocable Living Trusts are an estate planning tool that is applicable and useful to many people these. The trust outlines how the estate will be administered and is revocable because the terms can be changed as the circumstances change. Advantages of the Revocable Living Trust include memorialization of desires regarding estate administration, probate avoidance and confidentiality of the terms of the trust.
Wills
A will is a legal vehicle that expresses an individual’s (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate) is to be distributed after their death. Amongst other things, the will also appoints an executor to manage the administration of the estate until final distribution.
Powers of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a legal document giving one person, the agent or attorney-in-fact, the power to act for another person, the principal. Powers of Attorney can be used for activities such as buying real property, signing a document or conducting a business. Powers of Attorney are typically limited, general or durable.
Living Wills
A Living Will, also sometimes known as an Advance Directive, is a legal document that specifies the type of medical care that an individual does not does not want in the event they are unable to communicate their wishes due to a medical condition or incapacitation.
Healthcare Surrogate
Florida law permits adults to designate an individual to make healthcare decisions on their behalf if they become incapacitated or are not able to make healthcare decisions on their own. A friend or family member that is at least eighteen years old may serve as a healthcare surrogate.
Designation of Guardian
Florida law requires the court to appoint a guardian for minors and adults in certain circumstances. In circumstances concerning minor children, disabled individuals, or the elderly, it often makes sense to designate a guardian.