Estate Planning

Estate Planning utilizes several techniques for the control and distribution of wealth, including liquid assets, real property and specific items of personal property. These techniques can be the Last Will and Testament, Assignment of Power of Attorney, Living Will or health care proxy (a medical Power of Attorney), and in many instances, a trust. 

Our Firm’s Estate Planning Lawyers in Tampa Bay and throughout the State of Florida can prepare any and all documents customized for an individual’s Estate Planning needs, including a Last Will and Testament, a Trust or other documents such as Power of Attorney to accomplish a client’s estate planning goals. A Last Will and Testament clearly delineates the wishes of an individual regarding the distribution of his or her assets upon his or her death. Our firm’s Estate Planning lawyers can prepare this document to determine the distribution of all kinds of assets, including real property, personal property, money and any other itemized asset that the client wishes to include in this document.

Probate

What is Probate? Probate is a court-supervised process for identifying and gathering the assets of a deceased person (decedent), paying the decedent’s debts, and distributing the decedent’s asset to his or her beneficiaries. In general, the decedent’s assets are used first to pay the cost of the probate proceeding, then are used to pay the decedent’s outstanding debts, final burial expenses, and the remainder is distributed to the decedent’s beneficiaries. There are two types of probate administration under Florida law: formal administration and summary administration.

A Last Will and Testament determines the distribution of all assets upon an individual’s death. Our firm’s Probate Lawyers can assist in the Probate of the Will through the court system, whereby, after all debts are paid, the court confirms the decedent’s wishes for distribution of remaining assets to named beneficiaries, and assists in finalizing all distributions such as change of title name, change of physical possession and name changes on assets accounts or other legal changes as needed and set forth in the person’s Last Will and Testament. This is called the Probating of the Last Will and Testament, assuring that the decedent’s wishes are carried out in detail as he or she desired. 

There also exists a non-court supervised administrative proceeding called “Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration.” This type of administration only applies in limited circumstance. 

Sometimes an individual dies without having prepared a Last Will and Testament. Our Firm’s Probate Lawyers can assist families and individuals in this Probate process which differs significantly from the Probate of a valid Last Will and Testament.

 Elder Law

Elder Law is a highly specialized area of law, and should be handled only by qualified elder law attorneys experienced in handling a diverse range of issues affecting seniors (including Medicaid planning, persons with disabilities, and guardianship litigation. As our population ages, many people find themselves in need of guidance for themselves or their loved ones when decisions must be made about the health and welfare of older individuals. It may be advisable for our Elder Law Attorneys to create a Living Will and a health care proxy so that decisions can be made by individuals in advance of situations when an individual can no longer make decisions for himself or herself. Our firm’s Elder Law Attorneys specializes in advising individuals about the options available to them in advance, so that each can determine their wishes about particular situations should they become unable to do so. Elder Law Attorneys specialize in developing documents to provide elder law answers unique to each individual’s needs.