Wills, Trusts, Estates & Guardianships
Estate planning is important, no matter how small your estate may be. It allows you, while you are still living, to ensure that your property will go to the people you want, in the way you want, and when you want. It permits you to save as much as possible on taxes, court costs and attorneys' fees, and it affords the comfort that your loved ones can mourn your loss without being simultaneously burdened with unnecessary red tape and financial confusion. All estate plans should include, at minimum, two important estate planning instruments: a durable power of attorney and a will. The first is for managing your property during your life, in case you are ever unable to do so yourself. The second is for the management and distribution of your property after death. In addition to these planning instruments, more and more Americans today are using revocable (or "living") trusts to avoid probate and to manage their estates both during their lives and after they are gone. A complete estate plan should also include a medical directive that may encompass a number of different documents, including a health care proxy, a durable power of attorney for health care, a living will, and medical instructions.
The Trusts & Estates Department of our firm works with clients to develop personalized strategies for family wealth preservation, as well as to achieve philanthropic goals. Our Trusts & Estates attorneys are actively engaged and experienced in a wide variety of practice areas, including:
- Family limited partnerships
- Family foundations
- Irrevocable life insurance trusts
- Charitable remainder trusts
- Charitable lead trusts
- Grantor retained annuity trusts
- Qualified personal residence trusts
- Elder law
- Guardianships
- Medicaid planning
- Estate administration
- Trust administration
- Revocable Trusts
- Wills
- Durable Power of Attorney
- Florida Intangible Tax Trust
