Estate planning is the process of arranging for the management of your affairs and distribution of your assets after you pass away or in the event you become incapacitated.
We pride ourselves on being a service-oriented law firm. More than just providing you with a set of forms, we strive to understand each client’s specific needs, tailor your documents accordingly, and review all aspects of your estate plan, including beneficiary designations, titling of assets, and funding of Revocable Trusts. We can work with your accountant, financial advisors, insurance agents, and other professionals to allow all of your consultants to participate in the estate planning process.
Estate planning is important regardless of the size of your estate. It ensures that the right people are put in charge of the management and distribution of your assets, reduces the likelihood of family disputes, and generally helps to ensure your wishes are carried out.
During the consultation, we will get to know you and discuss your estate planning goals, based on your family, assets and tax considerations.
Documents usually take one to three weeks to prepare, but the process can be expedited if necessary.
Common estate planning documents include:
Last Will and Testament: A legal document that specifies how your assets will be distributed upon your death. You also nominate a Personal Representative (sometimes known as an “executor”) to be appointed by the court to manage your estate. It can also include funeral instructions and appointing guardians for minor children.
Revocable Trusts: A Revocable Trust, also known as a Living Trust, is as an alternative to a Will. Like a Will, a Revocable Trust specifies how your assets will be distributed in the event of your death. A properly funded Revocable Trust also avoids the publicity, the expenses and the delays of the probate process. A Revocable Trust also enables the continued management and control of your assets without interruption in the event that you are unable to manage your assets on your own during your lifetime for any reason, such as in the case of a disability or a loss of capacity.
Regardless of whether you choose a Will or Revocable Trust, we will discuss ways to leave assets to your beneficiaries so that the assets are better protected from the beneficiary’s creditors, including a beneficiary’s spouse in the event of a divorce.
Durable Power of Attorney: This document designates someone to make a broad range of financial decisions on your behalf. Without a Durable Power of Attorney, your family members may need to apply for guardianship, which can be an expensive, time-consuming, and public court proceeding.
Designation of Health Care Surrogate: This document designates one or more persons who may receive information and talk to medical professionals about your health care, and make decisions for you.
Living Will: This document states your preferences for end-of-life care in the event you are in a vegetative state or have a terminal condition. It can also authorize someone as a surrogate to make these decisions with a doctor on your behalf if you are incapacitated.
Once you have received draft documents from us, you can schedule a time for us to review them with you in detail and sign them in our office. If any changes are necessary, we can usually make them during this meeting. We also ensure that the documents are signed with the necessary formalities, witnesses, and notarizations so that they are accepted under Florida law.
After your documents are signed, if you have established a Revocable Trust, we will provide you with instructions and work with your advisors to fund the Trust so that you are able to avoid or minimize probate. We will also help you to update any beneficiary designations on your financial accounts so that they are consistent with your estate plan.
Beneficiary Designations allow you to name beneficiaries under a bank, brokerage account, pension plan or IRA, so that assets pass directly to the individuals in order to avoid probate. While this is generally appropriate for pension plans, IRAs and some (usually small) bank and brokerage accounts, it is important to consider that naming beneficiaries has some drawbacks, for both tax and non-tax reasons.
For example, we do not recommend naming a minor as a beneficiary because you would need to create a Guardianship for the child, and the costs of this may outweigh the benefits. Also, if a beneficiary dies before you, a Beneficiary Designation may not allow you to detail alternate dispositions, whereas a Will or Revocable Trust would.
Beneficiary Designations can have significant tax effects, and you should always consult with your attorney before executing them.
The federal estate tax exemption amount for 2024 is $13,610,000. This means that a married couple can transfer $27,220,000 in assets without being subject to federal estate tax. However, beginning January 1, 2026, assuming Congress does not act to intervene, the estate tax exemption will be reduced by 50% to around $7 Million per person, or $14 Million per married couple. For this reason, estate tax is not presently a concern for most people.
If the total value of your assets does exceed the estate tax exemption, we can discuss several planning and gifting options to help reduce the value of your estate and minimize your tax burden.
This is an agreement between a couple prior to marriage that governs the financial rights of the spouses in the event of death or divorce. Florida law requires that a surviving spouse receive at least 30% of a deceased spouse’s estate. This can lead to complications, particularly where the deceased spouse did not plan or provide for this amount being passed on the surviving spouse. A well-drafted prenuptial agreement can prevent these types of complications and can benefit both spouses and their children.
A couple can also enter into a similar agreement after marriage, referred to as a Postnuptial Agreement.
We can help you structure charitable donations, during lifetime or as part of your estate plan, to maximize tax benefits while supporting the causes important to you.
“Probate” is the legal process where the court oversees the transfer of a deceased person’s assets to the beneficiaries named in the Will, or if the decedent does not have a Will, to the decedent’s heirs according to the default laws of the state of Florida. The probate process can take anywhere from six months to well over one year, and involves several steps, including:
If you have been named as Personal Representative for a loved one’s estate, or if a loved one has passed away without a Will, please contact our office to set up a consultation. We can help prepare the necessary court filings and guide you through these tasks to efficiently complete the administration of the estate.
If you have been named as Trustee of a deceased loved one’s Revocable Trust, there are many legal, tax, and financial tasks to complete in order to administer the estate, even in cases where the trust has been fully funded and does not need to go through a formal probate process. If you are the Trustee of a Revocable Trust for a deceased loved one, or are the trustee or beneficiary of any other trust and have questions about your rights and responsibilities, please contact us.
Robert and Ben both have a background in corporate law, and often assist clients with matters like choice of entity and entity formation, corporate governance and record management, contract review, and business succession planning. We can also act as a “first phone call” for our clients with legal questions regarding their business, either providing a quick answer or referring them to one of our colleagues in the appropriate area of law.
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