Estate Planning & Advance Directives

Yes. Even when a revocable trust is the centerpiece of an estate plan, we draft a companion "pour-over" will to catch any assets that were not retitled into the trust during life and direct them into the trust at death. The will also nominates the guardian for any minor children — something a trust cannot do.

Generally yes for substance, but advance directives, durable powers of attorney, and witnessing requirements vary by state. We recommend reviewing your plan with a local attorney within a year of relocating. The same is true if you move to Florida from another state — your existing documents may technically still be valid here, but Florida-specific requirements often make a re-draft simpler.

Florida estate-planning documents have very specific statutory requirements. A durable power of attorney, for example, requires separate initials next to each "superpower" or those powers are not granted at all. A will requires two witnesses signing in a particular sequence. A self-proving affidavit must follow the statutory format. Documents that miss these details routinely fail when they are most needed — at incapacity or after death — and the fix is often a court proceeding that costs many multiples of what proper drafting would have cost.

Review your plan after any major life event — marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child or grandchild, the death of a named fiduciary or beneficiary, a significant change in assets, a move to or from Florida, or a major change in federal estate-tax law. Even without a triggering event, a five-to-seven-year review is reasonable to catch statutory changes and confirm beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance still match the plan.

Probate is the court-supervised process of transferring assets that were owned in the decedent's individual name at death. Assets owned by a properly funded revocable trust, jointly with right of survivorship, or with a beneficiary or pay-on-death designation pass outside probate. "Avoiding probate" means structuring ownership so that little or nothing has to go through that court process — saving the family time, expense, and the public exposure of a probate file.

The federal estate tax exemption is indexed for inflation and was substantially increased by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Most estates fall below it and owe no federal estate tax. For estates that approach or exceed the exemption — or that may exceed it after a sunset of the TCJA — planning around portability, lifetime gifting, and irrevocable trust structures becomes important. Florida has no state estate tax. We will tell you in a consultation whether tax-driven planning is something you should consider.

Yes. Florida intestacy law and many default rules favor spouses and biological children. Unmarried partners — including engaged couples and long-term domestic partners — will not be treated as next of kin without express documents. We routinely draft healthcare surrogate designations, HIPAA authorizations, durable powers of attorney, wills, and trusts that name the partner explicitly so that the law follows your intent rather than the default.

After your initial consultation we typically deliver draft documents within two to three weeks. The consultation itself is conversational — we want to understand your family, your assets, your concerns about specific beneficiaries, and your goals before recommending a structure. You leave with a plain-language summary of what we recommend and what it will cost. Nothing is signed until you have had time to review.