ESTATE PLANNING | ESTATE ADMINISTRATION / PROBATE | TRUST ADMINISTRATION

Wills – A will is a legal document specifying how a person’s property and assets will be administered and distributed after death. A will can appoint a guardian of assets, can leave funds to a church, a charity, a community foundation or a private foundation, and can appoint a personal representative who will file your final income tax return and oversee the administration of the estate. Without a will, state law determines how property will be distributed and who will serve as personal representative. Properly created, a will may help minimize or eliminate federal estate taxes.

Trusts – Trusts include a variety of arrangements in which a property owner (the grantor) separates the beneficial ownership from the “legal” ownership of property, and gives the legal ownership to a trustee under stated terms. Trusts may be revocable or irrevocable, created while the grantor is alive or after the grantor’s death, control some or all of the grantor’s property, direct the management of trust assets during the grantor’s incapacity and after his or her death, and provide benefits for a spouse, children and/or the post-death care of the grantor’s pets. A trust may also help minimize or eliminate federal estate taxes.

Living Will – For some, the administration of life-prolonging medical procedures may result in only a precarious and burdensome existence. In order to ensure that the rights and intentions of a person may be respected even after he or she is no longer able to participate actively in decisions concerning himself or herself, and to encourage communication among such patient, his or her family and his or her physician, the laws of the State of Florida recognize the right of a competent adult to make an advanced directive instructing his or her physician to provide, withhold or withdraw life-prolonging procedures in the event that the person should become incapacitated and unable to personally direct his or her medical care. The living will, which is the popular name for this document, applies in the event that a person has a terminal condition, an “end-stage” condition, or is in a persistent vegetative state.

Durable Power of Attorney – A Durable Power of Attorney is a written power of attorney by which a principal designates another as the principal’s attorney in fact. The durable power of attorney must be written, must be executed with the same formalities required for the conveyances of real property by Florida law, and must contain special language. The attorney in fact may exercise the authority granted under a durable power of attorney until the principal dies, revokes the power, or is adjudicated totally or partially incapacitated by a court. A durable power of attorney may enable another to care for the property related needs of an individual without the necessity of being appointed his or her guardian by a court.

Health Care Declaration – A Health Care Declaration provides a procedure to allow a person to plan for incapacity by executing a document designating another person to direct the course of his or her medical treatment upon his or her incapacity. This procedure is less expensive and less restrictive than guardianship and will permit a previously incapacitated person to exercise his or her full right to make health care decisions as soon as the capacity to make such decisions has been regained. The right to make such designation is based upon the fundamental right of self-determination that each citizen of Florida has been given regarding decisions pertaining to his or her own health, including the right to choose or refuse medical treatment.

HIPAA Medical Release – A Medical Release under HIPAA will enable a person to discuss your health condition with your Health Care Providers and obtain confidential records on your behalf.

The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established.