Let's Talk About Estate Planning
Estate Planning
Our firm handles Estate Planning
matters which is the area of law dealing with the distribution of an individual's property at his or her death, using wills, taxes, insurance, property and trusts so as to gain maximum benefit of all laws and, at the same time, carrying out the person's wishes.
Probate
& Estate Administration
Probate
is the court proceeding through which a will
is proved to be valid and the estate of a decedent is administered. It is the legal process by which a person's debts are paid and assets are distributed upon her or his death. The process, generally, includes collecting a decedent's assets, liquidating liabilities, paying necessary taxes, and distribution of property to heirs. The entity that owns the deceased's assets until those assets are distributed is the estate. Estate Administration
includes the probate
process as well as non-probate transfers of the deceased's assets. Individual state laws direct the probate
court how to distribute the deceased's estate. State laws and procedures vary greatly, so, it is important to consult a firm with expertise in this area of the law to ensure that the deceased's assets are distributed correctly.
Asset Protection
Our firm assists individuals and businesses that may be in a line of work that burdens them with exposure to potential lawsuits. Using traditional wills and trusts, and non-traditional strategies such as charitable remainder unitrusts, annuities and other life insurance products that have special Florida law protections from creditors and taking advantage of Florida homestead laws; our firm develops an effective plan for the protection of assets in the event of a lawsuit or an adverse judgment.
What does an estate plan cost?
In the area of estate planning
, our law firm does not charge to meet with the client initially to determine what the client requires and to have the prospective client meet us. At our first meeting, we will always advise the client what documents we believe the client needs to accomplish the client's individual estate planning goals, and why we are making the recommend ion. Once we know what the work is that we will be doing, we will provide the client with a firm quotation, and we always get paid at the end of the project; this way we know the client is satisfied with the work before we are paid!
The average estate plan
which includes up to 6 documents, will be completed in accordance with the individual wishes of the client. The typical estate plan will involve a trust declaration, pour over will, financial power of attorney, health care power of attorney, and living will.
Your investment in the typical estate plan is $2500 for an individual plan, and $4000 for a joint plan.
Included in this quotation is the document preparation, a review of the documents with the client, final editing and changes of the documents, and the execution of the documents. Many law firms simply mail a draft to the client, and say read it and advise us if there are any changes. We do not think that this is the best course of action for the client, because we want to review the documents with the client and explain why certain language is used in the documents, so that when the client reviews the draft after our review, it will be smoother reading for the client. Our goal is to have the client understand what the documents say; leave a draft with the client for a more careful reading after the review appointment, and then do any final editing as necessary, prior to signature.
What is my next step?
Call our office, make an appointment and visit us. We do not charge for this visit, and you are under no obligation to us. We will review your goals with you, advise you what we think you need, why you need it, and what we will charge to do the task. You can then decide whether or not to continue with us.
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