Estate Planning

A well thought out estate plan can offer peace of mind and protection for you and your family in the most precarious situations of life. Beyond this, effective estate planning can help you reach important financial goals and clearly designate your end of life wishes. At The Estate Plan, our goal is to make the estate planning process as comprehensive and clear-cut as possible. We can assist with all aspects of the estate planning process, Including:

A Will is the most basic form of estate planning. A Will gives an individual the freedom to dispose of his or her property as they choose, but it is important to ensure that the Will is valid. If someone dies without a Will, they are said to have died intestate, which means that their assets will be distributed according to the Florida statutes. Florida requires that a valid Will be signed in front of at least two witnesses in the presence of each other. Florida also requires the Will to be created by one’s own free will (i.e. you must have capacity and be signing without undue influence of another party). At The Estate Plan, it is important to us that your assets are distributed the way you see fit.

There are several different types of Trusts, such as living trusts, irrevocable trusts, and testamentary trusts, just to name a few. Trusts have certain benefits that wills do not. Two of the most notable benefits are that trusts can help avoid probate and protect assets for the benefit of beneficiaries. A trust can be administered by a trustee through a private process instead of a probate court. This can save time and money in the long run if a trust is executed and funded properly.

A Living Will is different from a normal Will in that it specifically provides your personal choices involving your body as it relates to end-of-life medical treatment. The difference between a Living Will and Health Care Advance Directives is that a Living Will is just one document while Health Care Advance Directives can include several more specific documents in addition to the Living Will. A Living Will can include preferences about how you want to be treated with pain medication, feeding tubes, breathing assistance, and organ donation as it relates to your end of life treatment.

A Designtation of Health Care Surrogate is a document that allows one to name a Healthcare Surrogate to make the health care decisions on behalf of someone if they are incapacitated or unable to make their own decisions about their health. This person is often a spouse or family member, but it needs to be someone that you trust has the ability to make very important decisions.

A POA is a document that allows you to appoint a person or entity to act on your behalf if you are unable to do so for all matters involving your property, finances and almost everything else (except medical duties - those are more often reserved for your agents named in your health care advance directives). The powers you can delegate to a power of attorney can vary depending on how much control you would like to give them. It is important that you choose someone that will look out for your best interests and not abuse the powers granted to them when acting on your behalf.

Each one of these documents have their own specific purpose and each one can be beneficial. If you have any questions about any of these documents please call The Estate Plan at (305) 665-8888. We’d be happy to help.