In as much as estate planning is crucial, it is highly important that you get it right from the start. A proper estate plan is one that addresses all your estate affairs, both personal and fiscal, and provides financial security for your loved ones even while you’re gone. All these are what a Fort Lauderdale estate planning lawyer will offer you.
At our law firm at Fort Lauderdale, Our approach is aimed at capturing the holistic goal of the client, and then coming up with the best measures to actualize these goals. We understand that every estate is different just as every person is, and so your estate planning lawyer will work personally with you to understand your personal goals and wishes. We do not only plan for asset transfer after life, but also deem it important to plan for asset management during life and incapacity
Our services include:
- Establishing estate planning documents
- Elder Law
- Probate administration
- Estate litigation
- Asset protection
- And lots more.
Estate planning documents
It is our watch word that an effective estate plan should contain the following documents:
- Wills and trusts
Wills and trusts are important asset transfer documents which offer different benefits. While a will is cheap, simple and addresses how your estate should be disposed after your death, a trust can be used for probate avoidance and asset transfer even during your lifetime. Your estate planning attorney will combine both documents in such a way that offers you optimal benefits.
- Living will
The living will takes into account possible critical medical conditions which you may fall into and your wishes as to what kind of treatment you would desire during such a situation. On a living will, you can decide not to be put on life support, for your organs to be donated, etc.
- Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney is a document by which you give someone else authority over your affairs when you eventually fall into incapacity. Incapacity is not something to be wished for, but so long there is probability of its occurrence, there is need to plan for it. Your Fort Lauderdale estate planning lawyer will include the following powers of attorney in your estate plan:
- Financial power of attorney: this allows you authorize an agent to make financial decisions and handle your financial affairs during incapacity.
- Medical power of attorney: with this document, you authorize an agent to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if eventually you become unable to make them yourself.
Asset protection
We also provide asset protection for our clients. As one accumulates wealth over their lifetime, it is possible that one’s possessions eventually surpass the tax-free threshold, therefore subjecting your estate to federal estate taxes. The United States Federal estate tax can reach up to 40%, and that’s a huge chunk of your estate. To ensure that the full value goes to your loved ones and not the government or creditors, we provide asset protection through the use of irrevocable trusts, gifting, etc.
Probate administration
When you pass away leaving a will and estate in Fort Lauderdale, your will and estate must pass through a court process known as probate before the estate can be distributed according to your will. The executor of the will is faced with a lot of legal responsibilities; probate can often be tiresome, costly and lengthy, but having a professional working with you guarantees the smoothest and shortest probate possible. If you have just found out that you were named as an executor, get help in probating the estate by contacting our offices today.
Elder law
As a loved one ages, the family members may be concerned with their long-term care. There is a lot of challenging legal issues involved, and it becomes imperative to entrust the matter in the hands of a Fort Lauderdale estate planning lawyer. At our estate planning law firm at Fort Lauderdale, our lawyers specialized in Elder Law will look into your situation with empathy and help plan towards getting long-term care, and ensuring that possessions are properly and efficiently passed down. To this end, our elder law services include:
- Planning and applying for Medicaid
- Guardianship
- Creating wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and living wills
- Asset protection
Estate litigation
During probate, family members can litigate over the estate left by their loved one. Problems like this lengthens probate all the more, but having an attorney working with the family is the best measure to ensure that such problems are resolved quickly before they have the chance to escalate.
Contact us
So are you ready to have that peace of mind that comes with knowing that your estate will be well managed during incapacity and old age, you will get the kind of long-term care you deserve, and that your loved ones will receive exactly what you want for them? Then all you need do is put a call through to our office today to speak with a Fort Lauderdale estate planning lawyer.
