Guidance Today for a More Secure Tomorrow.
Thoughtful estate planning and probate counsel for individuals and families throughout South Florida.
Estate Planning: Protecting What Matters Most
Estate planning allows you to decide how your property will be managed during your lifetime and distributed after your death.
A Florida Estate Planning Lawyer can help you:
- Prepare a will that explains who should receive your property and nominates a personal representative to administer your estate.
- Create a trust to manage assets, provide for loved ones, and potentially avoid probate for assets properly transferred to the trust.
- Discuss your real estate assets, including Florida homestead considerations and options for transferring property outside of probate through a trust or another method, such as a Lady Bird (Enhanced Life Estate) Deed, and prepare the appropriate deed to accomplish your goals.
- Plan for incapacity through documents such as a durable power of attorney, health care surrogate designation, and living will.
- Protect your loved ones and family members by planning for minor children, organizing inheritances, and addressing the needs of beneficiaries with special circumstances.
- Coordinate your assets so your real estate, retirement accounts, life insurance, and other property work together with your estate plan.
Everyone is different. Your estate plan should reflect your wishes, your assets, and the people who matter most to you.
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Florida Probate: What Happens After Someone Dies?
When a loved one passes away, family members are often left with questions about property, bank accounts, debts, the home, and how inheritance will be handled.
Probate is the legal process used to administer certain assets and resolve the affairs of a person who has died. The process depends on the assets involved, how they were owned, whether a will exists, and the circumstances of the estate.
A Florida probate lawyer can help you understand what needs to be done and guide you through the appropriate legal process.
Probate services may include:
- Opening an estate: Preparing and filing the necessary court documents to begin probate proceedings.
- Probate administration: Helping the personal representative identify and manage estate assets, address creditor claims, satisfy applicable obligations, and distribute property as required by law.
- Summary administration: Determining whether an estate qualifies for Florida's simplified probate procedure, which may be available in certain circumstances.
- Homestead proceedings: Helping establish the legal status of a deceased person's Florida residence and determine how it may pass to the surviving spouse, children, or other beneficiaries.
- Probate without a will: Explaining how Florida's intestacy laws determine who inherits when a person dies without a valid will.
- Wills and beneficiary questions: Reviewing relevant documents and explaining how assets may pass under a will, trust, beneficiary designation, or applicable law.
- Resolving estate issues: Addressing questions involving estate property, creditor claims, missing documents, and disagreements that may arise during administration.
Not every asset must go through probate. Property held in a properly funded trust, certain jointly owned assets, and accounts with effective beneficiary designations may pass outside the probate process. An attorney can help identify which assets require administration and which may be transferred by other means.
Getting guidance early can help families understand their rights and avoid mistakes involving one of their most important assets.
Explore Florida probateWhat to Expect When You Contact Our Office
We begin by learning about your situation, reviewing the relevant documents, and explaining the available options in understandable terms. Whether you need to prepare an estate plan or administer a loved one's estate, we can help you understand the next steps.
You do not have to navigate the process alone.
At Ilene S. Schnall, P.A., our goal is to provide clear guidance so you can move forward with greater understanding and confidence.
Take the Next Step
Whether you are ready to begin an estate plan or need guidance after a loved one has passed, we are here to help you take the next step.
Contact us for a free consultation for your estate plan or to assist with a probate.
Or dial directly: 954.768.1946
It is helpful for the estate planning consultation if you complete a questionnaire as best you can.
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