Ask a Question,
Describe Your Situation,
Request a Consultation
Call (561) 955-8515(561) 955-8515, or fill out the short form below. Don’t hesitate; your questions are welcome.
Required Fields*
Your Information Is Safe With Us.
We respect your privacy. The information you provide will be used to answer your question or to schedule an appointment if requested.
Wills and Trusts in Boca Raton, Florida
Creating a Will or a Trust can feel like a daunting task to many people — whether they are in the planning stages or they need to update an existing Estate Plan. While no one likes to consider their own mortality, not having a Will or a Trust can lead to confusion and conflict among family members after you pass away. Our experienced Estate Planning attorney team manages strategies incorporating Wills and Trusts in order to clearly organize and properly manage the flow of assets, estates, and inheritances.
Regardless of your age or income level, it is crucial to establish the appropriate Estate Planning documents — including a Last Will and Testament and possibly a Trust — with the assistance of a licensed attorney. Without an Estate Plan that includes a legally valid Will, you increase the risk of conflict within your entire family and the chances of a Florida Court making vital decisions for you — including distributing assets according to state intestacy laws. Furthermore, if you have minor children, a Will enables you to designate a trusted guardian or guardians to care for them according to your values should both of their parents pass away.
Many people wonder if there is a way to avoid Probate. Depending on the unique circumstances of the individual, both a Will and a Trust could be appropriate. A Revocable Living Trust is a legal entity that contains selected assets you transfer into the Trust. Because it’s revocable, you can alter or cancel the Trust at any time. For those seeking to avoid Probate, a Revocable Living Trust bypasses the time and cost of Probate while keeping the transfer of assets private.
The person establishing and funding the Trust (the grantor) is typically also the initial person to manage it (the trustee) in the case of a Revocable Living Trust. After the death of the primary Trustee, the named successor Trustee assumes control of the Trust assets and management to benefit the beneficiary or beneficiaries.
Drawing upon more than 22 years of experience, the Estate Planning attorneys at The Siegel Law Group, P.A. in Boca Raton, Florida offer protection for your loved ones and peace of mind for you with Estate Planning tools tailored to your circumstances. We serve clients throughout South Florida with personalized Estate Planning, Elder Care and Probate & Trust Administration. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
Key Takeaways Regarding Wills And Trusts In Florida
- How a Wills and Trusts attorney addresses risks to your assets and your family’s interests through a tailored Estate Plan
- How a Will works under Florida Law
- Considerations a Will should address
- Why a Will is important during Probate
- How a Trust can work with a Will
- Types of Trusts that could accompany your Will
- How Wills and Trusts differ
- You may need both a Will and a Trust
- Why it is important to consult an experienced Florida Estate Planning attorney when preparing Wills and Trusts
Benefits of Working with a Florida Wills and Trusts Attorney
Creating a comprehensive Estate Plan with the guidance of a licensed attorney offers numerous advantages, including:
- Control Over Inheritance: Creating a Will or a Trust gives you the opportunity to control who inherits your estate, ensuring that your assets are distributed according to your wishes.
- Avoiding Probate: Establishing Trusts can help your beneficiaries take possession of your assets more quickly after your death, bypassing the often lengthy Probate process.
- Minimizing Estate Taxes: Proper Estate Planning, including setting up various types of Trusts, can help minimize tax implications on your wealth distribution. This can potentially save your beneficiaries from unnecessary tax burdens.
- Asset Protection: Working with an Estate Planning attorney allows you to protect your assets and secure your family’s financial future through the use of legal Estate Planning tools tailored to your specific situation.
- Family Security: A well-constructed Estate Plan provides security for your loved ones, ensuring that they are taken care of according to your intentions.
Why Choose The Siegel Law Group, P.A
Our goal at The Siegel Law Group, P.A. is to help our clients and their families have better futures by addressing Elder Law concerns, preparing for life’s challenges through comprehensive Estate Planning and guiding personal representatives through the Probate process in Florida. We offer personalized solutions tailored to your needs while protecting your family’s legacy.
You can rely on our team to be here for you and by your side in the protection of your assets and interests:
- We often work with the family members of an elder seeking comprehensive planning for care, protection of assets and related considerations such as protection and distribution of assets in circumstances such as Probate.
- We take the important extra step of funding your Trust with your intended assets when we create your Trust, and we also routinely remind you in case you may have additional assets to fund.
- We do a review of your Estate Plan with you every three years, discussing any changes in relationships, finances or laws that may affect your plans or intentions.
- We educate our clients on bloodline planning to ensure children are in line for your assets when appropriate, preventing your assets from potentially being lost in divorces or blended family scenarios.
- Our firm conducts free post-death consultation and successor seminars to guide your family through the full process.
With over 22 years of experience, our esteemed Florida firm guides you through each step of the Estate Planning process and tailors a plan that prepares for your concerns, your needs and a legacy for your family. Hablamos español.
Professional Associations
What is a Will?
A Will is a legal document that instructs the Court how to distribute a person’s assets after their death. Assets can include money, personal property, real estate and other cherished possessions. To ensure validity, a Will must comply with Florida state law. For this reason, consulting a knowledgeable Estate Planning attorney is crucial.
An Estate lawyer will draft and execute your Will according to legal requirements, which is critical because no changes can be made to a Will once a person passes away. A Florida Probate Court judge will invalidate an improperly drafted Will. In such a case, asset distribution after a person’s death follows state law, meaning first the surviving spouse and then the children would gain ownership of the assets. These state laws may or may not align with the decedent’s wishes.
What Does a Will Include?
In your Will, you will designate all beneficiaries who will inherit your assets and the percentages each individual would receive. Assets like life insurance policies or financial accounts listing a direct beneficiary are not included in your Will.
Parents of minor children can designate guardians in their Wills to care for their children if both pass away before their children become legal adults. Married couples should make two separate Wills, one for each spouse.
Additionally, a Will designates a personal representative, also known as an Executor, who will collaborate with a Probate attorney to manage the Estate Administration and the distribution of assets to the designated beneficiaries during the Probate process. The personal representative’s attorney will represent them in Probate Court.
How a Will Facilitates Probate in Florida
Probate is the legal process of validating a Will and distributing assets after a person dies. This Court-supervised proceeding seeks to ensure the correct fulfillment of the decedent’s wishes. A properly executed Will can make the Probate process smoother for all involved parties by reducing confusion and potential conflicts among the decedent’s family.
Probate involves multiple steps for the personal representative, who must:
- Identify assets
- Notify creditors to whom the deceased person owes money, which can include the hospital and funeral home — and settle those debts
- Liquidate and distribute property
- Distribute assets to beneficiaries according to the person’s Will
With the assistance of an attorney, the personal representative executes these duties. The personal representative must be over 18 years old, either live in Florida or be related to the decedent, be mentally sound and not be a convicted felon.
Due to life’s inevitable changes, Estate Planning is a dynamic process. With respect to a Will, it’s vital to conduct periodic reviews to ensure it accurately represents your wishes. So long as the individual making the Will (also known as the testator) has the mental capacity, they can make adjustments based on changing desires, relationships, family and financial circumstances and other factors.
Florida Trust Options
Distinct from a Will, a Trust is a legal arrangement that enables individuals to protect assets, allowing them to grow the value therein and then transfer these assets to their intended beneficiaries. Once transferred into a Trust, the Trust becomes the legal owner of the Trust assets.
A Trust involves three separate roles served by people or organizations:
- The Grantor: the person establishing the Trust
- The Trustee: the person responsible for managing and administering the Trust
- The Beneficiary: the individual receiving the money, property or other assets held in the Trust
In some cases, the same individual can fill either two or all three roles.
A Trust account can serve various purposes. Working with a Trust lawyer, the grantor can discuss his or her motivations for establishing a Trust to ensure it fulfills their goals.
Types of Trusts and Their Benefits
Once assets are transferred into a Trust, it creates a legal entity that becomes the official owner of the property. The grantor or creator of the Trust can maintain control over the property throughout the person’s lifetime by appointing themself as the trustee. However, the grantor can designate a successor trustee to manage the Trust and oversee asset distribution to the chosen beneficiaries of the Trust if they become incapacitated or pass away.
In other cases, such as in the majority of irrevocable Trusts, someone else would be designated as the trustee from the outset. Establishing a separate trustee serves to prevent the assets from being counted among the grantor’s estate for taxes.
Understanding the Distinctions Between Revocable Living Trusts and Irrevocable Trusts
A Trust document can fall into one of two categories: revocable and irrevocable.
As its name indicates, the grantor can modify or cancel a Revocable Trust whenever they desire during their lifetime. This type of Trust is also known as Living Trust. While a Revocable Trust can help a grantor bypass Probate for assets held in the Trust, if the grantor fails to fund the Trust with everything they own or they fail to transfer assets they acquire after they establish the Living Trust, Probate will be required for those assets.
By contrast, an Irrevocable Trust cannot be easily changed or dissolved once established. Although rare instances exist where you can amend or cancel an Irrevocable Trust, the process typically involves legal complexities that require a Court petition.
Your Estate Planning lawyer can fully explain Revocable Trusts and Irrevocable Trusts to help you determine whether an Irrevocable Trust or a Living Trust would be better to serve your specific circumstances and desires.
Differences Between Wills and Trusts
When considering your Estate Planning needs as they pertain to Wills and Trusts, consider the following:
- Trusts specifically manage the assets you have transferred into the Trust.
- Wills, when legally valid, dictate the distribution of an individual’s assets after their death.
- Trusts potentially streamline Estate Administration and avoid Probate. However, to accomplish this objective, a Trust must have been fully funded with the person’s assets. There are legal fees involved in setting up a trust and funding it with assets like real estate, with deeds that must be transferred.
- Trust documents are not filed in court. Therefore, the Trust document must be placed where the successor trustee can find it. Challenges can arise in passing Trust assets to beneficiaries in the absence of this document.
- Wills are still recommended for people who establish a Trust to manage the distribution of assets not included in the Trust. This is known as a Pour-over Will.
An experienced Estate Planning attorney can help you understand these critical distinctions, explain your Estate Planning options and create an Estate Plan that addresses your concerns and goals. Furthermore, if you create a Trust, they can advise you regarding how to transfer ownership of your assets into the Trust to make it effective.
Should I Establish a Will and a Trust?
While a Will is critical for everyone, a Trust may or may not be appropriate in all cases.
A Trust may offer significant benefits for:
- Individuals with dependents
- Individuals with Special Needs beneficiaries
- Individuals with extraordinary wealth who wish to ensure dynastic wealth by passing it to their beneficiaries
For others who wish to bypass Probate and facilitate the smooth distribution of their assets after their death, establishing a Trust accomplishes these goals as long as they transfer all assets into the Trust and store it in a location that the successor trustee can easily access.
For healthy individuals with moderate assets, a Will may suffice. In Florida, life insurance payouts and jointly held financial accounts do not have to undergo Probate. Married couples generally keep assets in jointly held accounts.
Do I Need an Estate Planning Attorney to Establish a Will or a Trust?
Although do-it-yourself forms exist all over the internet, they may not address your specific situation or comply with Florida state laws. To protect your loved ones and achieve peace of mind, consult a knowledgeable and experienced Estate Planning attorney. They will oversee the creation of a legally valid Will and potentially a Trust, if appropriate for your situation.
An attorney can guide you through the creation of a customized Estate Plan that complies with relevant laws and protects the futures of those you love. However, Estate Planning is not a one-time event. Due to life’s inevitable changes, your Estate Planning attorney should review your plan with you every three, six and nine years to make sure that it still reflects your wishes.
Contact Us below or Complete Our Online Form
Call Us Today
(561) 955-8515
Contact Us below or Complete Our Online Form
Call Us Today
(561) 955-8515
The Siegel Law Group, P.A. in Boca Raton, Florida, Creates Customized Estate Plans for Clients Based on Their Unique Needs and Goals
While both are important, there are significant differences between Wills and Trusts, and needs will vary among individuals. Whether you have a more complex Estate or business interests, seek to minimize Estate taxes, want to protect minor children or have questions about choosing the right person to manage your Trust property, working with the right Estate Planning law firm is paramount.
With over 100 years of combined experience, The Siegel Law Group, P.A. in Boca Raton, Florida wants to guide you through the process of creating a Will and, if applicable to your situation, the establishment of the right type of Trust. We help South Florida families, seniors and their loved ones prepare for the future.
Whether you need to create or update your Estate Plan, are preparing for Long-Term Care, have a loved one entering or already living in a nursing home or need to develop a strategy for your business, we are here to assist you.
Contact us at (561) 955-8515(561) 955-8515 or complete our online form to schedule a complimentary consultation.
The Siegel Law Group, P.A. ~ Reviewing Estate Plans with our Valued Clients Every Three, Six and Nine Years to Keep Pace with Life’s Inevitable Changes.
Recent Videos
Our Locations
Boca Raton Office
The Siegel Law Group, P.A.
Naples Office
The Siegel Law Group, P.A.
Jupiter Office
The Siegel Law Group, P.A.
West Palm Beach Office
The Siegel Law Group, P.A.
Fort Lauderdale Office
The Siegel Law Group, P.A.
Areas We Serve
At The Siegel Law Group, our mission is to be your law firm for life… and beyond.
We help with Estate Planning, Elder Law and Probate & Trust Administration.
Serving clients in Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, West Palm Beach, the Tri-County Area of Palm Beach County, Broward County Miami-Dade County — and throughout South Florida:
- West Palm Beach, Florida
- Miami, Florida
- Aventura, Florida
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Boca Raton, Florida
- Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
- Coral Springs, Florida
- Coral Gables, Florida
- Plantation, Florida
- Naples, Florida
