• Guardianship
• Special Needs Trusts
• Medicaid Planning
• Elder Law
• Probate
• Estate Planning
• Family Law
• Real Property Law
• Bankruptcy

Estate Planning

Estate planning is not only a necessity for wealthier persons who seek an estate plan that may reduce or even eliminate the federal estate tax burden on their estate, but should be consider by those persons of even modest incomes, whether young or old. A well executed estate plan can help a person in four very specific ways:

1. Estate Planning can help a person plan for their future financial needs
2. Estate Planning can help prepare for a smooth transition of a person's assets to their intended beneficiaries
3. Estate Planning can provide guidance to a person's loved ones when that person is sick
4. Estate Planning can reduce the cost of, and in some cases, even eliminate the need to probate.

Allen Law, P.A. starts out by sitting down with their client and listening to their specific objectives; and then an estate plan is carefully crafted to meet those objectives.  An estate plan may include some or all of the following:

• Trusts
• Will
• Advance Directives

Trusts

A trust is essentially an agreement where a person agrees to transfer their property (the settlor) to another person who acts as a fiduciary (the trustee) and holds, maintains, and uses the property for the benefit of another person (the beneficiary).  Trusts can also be used to dispose of a persons assets after their death.  Living trusts are one of the most popular trusts used today, often used as a means to avoid probate; however, depending on a persons specific objectives, other types of trusts may also be considered when preparing an estate plan.  Some of the trusts that Allen Law, P.A. can help with include, but are not limited to:

• Revocable or Irrevocable Living Trust
• Marital (QTIP) Trust
• Bypass Trust
• Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)
• Generation-skipping Tax Trust (GST)
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trust or Unitrust (GRAT or GRUT)
• Special Needs Trust

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Wills

A will is one of the most important documents in any estate plan.  Even if a person has a living trust, a pour-over will is still necessary to capture any forgotten or later acquired assets that a person may have at death.  If a person dies without ever executing a will, then that person’s assets will be distributed according to Florida law.  Often times, this is not what the deceased would have wanted.  By executing a will, you control the distribution of your assets upon your death, and can even direct a personal representative to set up trusts to further control distribution of those assets.  This can be a very important and effective tool if one is concerned about a beneficiary’s ability to manage those assets once received.

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Advance Directives

Advance directives are documents that guide a designated individual, physician or hospital to adhere to your wishes if ever you become incapacitated due to injury or illness.  Advance directives typically include the Living Will, Health Care Surrogate Designation, and Durable Power of Attorney.  Other advance directives may also include a Do Not Resuscitate Directive, Organ Donor Directive, Pre-Need Guardian Designation, and Disposition of Remains.  For domestic partners who are not or cannot marry, these Advance Directives can provide the necessary means to maintain and important and active role in your partners life.

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