Your Living Will states your desires for what happens if you have a terminal, irreversible, or incurable disorder, condition or disease, or if you are in a persistent vegetative state like a coma.

Your Health Care Surrogate Designation provides authority to another person to make healthcare decisions on your behalf during your period of incapacity if you are determined to be incapacitated to provide informed consent for medical treatment and surgical and diagnostic procedures

Formal Administration If you lost a loved one who left any property behind, you may need to open up an estate in order to rightfully transfer the property. Creditors may have claims to certain possessions and it is important to make sure property passes without any liens or encumbrances. We can walk you through the estate administration, regardless of whether the person who died had a will. Florida law has rules on how property and money is distributed even if there is no will. We can also assist with negotiating with creditors, objecting to claims if necessary, and trying to maximize the amount of money left for the family or other heirs. Wrongful Death Claims Administration Florida wrongful death cases generally require that they be brought by the estate of the decedent. This means that an estate must be opened up in order to perfect the wrongful death claim. Our office has experience opening up estates in order to process a Florida accidental death case. We can assist with getting a personal representative appointed, dealing with creditors, negotiating with medical providers and debt collectors, and processing the distribution of any settlement. Personal Injury Settlement Where Client Dies A difficult challenge which many Florida personal injury attorneys have faced is what to do with a case where a client dies either before the case settles presuit, in litigation, or after a case settles, regardless of whether the death was related to the case. Florida law permits the case to go forward, even if the person dies before settlement. A personal representative may be appointed to continue pursuing the case on behalf of the client’s estate. Our office has handled cases where a client dies and a settlement is reached with a defendant or insurance company after the death, where a client dies during the pendency of a lawsuit, and even when a client dies after signing a release, but before a check is deposited. All of these cases may require that an estate be opened up in order for the attorneys to get paid and for the beneficiaries to obtain any of the settlement funds. Our office can assist you if you are in this situation.

Planning your estate is often a difficult decision. It is a time when you have to discuss your own mortality. We see it, however, as more of a time when you are in control of your property. You can decide how to distribute your estate, who you want certain things to go to, how to protect your money and property from creditors, how to minimize your tax liability, and how to make it easy on your family when you die. Some examples of estate planning may include transferring property to your children, adding your children as owners to your bank accounts as joint owners with rights of survivorship, setting up trusts, preparing your will, deciding burial wishes, and many other issues which may arise upon a death. Although this may be a difficult topic to discuss, we can help walk you through the process so you can hopefully get this done once, put it in a safe deposit box and enjoy your life.

Florida wills can be challenged for many reasons. Sometimes new spouses are unintentionally omitted, children are unintentionally omitted, wills are changed because of undue influence by someone who has power or control over a person, and many other reasons. We can analyze the will and any circumstances surrounding changes made to a will and unethical or illegal property distributions to try and make sure property is distributed to its rightful heirs. Unfortunately, there are many cases where caretakers, nurses, nurses aides and other relatives take advantage of sick, disabled or elderly loved ones and have changes made to a will behind the back of the family. Sometimes these changes are made when a person is not truly of sound mind or body. If your loved one was victimized by someone who took advantage of them and had their will changed, you may have a case to have the property redistributed to its rightful heirs.

Trusts are an excellent way of passing property to another outside of an estate. For example, if you pass away leaving a minor or disabled child behind, you can appoint a trustee over the property to provide for the proper care, support, maintenance, and education of any of your children or pets.

Weston, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Sunrise, Boca Raton, Century Village, over 55 communities, Plantation, Pembroke Pines, Windmill Ranches, Weston Hills Country Club, Hollywood, Lauderdale by the Sea, Coral Gables, Cooper City, Royal Palm, and many other locations.

We offer a free, no obligation consultation. We also offer various payment arrangements depending on the type of work. Call us at (954) 515-5000 to speak with a representative from our office today. We’re open late and on weekends for consultations.

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