Estate Planning & Probate
Regardless of your income, you should have an estate plan in place to protect the interests of both you and your family and to avoid the probate process. Estate plans, including wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, and healthcare surrogates, present you with the opportunity to outline the distribution of your assets and make decisions regarding your future healthcare options. It is important that these documents are prepared and executed properly to ensure that they will be binding in Florida as well as other states.
Probate is the legal process whereby people settle the affairs of another person’s estate after that person passes away. It is also the process through which the courts will settle will contests, inheritance disputes, and other estate planning concerns. Probate involves the filing of several legal documents with the court and a relatively lengthy process including the:
- Appointment of a personal representative or an executor,
- Inventory and appraising estate property,
- Notification of creditors of the estate property,
- Providing publication regarding the estate,
- Paying estate tax if necessary, and
- Determination of the beneficiaries, the amounts each beneficiary will receive, and
- Distributing property to beneficiaries.
It is important to note that there are different methods to probate an estate, including Disposition Without Administration, Summary Administration, and Formal Administration. Our firm has experience performing all three types of probate procedures.
At Mindi Lasley, P.A. we draft wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, and designations of healthcare surrogates to assist an individual in planning for the future and his/her death. We also represent any interested party, including, but not limited to, personal representatives/executors and beneficiaries, throughout the probate process.