Probate / Wills & Trusts

Law Offices of Barbra Stern

If you need a probate, will, or revocable living trust lawyer in Florida, the Law Offices of Barbra Stern has 18+ years of experience in probate administration and will & trust planning. It’s important to have an experienced estate planning attorney that you can trust to protect the property and future of you and your loved ones. Attorney Barbra Stern works hard to help you plan, create, or update your current estate plan, including your will or revocable living trust.

Probate Services

Probate is a court-administered process for establishing and collecting the assets of a deceased party (decedent), settling their debts, and distributing their assets to appropriate beneficiaries. Florida probate proceedings are stipulated in the Florida Probate Code and Florida Probate Rules. There are two types of probate administration under Florida law: formal administration and summary administration. “Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration” is a non-court supervised administration proceeding that only applies in specific circumstances.
Probate administration only apply to probate assets, which comprise assets the decedent owned under their sole name at time of death, or with one or more co-owners and failed to provision for automatic ownership succession.

Examples of Probate Assets:

    • A bank account or investment account in the decedent’s sole name
    • A life insurance policy, individual retirement account, or annuity contract payable to the decedent’s estate
    • Real estate titled in the decedent’s sole name, or in the name of the decedent along with somebody else as common tenants (unless it’s a homestead property).

 
If you’re looking for an experienced probate attorney, call the Law Offices of Barbra Stern to schedule an appointment.

Wills & Trusts

Wills & Trusts are legal documents that appoint a beneficiary to inherit your assets. If you pass away without drawing up a Will or Trust, your estate will be interstate, and it is left up to the state of Florida to decide how your assets will be distributed- you don’t have a say. While Wills and Trusts share many similarities, they each have their own pros and cons. This is why it’s critical to understand what Wills & Trusts are in order to effectively plan for you and your family’s future. The expert legal team from Law Offices of Barbra Stern can help you navigate the estate planning process and decide which path is best for you.

Will

A Will is a written legal document instructing how to distribute assets after death. A Will can be enforced through a Probate Court in certain situations. A Will can also nominate a guardian for minor children the decedent leaves behind.

Trust

A Trust refers to a fiduciary relationship where one party gives another party (the Trustee) to hold the property or assets for the benefits of the beneficiary. The Trust needs to be documented by a written Trust Agreement stipulating how the Trust assets will be distributed to the beneficiaries.

Living Will

A Florida Living Will is a legal document that delineates whether somebody chooses to be on any artificial life-sustaining devices to prolong their life, if they are in any of the following circumstances:

  • End-stage condition
  • Terminal condition
  • Persistent vegetative state

All of these conditions are defined slightly differently according to Florida Statute 765.101. However, they all indicate that there isn’t any reasonable probability of recovery after being deemed to be in any of these conditions by two competent physicians. A Living Will takes away the burden of deciding your end-of-life wishes and healthcare from your loved ones, and gives them peace of mind that whatever decisions are made respect the patient’s wishes. 

If you are seeking an experienced estate planning lawyer, call the Law Offices of Barbra Stern for a consultation today.

You Can Count On Barbra Stern!

Being proactive and ensuring that you do everything right the first time is the best way to avoid future legal problems. Our firm provides human resources audits, one-on-one consulting, policy and handbook reviews, and workplace dispute mediation services for business owners and human resources professionals. We offer risk assessment of complicated employment law and HR problems, along with in-depth research. If you are a Florida HR professional, business owner, or manager seeking employment consultation services, contact the Law Offices of Barbra Stern in Fort Lauderdale today.