Estate Planning

Estate planning is the process of preparing for death and incapacity. Estate plans vary based on the needs of the client, but they frequently consist of documents such as wills, trust agreements, living wills, designations of health care surrogates, declarations of preneed guardians, durable powers of attorney, and beneficiary designation forms.

Trusts can be either revocable or irrevocable. There are many different types of irrevocable trusts, including irrevocable trusts for grandchildren or other relatives, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGTs), spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs), charitable remainder trusts (CRTs), charitable lead trusts (CLTs), and trusts establishing private foundations.

Anyone who has attained the age of 18 can establish an estate plan. If a person dies or becomes incapacitated in Florida without an estate plan, Florida law will dictate who will make asset and health-care decisions for the person if he or she is living, and who will receive the person’s assets if he or she is deceased. If the person has minor children, the courts will decide who will raise those children.

The Archbold Law Firm, P.A. represents individuals of all ages and with estates of all sizes, from working parents interested in designating guardians for their minor children in the event the parents die in a car accident to retirees who are worried about the federal estate tax on their estates valued at over $11.18 million. It tailors each plan to the client’s concerns, whether they be avoiding probate, minimizing estate tax, protecting assets from creditors, keeping peace within the family after the client’s death, providing for a spendthrift child, taking care of a disabled relative, or carrying out charitable intent.