Estate Planning
The Bloodworth Law Estate Planning Team represents individuals, couples, families, and businesses with services including:
Probate: When your estate goes through probate you’ll need our help to resolve and move your case forward.
Summary Probate: Abbreviated Florida probate that doesn’t require personal representative where total value of assets minus creditor claims and exemptions doesn’t exceed $75,000.
Formal Probate: When an estate must be opened by filing a petition for a hearing in probate court which may need involvement of the court. Necessary when an original will can’t be found.
Guardianship: Guardianship cases handled are for relatives who have dementia or have been physically incapacitated due to an accident or an illness.
Estate Planning Documents: Preparation of all estate planning documents which includes: Wills, Trusts, Living Wills, Living Trust, Powers of Attorney, Asset Protection, Advance Health Care Directives.
Business Succession: Who and what will come with the next generation of your business and how will you turn it over without disruption?
Business Sales: Prepare the sale of your business with a legal team to support plans for profitability and ownership transition.
Estate planning is the act of creating legal documents and plans that outline for Florida courts, your relatives, and heirs, exactly what you want to have happen to your children, your assets, your business, and your estate after you die, or, if you become incapacitated.
Estate planning also includes making legal plans in case you become unable to handle legal, health, and financial affairs due to medical or mental incapacity.
Orlando, Florida law firm Bloodworth Law, provides Florida families and individuals with estate planning and estate litigation legal services.
Estate planning involves making important decisions about your property; people who depend on you for support; possible future physical or mental incapacity; long-term nursing care; health care that you may or may not want, and funeral, cremation, or memorial arrangements.
In estate planning, you choose a personal representative, or executor, who collects and inventories property and distributes it according to your will. This person also pays bills, collects debts and files tax returns on your behalf.
Estate planning is a process of making sure your wishes are carried out by leaving clear instructions regarding your assets. These instructions can be regarding personal property, real property, titled assets and digital assets.
If you don’t have an estate plan, you won’t have a say in what happens to you, your children, your assets, or yourself if you become medically or mentally incapable, or if you die intestate.
When you make estate plans for the future, talk with Reed about how Bloodworth Law can help you, or your family.
Estate Planning FAQs
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Who Needs Estate Planning? Everybody
“Who needs estate planning? Everybody needs their estate planning done, everyone,” said Bloodworth Law attorney Christina M. Miner.
“It doesn’t matter if you think you don’t have enough to matter, or if you’re super rich. Everyone needs to have estate planning done. It’s very important and it can help alleviate arguments in the family.”
You don’t have to be wealthy, but if you have children, or any assets, you’ll want to be sure that that your exact plans are followed by the courts as to how you want your children to be cared for, and your belongings distributed properly.
What Are Key Estate Planning Documents?
What are key estate planning documents? Primary estate planning documents include:
- A will
- A durable power of attorney
- A health care surrogate
- A living will
- A trust
What is a Will?
A will is a legal document enforced through the probate court in which you communicate your final wishes as to how your assets should be handled after you die, and to name a guardian to care for minor children.
What is a Durable Power of Attorney?
A durable power of attorney is a document naming an individual you designate to continue to handle all your financial transactions and operate your business should you become disabled.
What is a Health Care Power of Attorney?
A health care power of attorney is the legal document naming an individual designated to make medical decisions for you if you are incapacitated and cannot do so.
What is a Living Will?
A living will is a legal document created while you are of sound mind to protect yourself, your assets, and your minor children. A living will allows you to state your preferences for end-of-life medical care. It outlines decisions you want made for if you become incapacitated. A living will is NOT a DNR (a do not resuscitate) order although it does deal with your medical care.
What is a Trust?
A trust is a legal entity that provides a shelter for your assets. A trust ensures that your assets are distributed according to your wishes and can save time, reduce paperwork and, in some cases, avoid or reduce inheritance or estate taxes.
A trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows a trustee, or a third party, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary.
What are Assets?
Assets involve real property, personal property, titled assets, and digital assets.
Personal property includes items such as art, furnishings, stamps, coins, jewelry, clothing.
Assets also involve real property and titled assets including homes, land, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, life insurance, and qualified financial accounts. A vehicle is a titled asset, but can sometimes be treated as personal property.
Digital assets are property rights or interests that primarily exist virtually, especially on the internet. Social media, email, and websites accounts are digital assets.
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