Making Estate Planning Accessible To All In Central Florida

Estate planning is something few people like to talk about, but everyone should do. A good estate plan can make it fast and simple to pass on your wealth to your heirs after you die. My help makes an uncomfortable and confusing subject accessible and clear.

I am attorney Mitchell Sherman, and I have practiced estate planning in Central Florida at my firm since 1992. I believe everyone deserves an excellent estate plan to honor their final wishes with minimal impact from estate taxes and help protect them in case an illness or injury ever makes them incapacitated.

Estate Planning Can Eliminate The Need For Probate

Basically, estate planning is a collection of papers you need to prepare before you pass away. When done well, it can eliminate the need for probate all together.  They help your loved ones figure out who you want to be your heirs and what each of those heirs will receive, and make the process of settling your final affairs much easier. The basic parts of an estate plan are:

• Last will and testament. In your will, you name your heirs and what you want them to inherit from your possessions, such as money in your bank accounts, your home and your car. You can also name who you want to be the executor of your estate. This can be virtually any adult you trust, such as your spouse, one of your children or an attorney.
• Living wills. Your living will is a document where you discuss what kind of life-saving care you would want in different situations. For example, you get to decide if you would want doctors to put you on a ventilator or feeding tube. If you are ever incapacitated and unable to communicate, your living will will tell your doctors what to do.
• Revocable Trusts. Money and other assets that get passed down directly through a will must go through the probate process in court and could be subject to the federal estate tax. As an alternative, many people choose to set up a trust. A trust has a trustee who takes care of the assets contained in the trust and beneficiaries who enjoy the benefit of those valuables. There are many different types of trusts, including some that let you keep using your valuables while you are still alive.
• Special needs trusts. This is a particular type of trust to help a child or other relative with special needs qualify for public programs like Medicaid without having to live in poverty. Parents of an adult child with disabilities often set up a special needs trust to make sure their son or daughter will be well taken care of after they are gone.

Asset protection planning is another thing you can do in your estate plan. It can help you qualify for Medicaid to pay for nursing home care if you or your spouse ever needs it — without having to give up all the assets you worked so hard to earn. This is a complicated process, but I can guide you through it.

Find Out More About Estate Planning

I offer free initial consultations via virtual calls. To schedule yours, call me at the Law Offices of Mitchell A. Sherman, Esq., at 727-616-0365 or email me if you prefer. I represent clients throughout Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area. I charge a flat fee and do not bill by the hour.