Practice Areas
Estate Planning
When you work with CWH Law, we take the time to design plans that are tailored to meet your family’s unique needs and help ensure our clients’ wishes are accomplished. We understand that every estate, regardless of size, is an important one.
A revocable living trust is a a good foundation for a thorough estate plan. A fully funded revocable living trust offers complete control to clients during their lifetime, provides for them and their loved ones in the event of their incapacity, and on death allows them to pass their assets to their loved ones without the costs, delays and publicity associated with probate.
Estate planning allows you to prepare for a variety of potential circumstances. For example, a durable power of attorney will allow you to appoint someone you trust to manage your finances when you cannot. A health care surrogate can do the same thing for medical decisions. In addition, you can draw up a living will to record your wishes about the medical care you want or don’t want to receive. Estate planning also uses Wills, Trusts, and other instruments to transfer your property efficiently and effectively when you pass away. An effective estate plan can reduce delays and stress, minimize taxes, and maximize the wealth your loved ones inherit. Additionally, estate planning allows you to protect potential vulnerable loved ones by naming a guardian to care for your minor children or by providing long-term wealth management for loved ones with special needs.
Estate and Probate Administration
The loss of a loved one can be extremely stressful for the survivors and heirs. In addition to dealing with the grief that accompanies a loved one’s death, there are many things that must be done to settle someone estate and transfer their assets.
Probate is the court process required to transfer property which was owned by the decedent in his/her sole name. The probate process is different in every state, but the typical steps involved include formally appointing the executor or personal representative of the estate, inventorying the estate assets, identifying and handling creditor claims, and making final distributions to the estate beneficiaries. When there is no Will or estate planning documents to dictate to whom estate assets are to be distributed, the estate is referred to as “intestate” and Florida statute stipulate how a person’s property will be distributed.
There are different types of probate administration in Florida depending on the circumstances.
Formal Administration is the full probate proceeding required for any estate that is projected to have assets valued over $75,000. The formal probate process includes appointing a personal representative and publishing notice to creditors which establishes a 90 day creditor period.
Summary Administration is a simplified version of the probate process for estates valued under $75,000. A summary administration does not result in the appointment of a personal representative, but instead involves the circuit court judge issuing one order transferring all identified property directly to the beneficiaries.
Ancillary Administration is the probate proceeding required for transferring or selling real estate held in a state other than the decedent’s state of primary residency.
Special Needs Planning
If you have a child with special needs or a family member in a nursing home, you, of course, want to provide for that person. However, your generous gift could render your loved one ineligible for government benefits he or she would otherwise be entitled to if the inheritances is not properly protected.
A Special Needs or Supplemental Needs Trust is designed so that the trustee can provide life-enhancing services the government does not ordinarily cover. The assets in the trust are not available to the beneficiary for the asking, but are totally discretionary. Therefore, the assets are excluded by the government when it evaluates your loved one’s eligibility for benefits.
First-Party Special Needs Trust, or (d)(4)(A) trusts, must be irrevocable and established for the sole benefit of the trust beneficiary by the beneficiary themselves, the beneficiary’s parent, grandparent, legal guardian, or the Court. The beneficiary must be under 65 and any assets in the trust must belong to the beneficiary.
Third-Party Special Needs Trust is funded with assets belonging to a person other than the beneficiary. Unlike a first-party SNT, this trust has no provision to pay back Medicaid upon the trust’s termination; rather, the person creating the trust decides how the trust estate is distributed when the beneficiary dies.
Medicaid Planning
As you grow older, you may need assistance with activities of daily living or round-the-clock medical care, but even a short stay in a nursing home can quickly deplete your savings. You can avoid this devastating loss by planning ahead. Having a plan can bring you peace-of-mind that you have the resources to support the living arrangements of your choice without placing a financial strain on your family.
You may qualify for Long-Term Care Medicaid if your financial resources and income are below the statutory threshold. Effective Jan 1st, 2023, a Medicaid applicant’s gross monthly income may not exceed $2,742.00 and applicants cannot have more than $2,000 of countable assets. However, the total value of assets that may be owned by an applicant’s well spouse or community spouse is $148,620.
Guardianship
Guardianship is a legal relationship established by the court in which a trusted individual is appointed to exercise the legal rights of an incapacitated individual. A minor, a person with a disability, or an elderly person may be considered incapacitated if he or she is not able to make decisions about property or health.
The guardian has a duty to act in the best interests of the ward. However, the duties and duration of the relationship depend on the situation.
Under a voluntary guardianship, the ward requests the appointment of a guardian to help with the maintenance of property or assist with physical or medical needs.
In an involuntary guardianship, another party files a petition seeking limited or full guardianship of a person incapacitated by illness, injury, age, or mental illness.
The court may appoint a guardian advocate for an individual with developmental disabilities to obtain legal authority to act on their behalf, if the person lacks the decision-making ability to do some (but not all) of the decision-making tasks.