Estate Planning
Despite the spread of free estate planning documents online, a legally sound estate plan, with the help of a Florida estate planning attorney, ensures that it reflects your wishes, protects your family, and ensures your affairs are handled efficiently when you can no longer speak for yourself.
Wills, trusts, advance directives, powers of attorney, and probate procedures – each serves a different purpose, and together they create a complete estate plan. At Scully | Torres, individuals and families can access tailored estate plans that truly address what they want for themselves and their family, regardless of their wealth.
Wills
A will remains one of the core components of estate planning in Florida because it communicates how you want your assets distributed and identifies the individual you trust to manage your estate. Florida law sets several statutory conditions for a valid will, including that it must be in writing and signed by the testator in the presence of two witnesses, who must also sign in each other’s presence.
Having a properly executed will gives direction during a difficult time. It allows you to designate a personal representative, a role restricted to adults who are mentally and physically capable of fulfilling their duties and who do not have disqualifying criminal convictions.
Without a will, the distribution of assets follows Florida’s intestacy laws, which may conflict with your intentions. A will also allows you to name guardians for minor children and clarify any personal or sentimental bequests that might otherwise create confusion.
At Scully | Torres, our estate planning attorneys help clients draft wills that focus on creating clear, legally compliant documents that meet Florida’s execution requirements and accurately reflect their vision.
Trusts
While wills outline your wishes, Florida trusts offer an additional layer of control and flexibility, especially for managing your assets during your lifetime and avoiding probate later.
Many Floridians choose to create a revocable living trust, which allows them to maintain complete control of their assets while appointing a successor trustee who can step in seamlessly if they become incapacitated. Upon the trustor’s death, the trust becomes irrevocable and continues in accordance with the instructions outlined in the document.
The appeal of a trust often lies in its ability to bypass probate entirely. When assets have been properly transferred into the trust, they can pass directly to beneficiaries without the delays, costs, or public nature of probate proceedings. This is especially important for individuals with real property in multiple states, blended families, or privacy concerns.
As estate planning lawyers, Scully | Torres assists clients in creating and funding trusts that reflect their goals, whether focused on avoiding probate, supporting beneficiaries over time, or structuring assets to promote privacy and long-term management.
Advance Directives
Advance directives in Florida allow you to outline your healthcare wishes in writing, providing clarity to your loved ones and medical providers during challenging times. Advance directives must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, one of whom cannot be a spouse or blood relative, adding an extra layer of protection and legitimacy to the document.
Advance directives ensure that no matter the circumstances, your medical treatment aligns with your values and that someone you trust is prepared to act on your behalf when you can’t. When preparing advance directives, our estate planning attorney at Scully | Torres works closely with clients to document their healthcare preferences clearly and effectively, ensuring each directive is executed in accordance with statutory requirements.
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney (POA) in Florida is another essential estate planning tool because it allows you to appoint someone to manage your financial, legal, and property matters. A Power of Attorney can be general, limited, and durable POA, each granting different levels of authority depending on your needs.
To be valid, a Florida POA must be signed in the presence of two witnesses and a notary. Additionally, Florida requires that certain powers be stated with specific, detailed language; a broad grant of general authority is not sufficient. This level of specificity helps protect individuals from unintended misuse of authority and underscores the importance of carefully drafted documents.
Our estate planning lawyer at Scully | Torres assists clients in crafting Powers of Attorney that balance flexibility with protection, helping them understand the scope of authority they are granting and safeguarding against unintended misuse.
Healthcare Surrogate
Different from advance directives, a healthcare surrogate in Florida ensures that your medical care is handled by someone who understands your values and has the legal authority to participate in your treatment decisions. A healthcare surrogate steps in whenever a physician determines you are unable to make decisions yourself. Their role includes reviewing medical information, discussing treatment options with providers, and making choices consistent with your preferences or best interests.
This designation helps avoid uncertainty or disagreements among family members and promotes continuity in your care. It also ensures that decision-making authority does not default to Florida’s statutory hierarchy of healthcare proxies, which may not reflect your personal wishes.
Our estate planning attorney at Scully | Torres assists clients in preparing healthcare surrogate designations that clearly define the surrogate’s authority and responsibilities, ensuring the documents meet legal requirements and providing practical advice on discussing expectations with their chosen surrogates.
Probate
Probate in Florida is the legal process of validating a will, appointing a personal representative, paying debts, and distributing property. In Florida, the custodian of a will must file it with the court within 10 days of learning of the person’s passing, after which the administration process begins.
Estate administration involves identifying assets, notifying creditors, resolving valid claims, and distributing remaining property according to the will. Florida offers simplified procedures for smaller or older estates, such as summary administration, that can significantly shorten timelines.
Attorney fees for probate are guided by statutory percentages based on the estate’s value – around 3% for estates between $100,000 and $1 million, with lower percentages for higher-value estates. While these guidelines outline what is reasonable, actual fees vary depending on the work required.
At Scully | Torres, our probate services as estate planning lawyers in Florida focus solely on representation and administration. This means assisting personal representatives with the legal and procedural steps required to settle an estate, without engaging in contested probate litigation.
