At Deming Law, we are dedicated to providing skilled legal guidance to protect wealth, preserve legacies, and secure peace of mind. We recognize that comprehensive estate planning extends far beyond the execution of documents; it is an essential foundation for wealth preservation and ensuring a seamless transition of assets to your beneficiaries. Whether your goals involve the distribution of assets through a last will and testament, the establishment of a trust, or the implementation of an asset protection structure, we provide tailored legal solutions to meet each client's specific objectives. To ensure you have a complete estate plan, our firm also prepares advanced healthcare directives and powers of attorney.
Trusts are powerful estate planning tools that allow you to manage and protect your assets during your lifetime and control how they are distributed after death. We create trusts that are tailored to each client's specific objectives. A trust is a legal arrangement where one party holds and manages property for the benefit of another. Trusts can serve many purposes, including avoiding probate, protecting assets, and ensuring financial security for future generations.Trusts are not just for the wealthy, they are for anyone who wants to provide for loved ones, avoid unnecessary legal hurdles, and ensure their wishes are honored.
We provide professional trust services to ensure fiduciary duties are executed by managing trust assets, notifying beneficiaries and creditors, working with accountants to prepare and file tax returns, and distributing assets according to the trust's terms. Our trust administration services ensure your assets are professionally managed and distributed according to your terms, ultimately reducing family conflicts and stress.
We help clients draft clear, legally valid wills. If you pass away without a will, Florida’s intestacy laws decide who inherits your estate. A will allows you to choose who receives your assets, from real estate to family heirlooms.and it provides instructions to the probate court on how to distribute your assets. If you have established a trust, a pour-over will is recommended as a legal safety net. It directs any assets accidentally left out of your trust or acquired right before your death are "poured" into your trust. A will is also used to name a guardian for minor children.
Advance healthcare directives allow you to outline your medical preferences and appoint a decision-maker if you become incapacitated. They include the Living Will and Health Care Surrogate Designation. A Living Will specifies medical treatments and life-prolonging measures you want or do not want if you are terminally ill or incapacitated. A Healthcare Surrogate legally empowers a trusted person (the surrogate) to make medical decisions and access health information on your behalf if you become incapacitated or unable to communicate. Authority begins only after your attending physician determines you lack the capacity to provide informed consent.The surrogate can consent to, refuse, or withdraw medical treatments, and access medical records. Unless explicitly restricted in the document, this can extend to mental health treatments.
When a loved one passes away we assist personal representatives, referred to as executors in other jurisdictions, through every step of Florida’s probate process to ensure the proper administration and distribution of the estate. Florida law requires a personal representative of an estate for formal administration must be represented by a licensed Florida attorney. Formal probate administration is the Florida's Court-supervised process for settling a deceased person's estate. A Florida circuit court must appoint a Personal Representative to manage the estate, granting them authority through formal court documents. The personal representative's responsibilities include taking inventory of all property and assets solely in the decedent's name. Notifying creditors by publishing a Notice to Creditors in a local newspaper and directly notifying known creditors to trigger a statutory claims period. Paying all valid creditor claims, estate administration expenses, and applicable taxes and transferring the remaining property and funds to the rightful beneficiaries.
If a non-resident of Florida dies leaving assets in Florida, an ancillary probate
proceeding in Florida may be necessary to dispose of the Florida property.
The Florida ancillary probate proceeding is subject to Florida law and is brought
secondary to the estate proceeding in the decedent’s state of domicile (the
decedent’s state of residence). Our ancillary probate services assist out of state
attorneys and estate representatives with administration regarding a decedent's
property and assets located within the State of Florida.
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