Our Estate Planning and Probate attorneys representing Dunedin believe that your assets should be safeguarded against collectors, predators, separation, and even the poor decisions of your inheritors themselves. We believe that you, not the government, should figure out how your assets are dispersed when you pass on. Your estate should not be disected by onerous death taxes, and your life savings should not be depleted for you to get long-term healthcare. Our estate planning attorneys can help you protect your legacy and your loved ones.
We provide Administration, Litigation and Estate Planning services to Dunedin Families.
Administration in Dunedin
The administration of an estate after a family member or someone dear to you ceases living can be immensely stressful. At a time when you are more concentrated on grieving, you may quickly find that getting the affairs of a loved one in order are far more complex than just memorial service planning. You may be encountered with legal terms and requests for information that are unfamiliar to you, adding a piece of confusion to your distress. An knowledgeable administration attorney at Battaglia, Ross, Dicus and McQuaid, P.A., is here to help dissect and explain the process to ensure you can smoothly fulfill your responsibilities and distribute assets of the deceased according to the laws of the state of Florida.
Executor of a Will
The executor of a will is the person you name to carry out your wishes after you pass. When you pass away with a legally-valid will, a judge will accredit the executor you’ve named in it to act on it. This could include paying outstanding debts with the money left from your estate, distributing your money and property to your heirs, and more.
It’s important to choose a reputable, organized person you trust to be your executor. They’ll have an important role in making sure everything goes smoothly with your estate after your death.
Probate Administration
When a loved one passes away, their assets and liabilities don’t pass with them. These assets and liabilities will need to be dispersed according to the laws of the state of Florida, under a process called probate administration. Put simply, probate is a procedure through which a court supervises the distribution of a deceased person’s assets and the paying of their unpaid debts. Unfortunately, this procedure can be quite complicated. It can even be difficult to know if it is necessary, but the experienced Estate Planning and Probate attorneys serving Dunedin are here to help.
Trust Administration
Trust administration in Florida pertains to the duties and procedures by which a successor trustee a living trust accomplishes the terms of the trust document. A successor trustee of a living trust has a large range of capabilities and responsibilities which become effective upon our death or incapacity of the trustmaker or grantor. The trustee has a lawful duty to the trust beneficiaries that include proper administration of trust assets. The trustee may be liable for damages brought on by incorrect handling of trust assets or improper trust administration.
Litigation in Dunedin
If you suspect your rights have been violated as a beneficiary in a Will or Trust in Florida, then you should contact an Estate, Trust & Trustee Litigation attorney as soon as possible. Doing this will provide you with the legal expertise to file a petition that could protect your family’s assets, rights and future.
Alternatively, if you are facing allegations and claims as a Trustee, it is essential that you speak to a lawyer to help prove that your decisions were justified.
Beneficiary Rights
If you’re a beneficiary of a Florida estate or trust and think your rights have been violated, then you should contact a Beneficiary Rights attorney as soon as possible.
Elder Abuse in Dunedin
If you have a hunch or recognize that someone in your life has been the injured party of Elder Abuse, then you should speak with an Elder Abuse attorney to protect them and their finances as soon as possible.
Trust Accounting Disputes in Dunedin
If a Trustee has fallen short to supply you with accounting information or you presume malpractice, then you should speak to a Trust Accounting Disputes attorney as soon as possible.
Trust Contest
If you suspect a trust has been improperly created or managed, you will need a Trust contest attorney to prove its invalidity. Accomplishing this will allow you to file a lawsuit and fight for your legacy.
Dunedin Trustee Defense
If you’re a Trustee facing incriminations of mishandling, fraudulence, breaches of fiduciary responsibility, self-dealing or some other misconduct, then you may want to consult with a Trustee Defense attorney.
Trustee Removal
If a Trustee has violated their fiduciary duties or functioned irresponsibly, then a Trustee removal attorney can file an action to eradicate the Trustee to protect your rights as a beneficiary.
Will Contest
If you believe your inheritance rights have been violated, you will require the professional assistance of a Florida Will contest attorney. Doing so will allow you to file a petition that might change the way the estate is distributed.
Dunedin Estate Planning
If estate planning is something you would rather not think about, try envisioning the laws of the state of Florida determining what happens to your property, who administers your estate, even who becomes the legal guardian of your children. An entity with no direct connection to your family or everything you’ve worked for could become the ultimate decision maker without the proper execution of a Last Will and Testament. This very real possibility can manifest in ways you would never have intended, leaving your final wishes unfulfilled and your family members possibly uncared for. Effective estate planning offers you the chance to prepare for these contingencies as well as the opportunity to cement your legacy. Our Dunedin Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys cover every element of Estate Planning, consisting of but not limited to:
Advance Directives
An Advance Directive is an oral or written statement. This statement will illustrate how you want your medical decisions to be made when you become unable of arriving at these conclusions yourself.
Asset Protection
Asset Protection Planning is an clean and legal process that entails evaluating your financial holdings and restructuring them to make sure that you can get legal exemptions.
Business Succession Planning
Business succession planning is a strategy for handing down administration duties to an team member or group of team members.
Charitable Lead Trust
A charitable lead trust is an irrevocable trust created to provide financial support to one or more charities for a time frame, with the remaining assets eventually going to family members or other beneficiaries.
Charitable Remainder Trust
A charitable remainder trust is a tax-exempt irrevocable trust constructed to minimize the taxable income of individuals by first spreading income to the beneficiaries of the trust for a specified time frame and then awarding the remainder of the trust to the designated charity.
Dynasty Trusts
You might have heard that “dynasty trust” is a phrase used for denoting trusts that last for more than a generation. Truthfully, this term is used for denoting trusts that are developed to stay for generations.
Generation-Skipping Trust
A generation-skipping trust is a form of trust that designates any person who is at least 37 1/2 years younger than the settlor as the beneficiary of the trust.
Grantor Retained Annuity Trust
A grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) is a monetary instrument used in estate planning to minimize taxes on large financial gifts to family members.
Health Care Directives
Health care directives are written or oral guidelines that give instructions regarding the future medical care that a person ought to get when he/she is not in a position to decide.
Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust
An intentionally defective grantor (IDGT) enables a trustor to isolate specific trust assets in order to segregate income tax from estate tax treatment on them.
Irrevocable Trust
An Irrevocable Trust is an agreement between a settlor, trustee and assigned named beneficiaries that can not be modified or revoked except if there is a mutual agreement between all affected parties.
Last Will and Testament
A last will and testament is a lawful document outlining your wishes regarding assets and dependents after your death.
Living Trusts
A living trust is a lawful documentation, or trust, created during an individual’s lifetime where a designated person, the trustee, is given responsibility for managing that individual’s assets for the benefit of the eventual beneficiary.
LLC Formation
An LLC can help you pass assets down to your heirs while avoiding taxes. Our Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys can help you with LLC Formation.
Pet Trust
A pet trust is a legally sanctioned setup providing for the care and maintenance of one or more companion animals in the occasion of a grantor’s incapacity or demise.
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney can be a useful resource that allows you to be included in monetary transactions. This tool is significant when you can not attend to sign documentations.
Qualified Personal Residence Trust
A Qualified Personal Residence Trust or QPRT is a special kind of irreversible trust that has been developed to eliminate the value of your prime residence or a secondary property from your taxable estate.
Transfer Tax Planning
Transfer tax planning involves using various tax-favored strategies to move wealth to your designated beneficiaries during your lifetime and at demise.
Our Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys Serve Dunedin Residents
For you to ensure that your rights and the wishes of your loved ones are fully upheld, it is important to have the representation of a skilled attorney. Our Estate Planning & Probate attorneys know how much these issues matter for you and your family, and we have the legal experience you need to prepare and protect your legacy.
Call us today at (727) 381-2300 or schedule a consultation online and chat with one of our top rated Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys.
