Jacksonville Trust Attorney

Trust Lawyer in Jacksonville, FL

Probate is a complex and lengthy process, and it is often the last thing that people want to manage when they are grieving a loved one. Living trusts enable your beneficiaries to bypass the probate process. An experienced Jacksonville trust attorney can help you draft a living trust or keep your living trust legally compliant with Florida law.

Without a trust, your assets and estate may be tied up in probate court for months to years, and your beneficiaries cannot access them during this time. Probate court will also impact the financial benefits that you want to give to your loved ones. Court costs and federal estate taxes will also lessen the value of your estate.

Our firm’s clients in Jacksonville, Florida, who have living trusts can utilize their assets during their lifetimes. After death, assets that are placed in a trust avoid probate by remaining in the ownership of the trust and the trustee.

The Law Office Of Douglas A. Oberdorfer, P.A.: Jacksonville Trust and Estate Planning

The Law Office Of Douglas A. Oberdorfer, P.A., knows that the probate process can be problematic for your beneficiaries if they do not have the funds to maintain their inherited property. A comprehensive estate plan and a living trust can prevent this issue from arising. It can also provide other benefits by protecting your loved ones and safeguarding your assets.

Our Jacksonville trust lawyer can determine your goals for estate planning and work to create a will, a trust, and any other documents that support your goals. For 20 years, our firm has provided compassionate legal care to those dealing with the sensitive and complex issues of estate planning and probate court. Call us today to learn about how a living trust could benefit your heirs.

Florida Trust Laws: Plan Ahead to Protect Your Interests

The probate process is often time-consuming, costly, and stressful for the loved ones left behind. Everyone who passes away must have their assets go through probate, but there are ways to make the process easier on your family members.

Proactive estate planning allows you to anticipate both your and your beneficiaries’ future needs, and it is one of the smartest ways to secure your family’s future for years to come.

There are a variety of trusts in Florida that we can institute to accomplish your goals:

Living Trust

While everyone should create a will, not everyone needs or wants to create a living trust. The type you select depends on your unique wishes.

You can use a living trust to make the transfer of your assets easier for your loved ones and avoid probate court. A living trust can be made irrevocable or revocable, but both will become irrevocable upon your death. A living trust places certain assets from your estate into a trust, which is its own legal entity.

When you create a trust, you can name yourself the trustee, so you have power and control over those assets. The successor trustee that you name will become the trustee after your death, and they will then be responsible for the care and distribution of the trust’s assets to your heirs. Because these assets are always within the trust’s ownership, they never pass to public ownership.

Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts

A revocable trust can be altered and updated throughout your life as long as you are competent to do so, while an irrevocable trust cannot be altered once it is made. The assets in this type of trust legally belong to the trust.

Each trust has its specific uses, and an attorney can help you determine what aids your goals. Whether you wish to change the terms of a trust or not, we can create an arrangement that suits you.

Gun Trusts

This type of trust allows you to pass your firearms to the next generation and keep the government from taking them when you die.

Pet Trusts

This trust allows you to provide for your beloved companion animal’s care after you pass away. You can assign a caretaker and provide finances for a pet’s care.

Medicaid Protection Trusts

This form of irrevocable trust makes sure that you have assets to pay for your care, yet still qualify for Medicaid. Because the assets placed in an irrevocable trust no longer legally belong to you, they’re no longer considered a part of your income, which can allow you to qualify for Medicaid.

However, there are specific timing rules that must be followed when creating an irrevocable living trust for the purposes of Medicaid, and consulting an experienced attorney is key to maintaining legal compliance.

Special Needs Trusts

If you have an adult in your life who has special needs, you can use a trust to provide for them. This is another form of irrevocable trust. It allows an individual to qualify for the governmental benefits that they need to live, while allowing them to have a source of funds.

For a trust to be successful, it must be carefully created and legally enforceable. With a solid trust drafted by our firm, you can create a plan for the equitable distribution of your wealth to the people or organizations you name as your beneficiaries. Learn more about how you can use wills and trusts in your estate plan.

Why Do I Need an Attorney to Create a Living Trust?

Many people create trusts and estate plans to protect their assets and distribute the benefits of their estate to their family and loved ones. If your trust or will is found to be invalid, your wishes may not be followed after your death.

Trusts and wills can also be disputed by those with an interest in your estate, which could undo the work you’ve put into your estate plan. By collaborating with an attorney, you can reduce these risks and create a legally enforceable document that you feel confident in.

An attorney can also tailor your estate plan to meet your unique needs. You may have specific requirements for the care and guardianship of minor children, how a business is handled, or other provisions. An experienced estate planning attorney can determine which estate planning documents in Jacksonville fit your needs.

The Benefits of Creating a Living Trust

Avoiding probate is one of the primary benefits of creating a trust. A living trust has several additional benefits, including:

1. Keeping your affairs private. Probate court is a matter of public record. For those in Jacksonville, this process is typically overseen by the Duval County Probate Court, located at 501 West Adams Street. By keeping the majority of your estate out of probate, you are maintaining your privacy and that of your family and assets. Your estate can be settled more quickly, at a lower cost, and not be accessible on the public record.

   This privacy also limits potential challenges to the validity of your trust. Although it does not prevent the trust from being contested, it mitigates the risk of a challenge from those who are not included as heirs.

2. Limiting federal estate taxes and other costs. Assets that pass through probate may be subject to federal estate taxes. By placing most assets into a trust, you can gain tax advantages and enhance the benefits left to your heirs. You also avoid the probate court costs and loss of time for your loved ones.
3. Avoiding guardianship. If you become incapacitated or incapable prior to your death, your successor trustee will be left in charge of the finances in the trust. They will have the ability to handle certain financial affairs, which can prevent the need for courts to become involved with guardianships.

   In a comprehensive estate plan, you can also assign medical and financial powers of attorney, providing clearer authority over financial needs and instructions about your medical care.

4. Maintaining control over your assets. Your trust can have provisions specific to your family, estate, and needs. Assets can be provided to beneficiaries when they reach certain ages, or they can be used for a clearly stated purpose. You have more control over your assets and more confidence that your wishes will be followed.

What Does a Trust Cost in Jacksonville?

Creating an enforceable and effective trust with an attorney can vary, depending on the details of your estate and the experience of your attorney. An attorney’s fees can depend on whether they charge a flat fee or an hourly fee, where their firm is located, and how complex your estate planning needs are. A more thorough estate plan will be more expensive.

It’s important to hire a trust attorney to create an estate plan that is legally compliant so that your wishes will be respected when you pass away.

What Is Better in Jacksonville: A Will or a Trust?

A will and a trust are different documents with different purposes. Both wills and revocable trusts can be altered and updated throughout your life to adapt to changes in your needs. Many comprehensive estate plans include both a will and a trust, and these documents can reinforce the provisions of the others.

A will lists your wishes for your estate after your death, including which heirs receive what assets. A will is a matter of public record and does not keep your assets from probate court. All the assets in a will still go through the expensive and lengthy probate process. Unlike a will, a living trust is a private document and a separate legal entity.

FAQs

Q: What Makes a Living Trust Enforceable in Florida?

A: To make a living trust enforceable, it must be funded and have a named beneficiary. Funding a trust means placing specific assets in the trust’s name. These assets can include real estate, bank accounts, personal belongings, and business interests. Depending on the specific assets placed in the trust, your attorney will need to look over the assets to make sure they were renamed in the trust’s name.

Q: What Assets Should Not Be Placed in a Living Trust?

A: The assets that should not be placed in a living trust include pensions, retirement accounts, 401(k)s, life insurance policies, and IRA accounts. This is because these types of accounts generally have an option to designate a beneficiary upon your passing, allowing the account to avoid probate and automatically transfer to the beneficiary you named. It’s important to regularly review these accounts and make sure you don’t want to change the beneficiary tied to the account.

Q: What Happens During the Probate Process in Florida?

A: In Florida, the probate process begins when the personal representative named in the deceased’s will locates the will and files the probate case. They’ll be in charge of collecting the deceased’s assets, paying off any outstanding taxes or debts with those assets, and distributing the remaining assets among the named beneficiaries in the deceased’s will. While it may seem simple, this process can be arduous for the loved ones left behind, costing them time and money.

Q: What Is a Charitable Trust?

A: A charitable trust is a specific type of trust that can be created during your estate planning process. As the name suggests, this trust is created to help benefit others in a charitable way, through financing the arts, education, religion, sciences, or the government or community. You can either name a specific charity for the assets to go towards, or the probate court can pick a charity on your behalf, as long as it aligns with your wishes.

Learn About Estate Planning Possibilities and Hire a Trust Attorney Today

A trust and complete estate plan are useful for anyone hoping to protect their assets and save their loved ones stress, time, and money. At the Law Office Of Douglas A. Oberdorfer, P.A., we want to help you create a trust that meets your needs and places your assets under the control of someone you trust.

You can contact us online today or call us at 904-299-6913 to begin your own estate plan to uniquely address your situation. We serve clients throughout the Jacksonville, Florida, metro area.

Jacksonville, FL Trust Resources

• Executor vs. Trustee vs. Guardian in Florida
• Estate Planning vs Will vs Trust

Law Office Of Douglas A. Oberdorfer, P.A. – Jacksonville, FL Office

432 East Monroe Street, 2nd Floor
Jacksonville, FL 32202

Call: 904-822-4951