Trust and Estate Planning Attorney in Aventura, FL

Many Aventura condo owners bought their units years ago, kept them in their own names, and have children living in New York, Toronto or South America. When the owner dies, that unit goes through Miami-Dade probate before anyone can sell it, and the association may still have to approve the new owner. A revocable trust that actually holds the condo avoids most of that.

Pamela Schatten has practiced for 20 years and is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. She drafts and administers trusts, prepares wills and incapacity documents, and handles probate and guardianship for Aventura clients in Miami-Dade’s 11th Judicial Circuit. Our office is on Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale, and many Aventura clients meet with us by video and sign remotely.

Why Aventura Clients Work With Barash-Schatten Law

Trusts are central to the practice

Pamela trained beside her father, A. Jeffrey Barash, a Super Lawyer who practiced estate and tax law for about forty years. Drafting, funding and administering trusts is a large part of her work.

Condo and title experience

In Aventura, the estate usually includes a high-rise unit. Pamela is an underwriting agent with Attorneys’ Title Fund and of counsel to a Florida title company, so association approvals, deeds into trust and title questions are handled by the same attorney who drafts the plan.

Remote-friendly

Our electronic estate planning package lets trusts, wills and powers of attorney be signed, witnessed and notarized remotely. That matters for seasonal residents and for families coordinating from abroad.

Direct attorney access

Pamela takes her own calls and usually replies within two hours during the business day. Fees are quoted in writing before work begins.

How a Revocable Trust Works for an Aventura Condo

A revocable living trust is a document you sign that creates a trust, with you as trustee and beneficiary during your lifetime. You keep full control. You can buy, sell and refinance as before, and you can change or revoke the trust at any time.

The trust only works for property it actually holds. That means the condo has to be deeded from you to yourself as trustee, and that deed has to be recorded in Miami-Dade County. Many associations also require notice or approval of a transfer into a trust, even though the owner hasn’t changed in any practical sense. Skipping either step is the most common reason a trust fails to keep a condo out of probate.

When you die or become incapacitated, the successor trustee you named takes over without a court case. The trustee pays final expenses, gives the notices required under the Florida Trust Code (Chapter 736), and distributes or sells the condo as the trust directs. A trust also keeps the details of your estate private; a probate file is a public court record.

There are trade-offs. A trust costs more to set up than a simple will, and it requires the funding work described above. For an owner with a single condo and a straightforward family, a ladybird deed may accomplish much of the same thing more simply. We’ll tell you which approach fits.

Florida Law Aventura Owners Should Know

Aventura is in Miami-Dade County, the 11th Judicial Circuit. Florida has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Since the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida’s condo safety law has required milestone structural inspections for buildings three stories or taller and structural integrity reserve studies, and many Aventura associations have raised dues or levied special assessments. An heir inheriting a unit, or a trustee selling one, needs to know about those obligations before making decisions.

Out-of-state family brings its own rules. Under section 733.304, a nonresident can serve as personal representative of a Florida estate only if related to the person who died. A trust avoids that issue, because a successor trustee doesn’t need to be a Florida resident.

Services for Aventura Clients

Trusts and Estate Planning

• Revocable living trusts, with the deed into trust prepared and recorded, and association notices handled
• Pour-over wills that move anything left outside the trust into it
• Ladybird deeds for owners who want a simpler way to pass a single property
• Durable powers of attorney signed before two witnesses and a notary (section 709.2105)
• Health care surrogates, living wills and preneed guardian designations

Trust Administration

• Successor trustee guidance: Notices to beneficiaries, inventory and accountings under Chapter 736.
• Selling the unit: Coordinating with the association, paying off assessments and closing.
• Closing the trust: Final accountings and distributions to the beneficiaries.

Probate and Estate Administration

• Formal and summary administration in Miami-Dade circuit court, including the creditor process under section 733.702.
• Homestead determinations for an Aventura residence.

Guardianship

• Adult guardianship when an owner with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease can no longer manage the unit or their finances and no power of attorney was signed.
• Guardian advocacy for an adult with a developmental disability, under section 393.12.

Real Estate and Title Work

• Condo purchases and sales, including review of reserves, inspection reports and pending assessments.
• Title insurance through Attorneys’ Title Fund.

Family Law

We also handle family law matters for Aventura clients.

When to Review a Trust You Already Have

Plenty of Aventura owners already signed a trust, sometimes years ago and sometimes in another state. It’s worth a second look if:

• The condo was bought, refinanced or sold after the trust was signed, and nobody checked how the new deed was titled
• A successor trustee has died, moved abroad or is no longer the right choice
• A spouse has died and the trust has split into separate shares that now need attention
• Your accounts name individual beneficiaries that don’t match what the trust says
• The trust was drafted under another state’s law and has never been reviewed for Florida

A review usually takes one meeting. If something needs fixing, it’s often an amendment and a new deed, not a whole new plan.

Our Process

01. Video intake
We learn about the property, the family and where everyone lives.

02. Consultation and written quote
By video or at our Fort Lauderdale office. You get the scope and fee in writing.

03. Drafting
Pamela drafts the trust and supporting documents and explains each one plainly.

04. Remote signing and funding
Documents are signed remotely or in person. We then record the deed, notify the association and confirm the trust is funded.

Serving Aventura and Northeast Miami-Dade

We work with owners throughout Aventura, including the towers along Country Club Drive, Turnberry, Williams Island and the buildings near Aventura Mall and Biscayne Boulevard. We also serve Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami Beach, Golden Beach, Bal Harbour, Miami Beach, and in Broward, Hallandale Beach and Hollywood.

Meet Pamela Schatten

Attorney · AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Pamela was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2006 and is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section. She practices in Miami-Dade’s 11th Judicial Circuit and Broward’s 17th. Read Pamela’s full bio.