Estate Planning, Probate and Guardianship Attorney in Fort Lauderdale, FL

A will signed in New Jersey or Ohio before the move south is usually still valid in Florida. Whether it still works is a different question. It may name an executor who can’t serve here, ignore the homestead rules that apply to a Fort Lauderdale house, and say nothing about who handles your money if a stroke or dementia takes that ability away first.

Our office is on Cypress Creek Road in northern Fort Lauderdale, a few minutes off I-95. Pamela Schatten has practiced for 20 years, is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and handles every matter herself. Most of what she does for Fort Lauderdale families falls into four areas: estate planning, probate, guardianship, and the real estate and title work that ties them together.

Why Fort Lauderdale Families Bring Us Their Hardest Questions

Fort Lauderdale has no shortage of law firms. What most families want is one attorney who knows the whole picture.

1. You talk to the attorney, not a case manager

Pamela takes the call, drafts the documents and appears at the hearing. Nothing gets handed to a junior associate halfway through. Messages usually get a reply within two hours during the business day.

2. Estates and real estate are the same conversation here

In Fort Lauderdale, the house or the condo is often most of the estate. Pamela is an underwriting agent with Attorneys’ Title Fund and of counsel to a Florida title company, so she reads the deed and the title history alongside the will and the trust. A trust that never got the deed doesn’t keep anything out of probate.

3. Guardianship is a core part of the practice

A lot of our Fort Lauderdale work starts with an adult child who has just realized a parent can’t manage the bills anymore. We handle those cases regularly, and we know when a power of attorney can do the job instead.

4. Cost is settled before the work starts

Every matter is scoped and quoted in writing first. If a simple will is all you need, we’ll say so.

Florida Law That Shapes a Fort Lauderdale Estate

Fort Lauderdale is in Broward County, the 17th Judicial Circuit, and probate and guardianship cases are filed with the circuit court at the Broward County Courthouse downtown. Florida has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, which shifts the focus of most planning to probate avoidance, homestead protection and incapacity.

The homestead rules are where out-of-state plans most often fall short. Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution limits how a homestead can pass by will when the owner leaves a spouse or minor child. A nonresident can serve as personal representative only if related to the person who died (section 733.304), which surprises many families whose chosen executor lives up north.

What We Handle for Fort Lauderdale Clients

Estate Planning

Most clients come in with a will from somewhere else, or with nothing at all. Either way, the goal is a plan that works under Florida law.

• Wills: Signed with two witnesses (section 732.502) and made self-proving, so the witnesses never have to be found later.
• Revocable trusts: The usual way to keep a Fort Lauderdale home out of probate. It only works once the house is deeded into the trust, and we prepare that deed.
• Ladybird deeds: You keep full control of the property while you’re alive, and it passes at death without probate. A good fit for some families, not all.
• Durable power of attorney: Signed before two witnesses and a notary (section 709.2105). Powers like making gifts or changing beneficiaries need your separate initials.
• Health care surrogate, living will and preneed guardian designation: The documents that keep a family out of court if you can’t speak for yourself.

Probate and Estate Administration

If a parent dies with the condo in their name alone, nobody can sell it until the court appoints a personal representative.

• Formal administration: Letters of administration, the inventory, and the three-month creditor period after the notice to creditors is first published (section 733.702).
• Summary administration: Available for estates of $75,000 or less, excluding exempt property, or when the death was more than two years ago (section 735.201).
• Trust administration: Notices, accountings and distributions under Chapter 736 for a trustee who has just stepped in.
• Homestead determinations: Getting a court order that confirms the house passed free of creditor claims, which title companies often require before a sale.

Guardianship

Guardianship is a court process under Chapter 744, and it’s slower and more public than most families expect.

• Incapacity petitions: The court appoints an examining committee of three professionals before any finding of incapacity (section 744.331).
• Limited or plenary guardianship: A limited guardianship leaves the person with the rights they can still exercise. Courts are supposed to consider less restrictive options first.
• Guardian advocacy: Under section 393.12, for a young adult with autism, Down syndrome or another developmental disability.
• Guardianship of a minor’s property: Required when a child receives more than $15,000 through an inheritance or settlement.
• Annual reports: The plans and accountings a guardian must file every year.

Real Estate and Title Work

When a parent moves into assisted living or memory care, the house usually has to be sold, rented or retitled. We handle that part too.

• Sales out of an estate or trust: Confirming who has authority to sign, clearing title, and closing.
• Residential closings: Contract review, title search, commitment and owner’s policy through Attorneys’ Title Fund.
• Deeds between family members: Including transfers into a trust, with Broward documentary stamp tax ($0.70 per $100 of consideration) handled correctly.
• Condo purchases: Reviewing the association’s reserves and any milestone inspection required under Florida’s 2022 condo safety law.

Family Law

We also handle family law matters for Fort Lauderdale clients, including uncontested divorce and parenting plans.

How a Matter Moves Through Our Office

01. A short call
Before you come in, a quick phone or video call tells us what the matter is and which documents to bring. It saves everyone time.

02. A consultation and a written quote
We meet at our Cypress Creek office or by video. Afterward you get the scope and the fee in writing, before any work begins.

03. Drafting in plain language
Pamela drafts the documents herself and walks you through them line by line. If something is routine, she’ll say so.

04. Signing and the steps people skip
Documents can be signed in person or remotely through our electronic estate planning package. Then we finish the job: deeds recorded, accounts retitled, beneficiary forms checked.

Neighborhoods We Serve Across Fort Lauderdale

From the beach to the western suburbs, our clients come from every part of the city.

• East and beach: Galt Ocean Mile, Coral Ridge, Las Olas Isles, the beach condos along A1A
• Central: Downtown, Victoria Park, Rio Vista, Colee Hammock, Flagler Village
• North, near our office: Imperial Point, Coral Ridge Country Club Estates, the Cypress Creek area
• Neighboring cities: Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Pompano Beach, Dania Beach

Meet Pamela Schatten

Attorney · AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Pamela trained beside her father, A. Jeffrey Barash, a Super Lawyer who practiced estate and tax law for about forty years before retiring. She was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2006 and now practices on her own from Fort Lauderdale, in Broward’s 17th Judicial Circuit and Miami-Dade’s 11th.

She is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar. Clients tend to describe her the same way: thorough, direct, and quick to call back. Read Pamela’s full bio.