Estate Planning, Probate and Guardianship Attorney in Pompano Beach, FL

Pompano Beach has a lot of property that has stayed in one family for decades: a canal home east of Federal Highway, a condo near the pier, a villa in Palm Aire bought at retirement. When the owner dies without a plan, or loses the ability to manage their affairs, that property becomes the center of every decision the family has to make.

Our office on Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale is a short drive south of Pompano Beach. Pamela Schatten has practiced for 20 years and is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. She handles estate planning, probate, guardianship, and the real estate and title work that usually comes with them, and she handles each matter personally.

We represent Pompano Beach clients in estate planning, probate and estate administration, guardianship, real estate and title matters, and family law.

Why Pompano Beach Clients Work With Us

1. Close enough to drop by

Pompano Beach clients can reach our office in minutes, which matters when an elderly parent needs to sign documents in person. When travel is hard, we can meet by video or sign remotely through our electronic estate planning package.

2. A guardianship practice, not a guardianship referral

Many families come to us after a parent’s dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Guardianship is a regular part of Pamela’s work, and she also knows when a power of attorney or health care surrogate makes it unnecessary.

3. Title work in-house

Waterfront property often carries a long title history. Pamela is an underwriting agent with Attorneys’ Title Fund and of counsel to a Florida title company, so title problems get caught while the estate plan is being written, not at the closing table years later.

4. One attorney

Pamela drafts every document and takes every call. Most messages are returned within two hours during the business day.

The Legal Framework in Pompano Beach

Pompano Beach is in Broward County, the 17th Judicial Circuit, and its probate and guardianship cases are heard in the Broward circuit court. Florida imposes no estate or inheritance tax, so the main concerns for most families are avoiding probate, protecting the homestead and planning for incapacity.

Florida offers a shortcut for smaller estates. Summary administration under section 735.201 is available when the estate, excluding exempt property, is worth $75,000 or less, or when the person died more than two years ago. Larger estates go through formal administration, which includes publishing a notice to creditors and waiting out the three-month claim period under section 733.702 before distributions are made.

Our Services for Pompano Beach Clients

Estate Planning

Retirees in Pompano Beach often have children in several states and property in more than one place. A plan has to account for both.

• Revocable living trusts: Keep a Pompano Beach home or condo out of probate, provided the deed is actually transferred into the trust. We prepare and record that deed.
• Wills: Two witnesses under section 732.502, with a self-proving affidavit so the will can be admitted without tracking down witnesses.
• Ladybird deeds: Transfer the home at death without probate while you keep full control during life.
• Powers of attorney and health care surrogates: The documents your family will need first if you can’t manage your own affairs.
• Preneed guardian designation: Names the person you’d want as guardian, under section 744.3045, if one is ever needed.

Guardianship

• Adult guardianship: Determining incapacity and appointing a guardian for a parent who can no longer handle money, medical decisions or both.
• Limited guardianship: Lets the person keep the rights they can still exercise. Florida courts are required to consider less restrictive options first.
• Guardian advocacy: For adults with developmental disabilities such as autism or Down syndrome, under section 393.12.
• Guardianship of a minor’s property: For inheritances or settlements above $15,000.
• Annual guardianship reports: Plans and accountings filed with the court each year.

Probate and Estate Administration

• Formal administration: From the petition to the final distribution.
• Summary administration: For qualifying smaller estates.
• Trust administration: Helping successor trustees give the required notices and make distributions under Chapter 736.
• Homestead: Court determinations confirming the home’s protected status before it’s sold or transferred.

Real Estate and Title Work

When a parent moves into assisted living, the family often has to decide quickly whether to sell, rent or keep the house.

• Sales by an estate, trust or guardian: Confirming signing authority, obtaining court approval where required, and closing.
• Title searches and curative work: Clearing old mortgages, missing heirs and errors in prior deeds.
• Condo transactions: Reviewing reserves and any milestone inspection or structural integrity reserve study required since Florida’s 2022 condo safety law.
• Deeds into trusts and between family members: Recorded with Broward documentary stamp tax ($0.70 per $100 of consideration) handled correctly.

Family Law

We also handle family law matters, such as uncontested divorce and parenting plans, for Pompano Beach clients.

A Situation We See Often

A widowed mother owns a canal home in Pompano Beach in her name alone. Her son lives in Virginia, her daughter in Coral Springs. Over a year or so, she starts missing bills and repeating questions, and her doctor confirms early Alzheimer’s disease.

If she still has capacity, the fix is straightforward. She signs a durable power of attorney naming her daughter, a health care surrogate designation, and either a revocable trust with a new deed or a ladybird deed for the house. The family can then manage her care, and later sell the house to pay for assisted living, without going to court.

If she has already lost capacity, the daughter has to petition for guardianship, and any sale of the home will need court approval. It still works. It just takes longer and costs more, and the court stays involved for as long as the guardianship lasts.

The difference between those two outcomes is usually a few months of timing. That’s why we encourage families to call when the first signs show up, not after a crisis.

A Clear Process From the First Call

01. Short intake call
We learn what’s going on and tell you which documents to bring, like the deed, the existing will or the parent’s medical information.

02. Meeting and written quote
At our office or by video. You’ll get the scope of work and the fee in writing.

03. Drafting or filing
Pamela prepares the documents or the court petition herself and goes over every part in plain language.

04. Finishing the job
Recording deeds, funding trusts and filing required reports, so the plan works the way it was meant to.

Serving Pompano Beach and the North Broward Coast

We work with clients across Pompano Beach and its neighbors.

• Beach and Intracoastal: Pompano Beach Fishing Pier area, Atlantic Boulevard, the beach condos along A1A, the canal neighborhoods off the Intracoastal
• Central and west: Old Pompano, Palm Aire, Cypress Bend, the neighborhoods west of I-95
• Nearby: Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Coconut Creek, Margate, Fort Lauderdale

Meet Pamela Schatten

Attorney · AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Pamela learned the practice beside her father, A. Jeffrey Barash, a Super Lawyer with about forty years in estate and tax law. Admitted to The Florida Bar in 2006, she is a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and practices in Broward and Miami-Dade circuit courts. Read Pamela’s bio.