Estate Planning, Probate and Guardianship, With One Attorney Throughout
Most of our work centers on what happens to a family’s property and decisions as people age: wills and trusts, probate after a death, and guardianship when someone can no longer manage alone. Real estate and title work tie those matters together, because the family home is usually the largest asset in the estate. We also continue to handle family law matters.
Every matter is handled by Pamela Schatten, an AV Rated attorney with 20 years in practice, and every matter is scoped and quoted in writing before work begins. Choose a practice area below, or call 305-868-7800 if you aren’t sure where your situation fits.
How Our Practice Areas Fit Together
Planning ahead
Estate planning covers wills, revocable trusts and ladybird deeds. Legal directives cover the durable power of attorney, health care surrogate, living will and preneed guardian declaration, the documents that let someone you trust act for you without a court case. Estate law is a useful starting point when you aren’t sure whether your question is about planning, administration or guardianship.
After a death
Probate is the court process that transfers property held in one person’s name. Estate administration covers the work of the personal representative or trustee, from the creditor period to the final distribution, including homestead determinations and trust administration.
When someone can’t manage alone
Guardianship is the court process for appointing someone to act for an adult who has lost capacity, such as a parent with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, or for a young adult with a developmental disability. We handle adult guardianship, guardian advocacy and guardianship for minors, and we look first at whether existing documents make a guardianship unnecessary.
The property
Real estate and title work come up in nearly every estate and guardianship: selling a parent’s home after a move to assisted living, deeding a home into a trust, or clearing title before an estate can close. Pamela is an underwriting agent with Attorneys’ Title Fund and of counsel to a Florida title company.
Family law
We also handle family law matters, including uncontested divorce, child custody, child support and paternity.