Miami Wills & Trusts Attorney
Estate planning is a multi-layered process with many objectives. At Ronald Cutler, P.A., our legal team has helped men and women create airtight estate plans at every stage of life. A will or trust is a key building block for many estate plans. With these documents, you can prepare for the future and protect your loved ones, including providing for them financially. Do you have questions about the process? Although most people have a basic understanding of what wills do, few people know how to correctly draft one. Call us to talk with a Miami wills & trusts attorney at our firm free of charge.
How Wills & Trusts Differ
These are both common estate planning tools. Some of our clients have one or the other, while other clients create both.
A will is a document in which you identify who will inherit your estate. You should also name someone to serve as the estate’s personal representative. This person is responsible for handling your estate through probate. You can also use a will to identify who will act as guardians of young children if you die.
A will is public because probate is a public process. Ronald Cutler and his team can draft a will that works for you.
A trust is a little different. A will only goes into effect when you die, but you can create a trust to be effective while you are living. You transfer assets to the trust, which then becomes the legal owner. A trustee manages the assets in the trust for the benefit of beneficiaries. You can include instructions in the trust for what happens to assets when you die. In that respect, a trust can operate like a will.
Trusts provide more flexibility than wills. You might create an irrevocable trust to reap tax savings. You can also use a trust to leave assets to a disabled child who relies on government benefits. Because the trust owns the assets, your loved one won’t be disqualified from benefit programs for having too many assets. There are dozens of trusts, and many of them are quite complicated. No one should try to create a trust—even a “simple” living trust—on their own.
Trusts are not probated, so they are private. However, disappointed heirs can still challenge a trust. Some of our clients create “pour over” wills, which pour all assets into a trust upon death. We can discuss if you want to create this type of will.
Call Miami Wills & Trusts Attorney Ronald Cutler, P.A. for Help
Creating the right will or trust is critical for protecting your family when you are no longer here. We highly discourage people from using forms or computer programs to create estate planning documents. Fill-in-the-blank forms might not work for you. Even worse, they could be designed for other states and be invalid in Florida. The Sunshine State has its own laws, and Miami residents should create a plan that’s valid here.
Contact us today to speak with a Miami wills and trusts attorney at our firm.
