01 · Trusts & Estates

Provide for family. Pass it on with guidance.

Trusts and trust creation are an important way for a family to provide for family members, pass on wealth, protect their wealth, and provide continuing guidance as assets move from one generation to another.

Special Needs Trusts allow a person with a disability to hold and receive financial resources without losing vital, means-tested government benefits like Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

A couple meeting with an advisor at a table
Irrevocable trusts can provide a family with five key benefits

Asset Protection

Assets placed in the trust are no longer yours, so they are heavily shielded from personal creditors, lawsuits, bankruptcy, or a divorcing spouse. This is ideal for high-risk professions like doctors and lawyers.

Estate Tax Reduction

Assets inside the trust are removed from your taxable estate, which lowers its total value and helps avoid or minimize federal and state estate taxes.

Probate Avoidance

Property and funds in the trust bypass the slow, costly, and public probate court process, so beneficiaries receive distributions faster.

Privacy

Because it skips probate, the details of your wealth, assets, and beneficiaries do not become part of public court records.

Medicaid & Benefits

Transferring assets into specific irrevocable trusts, such as a Special Needs Trust, can help a person with a disability qualify for Medicaid or SSI without losing financial support.

We help clients create legally valid and enforceable last wills and testaments that accurately reflect their wishes, protect their heirs, and reduce the potential for future disputes.

Services include
  • Initial consultation to assess your assets, family structure, and estate planning goals
  • Simple wills, pour-over wills, and wills with testamentary trust provisions
  • Designation of personal representatives (executors) and successor alternates
  • Guardianship provisions for minor children or dependents with special needs
  • Specific bequests, residuary estate distributions, and conditional legacies
  • Tax-aware drafting to reduce federal and state estate tax exposure
  • Coordination with beneficiary designations, joint ownership, and other non-probate transfers
  • Execution formalities that comply with applicable state law
  • Periodic review and amendment (codicils) as life circumstances change
Trust types handled
  • Revocable living trusts for probate avoidance and centralized asset management
  • Irrevocable trusts for asset protection, Medicaid planning, and estate tax reduction
  • Special Needs Trusts to preserve government benefit eligibility
  • Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) and Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs)
  • Spendthrift trusts to protect beneficiaries from creditors and imprudent spending
  • Generation-skipping trusts (GSTs) for multi-generational wealth transfer
  • Testamentary trusts established through a will
  • Pet trusts for the ongoing care of companion animals
Additional services
  • Funding assistance: transferring assets into the trust so it operates as intended
  • Trustee selection guidance, including individual vs. institutional trustees
  • Trust protector provisions and decanting rights where appropriate
  • Amendment and restatement of existing trust documents

We guide personal representatives, trustees, and beneficiaries through every phase of estate administration, from the initial filing of the will to the final distribution of assets, with a focus on efficiency, legal compliance, and family harmony.

Services include
  • Probate filing, publication of notice to creditors, and court filings
  • Asset inventory, appraisal, and valuation of estate property
  • Identifying, notifying, and communicating with heirs and beneficiaries
  • Payment of valid debts, taxes, and expenses of administration
  • Coordination of federal and state estate tax returns
  • Accountings and inventories for court or beneficiary approval
  • Asset liquidation, transfers, and re-titling for distribution
  • Resolution of creditor claims, tax liens, or contested interests
  • Small estate and summary administration for qualifying estates
  • Ancillary probate for out-of-state real property
  • Final distribution and court discharge of the personal representative
General provisions

The scope of services above is a general description of the legal services available and does not guarantee any particular outcome. Specific services are confirmed in a separate written engagement agreement or retainer letter between the attorney and each client. Attorney-client representation begins only when that agreement is signed.

All matters are handled in compliance with the applicable Rules of Professional Conduct. The firm keeps client information confidential, manages conflicts of interest under its ethical obligations, and communicates regularly with clients about the status of their matters. For a consultation, contact BocaLawOffices@gmail.com.

Get started

The first conversation clarifies everything.

Tell us about your family and your goals. We will tell you plainly which structures make sense, and if we are not the right fit, we will say that too.

621 NW 53rd Street, Ste 125 · Boca Raton, FL 33487