Estate Planning and Probate Guidance for Key Biscayne Families

Estate Planning Probate Attorney Key Biscayne | Trust Counsel

Which estate planning and probate attorneys are based in or serve the Village of Key Biscayne and nearby Miami-Dade communities?

For an estate planning probate attorney serving Key Biscayne, Trust Counsel, PL has one office, in Coral Gables. We serve clients in Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, Kendall, Doral and Aventura. The firm focuses on trusts and estates in Florida.

Leslie V. Marenco is the lawyer responsible for this page. Tanya Vega is also one of the firm’s lawyers.

Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries. The firm itself does not serve in those roles.

What estate planning and probate matters look like for Key Biscayne families

An estate planning probate attorney often helps a family after a change. A parent or spouse dies, and a home or bank account needs attention. A trust names an adult child as successor trustee, and that person isn’t sure what comes next. Or a relative can no longer manage their own affairs.

Each family’s facts decide which steps apply. A will, a trust, a joint account and a deed can each treat the same asset differently. Under § 733.103, a will cannot prove title to a decedent’s property until it is admitted to probate in Florida or in the state where the decedent was domiciled.

Gather these items before a first meeting:

• The will, trust and any amendments
• A list of property, accounts and debts
• Deeds, mortgage papers and vehicle titles
• Letters or emails from trustees, beneficiaries or banks

Those documents show which process applies and who has authority to act.

What is the difference between a trust dispute and a probate dispute?

A probate dispute involves the settlement of a deceased person’s estate under court supervision. A trust dispute involves how a trust is run and whether the trustee followed its terms and Florida law.

According to the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, probate is the court-supervised process of administering a decedent’s estate. Disputes among beneficiaries, family members or creditors can lead to court involvement.

Beneficiaries, heirs, trustees and personal representatives all bring these disputes. Under § 731.201, a beneficiary is an heir at law in an intestate estate or a devisee in a testate estate. The same statute treats the personal representative as an interested person in proceedings affecting the estate.

Trusts follow their own rules. Chapter 736 is cited as the Florida Trust Code. Trust Counsel handles both probate litigation and trust litigation.

Which Trust Counsel practice areas match common Key Biscayne matters?

Trust Counsel focuses on these practice areas:

• Estate planning attorney: planning how a family’s property will be held and passed on.
• Probate litigation attorney: disputes over an estate, its heirs or claims against it.
• Trust litigation attorney: disputes over a trust, its trustee or beneficiary rights.
• Trust administration attorney: guiding a trustee through the duties a trust requires.
• Guardianship attorney: matters involving a person who needs help making decisions.
• Estate tax planning attorney: planning around estate tax questions.
• Business succession planning attorney: passing a business to the next owners.
• Asset protection attorney: planning how assets are organized and held.

The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries, and Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually, and the firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries.

If a matter may be referred to another lawyer or firm, we will say so.

Can a trustee be removed before the case is resolved?

Yes, a court can remove a trustee, and it can protect the trust while a request is pending. Under § 736.0706, the settlor, a cotrustee or a beneficiary may ask the court to remove a trustee.

The court may remove a trustee for a serious breach of trust. Other grounds include lack of cooperation among cotrustees that substantially impairs administration; unfitness, unwillingness or persistent failure to administer the trust effectively, where the court determines removal best serves the beneficiaries; and a substantial change of circumstances or a request by all qualified beneficiaries, where the court makes the findings the statute requires. Whether those grounds fit depends on the facts of the trust and the conduct at issue.

While a request is pending, the court may order relief needed to protect trust property or beneficiaries’ interests.

Records matter. Trustees must keep clear, distinct and accurate records and keep trust property separate from their own, under § 736.0810. Useful evidence includes account statements, distribution records and written communications.

What to bring to a first consultation with Trust Counsel, PL

The first meeting covers your family’s situation, the documents you have and the decision in front of you. That decision might be planning ahead, administering an estate or responding to a trust dispute.

If you’re handling a parent’s estate or a trust in Key Biscayne, you don’t have to sort it out alone. Call (305) 707-7126 or contact Trust Counsel online to book a free first consultation. It is confidential and carries no obligation to continue.