What Does an Estate Lawyer in Florida Actually Do?

What is the function of an estate lawyer? An estate lawyer advises people on how their property passes at death or during incapacity. When those events happen, the lawyer also handles the legal work that follows. In Florida, that work usually falls into three functions: planning ahead, guiding administration, and resolving disputes. This page walks through each one. It also helps readers tell apart the roles people play in a trust or estate matter.

What an estate lawyer does in Florida

Florida estate lawyers do three main jobs. They plan ahead, guide the administration of an estate or trust, and handle disputes in court. Planning comes first. It means drafting wills, trusts and related documents before a death or illness. Administration comes next. It means handling the court and paperwork steps after a death. Disputes arise when heirs, beneficiaries or fiduciaries disagree.

The work is practical. A lawyer turns family facts into documents, filings and decisions that courts and institutions can act on. That is why the function matters long before any crisis begins.

Trust Counsel, PL focuses on trusts and estates law. The firm’s only office is in Coral Gables, Florida. Leslie V. Marenco is the responsible lawyer for this page. For a broader look at the practice, read the trust litigation overview.

Planning before death or incapacity

Planning means setting up documents while the person can still make decisions. The core documents are wills and trusts. A will says who receives property. A trust says who receives property, who manages it, and when they receive it.

Planning also covers estate tax, asset protection and business succession. These matter most for business owners and families with larger or more complex holdings. Those facts change how a plan is built.

Documents only work when they match current facts. A new child, a sale of a business or a move to another state can change what a document should say. Reviewing and updating plans is part of the lawyer’s function.

Readers who want to see how drafting work is priced can read the drafting cost explainer.

Guiding the administration of an estate or trust after a death

After a death, the person in charge of a probate estate is the personal representative (often called an executor). The lawyer advises that person at each court step. The ACTEC probate video explains how probate works and when disputes need a court.

Florida law sets clear duties. A personal representative must observe the standards of care that apply to trustees. The personal representative must also settle and distribute the estate under the will and the probate code, Fla. Stat. § 733.602.

Early steps include a verified inventory. The personal representative lists estate property with reasonable detail and an estimated fair market value at the date of death, Fla. Stat. § 733.604. A beneficiary can ask the personal representative in writing how an inventory value was set. A residuary beneficiary or heir in an intestate estate may ask about all inventoried assets, and any other beneficiary may ask about assets distributed or proposed to be distributed to that beneficiary.

In a trust, the trustee has similar duties. The lawyer helps read the trust document, explains accounting duties and advises on distributions. A trustee must notify qualified beneficiaries within 60 days after accepting the trust, Fla. Stat. § 736.0813.

The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries. Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. Trust Counsel, PL does not itself serve as trustee, personal representative or any other fiduciary. Under Fla. Stat. § 660.41, corporations generally may not act as personal representative of any decedent’s estate in Florida, whether or not the decedent was a Florida resident. There is a narrow exception for a nonresident decedent. If that decedent’s personal representative is a corporation duly authorized, qualified and acting as personal representative in the jurisdiction of the decedent’s domicile, it may, as a foreign personal representative, perform the duties and exercise the powers permitted by s. 734.101. The section also does not apply to Florida-incorporated banks, associations and trust companies with trust powers, to those resulting from an interstate merger with a Florida bank under s. 658.2953 and having trust powers, or to national banking associations and federal associations authorized and qualified to exercise trust powers in Florida. The trust companies and banks that may act in that role are listed in Fla. Stat. § 733.305.

Handling disputes between heirs, beneficiaries and fiduciaries

Disputes go to court when heirs, beneficiaries or fiduciaries disagree about a document, a fiduciary’s conduct or a distribution. Probate litigation covers estates. Trust litigation covers trusts.

Common examples include challenges to whether a document is valid, claims that a fiduciary broke a duty, and requests for an accounting. A personal representative is liable to interested persons for loss from a breach of duty, Fla. Stat. § 733.609.

Timing rules shape these cases. A will contest cannot start before the testator dies, Fla. Stat. § 732.518. A contest of a revocable trust may not be commenced until the trust becomes irrevocable by its terms or by the settlor’s death, except that a guardian of the property of an incapacitated settlor may bring one, Fla. Stat. § 736.0207. The person challenging a trust carries the burden of proving the grounds.

A lawyer’s role depends on the side the client stands on. A beneficiary asking for an accounting and a trustee defending a decision face different questions. If you’re weighing a change to an irrevocable trust, the ACTEC irrevocable trust video explains modification and court involvement in general terms.

Guardianship and incapacity matters

A guardianship case asks a judge to decide whether a person needs a guardian and who should serve. The case starts with a petition to determine incapacity. An adult can file a petition to determine incapacity, and the petition must be verified.

Once a guardian is appointed, the guardian must file an initial guardianship report within 60 days after letters of guardianship are signed. For a guardian of property, that report is a verified inventory, Fla. Stat. § 744.362. The lawyer explains the petition, the court’s supervision and that reporting.

Guardianship is not the only tool. A durable power of attorney can keep working after the principal becomes incapacitated, if it contains specific words, or similar words, showing that intent, Fla. Stat. § 709.2104. Whether a guardianship, a power of attorney or a trust fits depends on the facts of the family’s situation.

What an estate lawyer represents and what to expect in a first conversation

An estate lawyer represents the client in the client’s own role. That role might be personal representative, trustee, beneficiary or a family member planning an estate. The lawyer does not represent every family member or every party to a dispute.

A first conversation usually covers which documents exist, what assets are involved, and who those documents name. It also covers what you need to decide next. Bring any wills, trusts and court papers you already have.

Your role shapes the advice you get. Naming that role early keeps the discussion focused on the decisions in front of you.

Talking through your situation with the firm

If you’re reading this while a parent’s estate is opening or a loved one’s health is changing, you’re facing decisions you didn’t choose. Here are answers to three common questions.

You may be reading this while a family member’s health is changing or an estate is opening. A first conversation can help you sort out which documents and decisions come first. The firm’s first consultation is free, confidential and carries no obligation to continue. Call (305) 707-7126 or schedule online to speak with Leslie V. Marenco at the Coral Gables office.