Frequently asked questions

  • A basic estate plan consists of a Last Will & Testament, Durable General Power of Attorney for Finance, Health Care Power of Attorney (also called a Designation of Health Care Surrogate in Florida), and a Living Will Directive. Many clients will opt to add a simple, revocable trust to this cache of documents.

  • This is one of the most frequently asked questions from a prospective client.  It’s a great question, but unfortunately there is not a “one-size fits all solution” for every estate planning situation. Our personal opinion is for any person to avoid working with a lawyer that is willing to tell them exactly what an estate plan would cost via email or over the phone, without undergoing a comprehensive discovery process.

    Families are not best served by shopping around for an estate plan based on price because they could end up with a set of documents that don’t actually work when the family needs them.

     At CueLaw, we try very hard to match each client with the documents and solutions that they need, not what will bring the firm the larger fee. Here, estate planning is customarily performed on a flat fee basis so that the client can know what to expect ahead of time and fees are always discussed with the potential client at the consultation… after we’ve had the chance to properly evaluate the case.

  • The average turn-around time for delivering proposed drafts to a client varies depending on their complexity and length, and depending on the lawyer’s drafting queue. An average engagement for a Trust plan can take anywhere between 8-12 (or more) weeks due to the number of meetings involved, the length and complexity of revisions to documents, and scheduling conflicts.

    Please always let the attorney know in advance if there is a special consideration or situation that requires any document to be completed within a certain timeframe.

  • Our office was built with the needs of growing families in mind. We understand that clients are BUSY, are growing, and are planning for a life of prosperity. Most importantly, we understand that our clients value ease, convenience and efficiency. They’re raising children, and caring for elderly parents, while also working hard to build their own nest egg for a lifetime of support. We understand that clients want to know that they’ve made the best decisions for their family and that their estate plan will work when loved ones need it most.

    Well, that’s our focus as well. We’ve developed unique systems to give our clients the same access to a Personal Family Lawyer® as was previously only available to ultra-high net worth clientele, so that our clients can have the needed guidance to build and maintain a life of prosperity and wealth.

  • Probate refers to the branch of our justice system that deals with the administration of estates, conservatorships and guardianships, and mental health matters. The Probate Court is the actual branch of the court system that has jurisdiction, or is tasked with, overseeing and ruling on these matters.

  • When a person dies ‘intestate’ they passed away without leaving behind a testamentary instrument such as a Trust or Will.

  • A non-contested probate case requiring the publication of a Notice to Creditors can take anywhere from six months to a year to fully administer.

  • Some of the benefits of creating a Trust during your lifetime and funding it with assets (or designating it as the beneficiary of liquid or other assets) are:

    • Privacy when you pass away

    • Probate avoidance (hence avoidance of hefty probate fees/costs plus a lengthy court process)

    • Greater control over disposition assets at death

    • Planning for incapacitated or minor beneficiaries

  • Yes, in both Florida and Tennessee a person can disinherit an adult child.

  • Yes, both Florida and Tennessee Law have statutory provisions in place allowing the parents of a minor child to designate a Guardian to serve in the event a Guardian becomes necessary. Parents should also designate a successor or alternate Guardian in case the initial designee cannot serve.

  • Yes, it is possible to request the Court to designate you as a Conservator over an aging family member that may need a Conservator. A Conservatorship process (‘Guardianship’ in Florida) can be lengthy and arduous on all parties involved, and certain safeguards are in place for the protection of the person having a fiduciary appointed for them.

  • Yes, our office frequently assists the families of an adult child (or child approaching the age of majority) having a disability or other circumstance where a Conservatorship is appropriate. It’s recommended that families commence this process at least 3-4 months prior to the child’s eighteenth birthday so that the case can be considered at that time or soon thereafter.

  • It is possible to create specific provisions in a Will or Trust that limit distributions in certain circumstances in an effort to shield a child’s inheritance from the child’s creditors or to prevent the child from squandering any bequests made to them at death by a loved one.

  • The best mechanism to protect a minor child that may be receiving a bequest is to create a testamentary trust in your Last Will and Testament or a standby mechanism in a family Trust, where a beneficiary’s assets will be held for their benefit in trust until they reach a predetermined age.

  • A Durable Power of Attorney for Finance (DPOA) is a powerful instrument that a person (the ‘principal’) executes in life that appoints another person to manage their financial and legal affairs in case the principal is too sick (or incapacitated) to manage their affairs. The specialty feature of a DPOA that sets it apart is that the DPOA survives beyond a principal’s incapacity. Under most circumstances, non- durable powers of attorney become null and void once the principal becomes incapacitated. But DPOA’s have special language that make the instrument valid even after the principal’s incapacity and, when drafted properly, give the appointee the ability to fully manage the principal’s finances and other legal matters.

  • Similar to a DPOA, this instrument appoints another person to manage your affairs, but incorporates a health-care related purpose. A medical Attorney-in-Fact can bypass privacy laws that would otherwise restrict him or her from accessing the principal’s medical records and speaking with doctors about your medical condition. This powerful instrument also permits a principal’s appointee to provide informed consent on their behalf as to medical treatments and procedures and direct health care providers to take certain actions on the principal’s behalf.

     In Florida a health care power of attorney is referred to as a Designation of Health Care Surrogate.

  • A Living Will directs a person’s family members, loved ones and fiduciaries under a Medical Power of Attorney to withhold certain life sustaining measures if certain end-stage conditions are met and the attending physician certifies that there is no reasonable chance of recovery. This instrument takes the very difficult decision of whether to remove or withhold life sustaining procedures if there is no probability of survival. The term “Living Will” is often confused with the term “Last Will” because they have similar-sounding names.

    At our office we routinely prepare custom Living Wills. This includes directives for Catholic persons that comport to the Church teachings regarding end-stage conditions.

  • A Pour Over Will is a type of Will that is used in conjunction with a Trust. It works by directing the distribution of a person’s property that is owned in their name at death (i.e. because it was not funded into their Trust) into the Trust via the Probate process so that the property will be administered and distributed according to the terms of the Trust.

    If a Trust is funded correctly, the Pour Over Will may prove to be unnecessary after a testator’s death.