St. Johns Law Group’s estate planning attorneys help individuals, families, retirees and business owners create coordinated plans for property, incapacity, family protection, tax considerations, business succession and the transfer of wealth throughout St. Augustine, St. Johns County and Northeast Florida.
A complete estate plan should address what happens during life, during incapacity and after death—not simply who receives property.
Last wills and testaments, fiduciary nominations, guardian designations and coordinated disposition planning.
Wills →Revocable trusts, special-purpose trusts, probate avoidance, privacy and controlled distributions.
Trust Planning →Financial and legal authority for a trusted agent if assistance or incapacity occurs.
Powers of Attorney →Healthcare surrogate designations, living wills and other incapacity-planning documents.
Advance Directives →Enhanced life estate deeds for qualifying Florida real estate and probate-avoidance planning.
Enhanced Life Estate Deeds →Planning for loved ones with disabilities while coordinating support, trusts and long-term care needs.
Special Needs Planning →Buy-sell planning, ownership transitions and coordination of the business with the owner's estate plan.
Business Succession →Estate, gift, trust and business-planning strategies for more complex family and asset structures.
Tax & Complex Planning →Go directly to the SJLG page addressing the planning document, asset, family circumstance or future administration issue that matters to you.
Some clients need a well-drafted will and incapacity documents. Others benefit from a revocable trust, specialized trust provisions, business planning or real-estate transfer strategies. The right plan depends on ownership, family circumstances, privacy goals, tax considerations and the degree of control you want over future distributions.
An estate plan should identify who can act for you and what decisions can be made if illness, injury or incapacity prevents you from handling financial, legal or healthcare matters yourself.
Authorizes a trusted agent to handle financial, property and legal matters within the powers granted.
Learn More →Identifies who may make healthcare decisions when you cannot make or communicate them yourself.
Learn More →Documents healthcare preferences and related directions so loved ones and providers have clearer guidance.
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Homestead and other Florida real estate can be coordinated with wills, trusts, beneficiary planning and deed strategies. In appropriate circumstances, an enhanced life estate deed—commonly called a Lady Bird deed—may allow an owner to retain lifetime control while providing for a transfer at death without probate.
Special-needs planning can require careful coordination of trusts, guardianship considerations, beneficiary designations, public-benefit concerns and the role of future caregivers or fiduciaries.
Trust planning designed around the beneficiary’s long-term care and support needs.
Planning for minor children or family members who may need decision-making support.
Structuring inheritances with attention to public-benefit and financial-planning concerns.
Selecting trustees, agents and other fiduciaries who can carry out the plan over time.
Higher-value estates, closely held businesses and more complicated family structures can require coordinated trust, tax, business and succession planning. James E. Hatfield brings an LL.M. in Taxation and focuses on complex estate and tax planning.
For many business owners, the company is one of the family's largest assets. Buy-sell provisions, ownership restrictions, disability, death, retirement, valuation and funding arrangements should be coordinated with the owner's will, trust and incapacity plan.
The documents should follow the family, assets and decisions—not the other way around.
Discuss family, assets, concerns, fiduciaries, business interests and intended beneficiaries.
Determine which wills, trusts, directives, deeds or succession tools fit the objectives.
Draft coordinated documents and complete Florida execution formalities.
Revisit the plan after major family, financial, property, business or tax-law changes.
A well-drafted plan can reduce uncertainty, but disputes and administration issues may still arise. SJLG's broader probate and litigation teams can address administration, trust disputes, contract issues, court proceedings and appeals when needed.
Guidance for personal representatives, families and beneficiaries after death.
Probate Services →Conflicts involving trustees, beneficiaries, distributions, fiduciary duties and interpretation.
Trust Litigation →Civil litigation and appellate counsel when an estate or trust dispute moves into contested proceedings.
Litigation & Appeals →Our team combines planning, business, tax and litigation experience so the strategy can adapt when an estate includes complex assets, business interests or contested issues.
Estate Planning • Trust Formation • Business Transactions • Contracts
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Complex Estate Planning • Tax Law • Trusts • Business Succession
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Civil Litigation • Contract Disputes • Appeals • Contested Matters
View Profile →General information only. The appropriate plan depends on the family, assets, ownership structure, tax circumstances and objectives involved.
St. Johns Law Group assists estate-planning clients throughout St. Augustine, St. Johns County and communities across Northeast Florida.
St. Augustine • St. Augustine Beach • Ponte Vedra • Ponte Vedra Beach • Nocatee • SilverLeaf • St. Johns • Julington Creek • Fruit Cove • World Golf Village • Vilano Beach
Jacksonville • Jacksonville Beach • Neptune Beach • Atlantic Beach • Mandarin • San Marco • Southside • Baymeadows
Palm Coast • Flagler Beach • Green Cove Springs • Fleming Island • Palatka • Fernandina Beach • Gainesville • Ocala and other Florida communities as appropriate for the matter
Recent SJLG resources addressing wills, trusts, probate avoidance, incapacity, tax planning and related estate-planning issues.
Compare two foundational estate-planning tools and the different objectives each can serve.
Read Article →Learn how enhanced life estate deeds can fit into a broader Florida estate plan.
Read Article →Coordinate ownership transition, buy-sell planning and the owner's personal estate plan.
Read Resource →Whether you are preparing your first estate plan, updating an older plan, creating a trust, coordinating a business succession or planning for incapacity, tell us about your situation and the goals you want your plan to address.
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