Wills, Trusts and Estates Attorneys serving Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie

Our attorneys have years of experience helping clients with their estate planning and probate and trust administration needs.

Preserving your family’s wealth for future generations

Whether you’re planning the parameters of your future medical care or establishing support for loved ones upon your death, Neill Griffin Marquis Osking, PLLC can help with all aspects of wills, trusts and estates, including:

• Estate planning
• Entity formation and planning
• Gift planning
• Charitable planning
• Estate and gift tax issues
• Choosing the appropriate personal representative (a/k/a executor or executrix)
• Guardianships
• Trust administration
• Powers of Attorney
• Health Care Advance Directives, including Living wills
• Living trusts
• Wills drafting
• Probate

Securing your legacy

You work hard for your family, so knowing that you have planned for their long-term well-being and financial security can bring you comfort. We thoroughly analyze your estate and strategize the best means of transferring your assets, minimizing taxes, establishing guardianship for your children, caring for your pets, supporting personal philanthropic causes and protecting your loved ones.

Drafting your living will and last will and testament

A will is essential at every stage of your life. Your living will sets the parameters for medical intervention should you become incapacitated. This assures that when you are most vulnerable, your wishes will be honored. Your last will provides the opportunity to direct the distribution of your probate estate, establish care for your children and otherwise express your wishes upon your death. A will is necessary if you wish to leave your probate estate to beneficiaries who would not otherwise take under the applicable laws of intestate succession, including but not limited to a domestic partner, friend or charity. If you die without a will, your probate estate will be distributed under applicable intestate succession laws and not necessarily in accordance with your wishes.

We can draft valid wills that ensure your intentions are honored.

Changing your will

As your life changes, so might your estate plan. You may need to update your will throughout your life. Neill Griffin Marquis Osking, PLLC drafts valid codicils that address changes in your financial situation, marital status, number of children, philanthropic interests and general lifestyle decisions.

Appointment of guardianship

If you have minor children, your will allows you to make decisions about their future care. This is especially crucial if you are a single parent or if both parents die in a common incident. If you do not name a guardian, the court will appoint a guardian for your children and can make decisions adverse to your ultimate parenting goals. You can also make arrangements for your pets’ care in your will, including the creation of a pet trust.

Guiding you through the process of probate

Probate follows what is typically a painful emotional loss. The attorneys at Neill Griffin Marquis Osking, PLLC have years of experience in the field of probate law and know how to ease the stress of probate by guiding the personal representative (a/k/a executor or executrix) and beneficiaries through the complex process. Most personal representatives have rarely if ever probated a will and know little about the process. We can guide you through all aspects of probate, including:

• Filing the will with the Florida probate court
• Developing the best strategy for fairly and expeditiously probating the estate
• Finding and collecting assets
• Closing and opening bank accounts
• Transferring assets from the deceased to the estate
• Preparing an estate tax return, if necessary
• Valuing, managing, preserving and liquidating the estate
• Locating beneficiaries
• Hiring experts, when appropriate

Probate disputes

Even in apparently straightforward estate cases, there are sometimes disputes between beneficiaries. Our attorneys’ professional courtroom presence can calm the emotionally charged process of probating a challenged will or disputed personal representative or judicial decision. When it is in the best interests of our client to preserve cordial family relationships, our attorneys are adept at mediating these disputes. When necessary, we assertively defend our client’s beneficiary rights within the Florida probate court.

Contact an estate planning law firm you can trust, Neill Griffin Marquis Osking, PLLC

For estate planning, probate and trust administration services in Fort Pierce, Port St. Lucie, and throughout the Treasure Coast, call Neill Griffin Marquis Osking, PLLC at 772-464-8200 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation.