Are you looking for a will lawyer in Winter Park, FL?
At Hirani Law, we offer a wills practice built on 50 years of combined client representation.
If you have not signed a will, or the one you signed years ago no longer matches your family, Florida’s intestacy rules will decide who inherits your property and who raises your children. A Winter Park, FL will lawyer prepares a will that names your beneficiaries, appoints a personal representative, and nominates a guardian for minor children, then signs it under the formalities Florida requires. Hirani Law drafts wills for clients across Central Florida. Initial consultations are free.
Will Lawyer Winter Park, FL
A will attorney in Winter Park drafts the document that directs how your probate assets are distributed after death. That includes identifying who receives specific items and who receives the remainder. It also includes selecting the person or institution that will administer the estate and naming a guardian for children under 18. The same attorney also confirms that the will is signed and witnessed correctly, because a will that fails Florida’s execution requirements is treated as if it never existed.
Guardian nominations are the part of the document parents care about most. Children under 18 make up 18.9% of Florida’s population, according to Census population estimates, and a will is the only document in which a parent can tell the court who should raise them. Without that nomination, a judge chooses from whichever relatives come forward.
Types of Will Cases We Handle in Winter Park, FL
Not every will looks the same, and some clients need more than one document to accomplish what a single will cannot. Our Winter Park will attorneys prepare the following for clients throughout Orange County.
- Simple Wills. A simple will leaves everything to a spouse, then to children in equal shares, and names a personal representative. It suits clients with straightforward families and assets titled in their own names. We still review beneficiary designations and deeds, because those control more property than most clients realize.
- Pour-Over Wills. When a client has a revocable trust, the will exists to catch any asset left outside the trust and send it into the trust at death. We draft the two documents together so the terms match.
- Wills With Testamentary Trusts. A will can create a trust that comes into existence at death, holding an inheritance for a minor child, a young adult, or a beneficiary who should not receive a lump sum. The trustee and distribution ages are written into the will itself.
- Guardianships. The will nominates a guardian of the person and a guardian of the property for minor children. We discuss the choice carefully, including alternates, because the court gives that nomination significant weight when the time comes.
- Codicils and Will Updates. A marriage, divorce, birth, death, or move to Florida from another state usually calls for an amendment or a new will. We review existing documents, including will substitutes such as joint accounts and beneficiary forms. Then we recommend the narrowest change that fixes the problem.
- Living Wills. Despite the name, a living will is a health care directive, not a will. It states your wishes about life-prolonging treatment. We prepare it alongside the designation of health care surrogate as part of the same signing.
- Business Owners. A will that leaves a company to heirs has to account for the operating agreement, any buy-sell provision, and who will run the business the week after a death. We coordinate those documents with the will.
- Probate. After a death, the original will must be deposited with the clerk and admitted by the court. We handle that filing, the self-proving affidavit, and the proof required when the original cannot be found.
Why Choose Hirani Law as my Will Lawyer in Winter Park, FL?
Half a Century of Combined Florida Practice
Ms. Meenakshi A. Hirani earned her Juris Doctor in 1998 and holds an M.B.A. with high honors from Rollins College in Winter Park. Our attorneys bring 50 years of combined legal experience to wills for first-time parents, retirees updating documents from another state, and business owners whose company is their largest asset. Ms. Meenakshi Hirani also practices corporate and tax law and holds a Florida real estate license. A will that passes a business interest or a rental property is therefore drafted with the transfer, not just the gift, in mind.
Guardian Nominations Informed by Children’s Advocacy
Ms. Meenakshi Hirani is a past president of the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, and in 2017 the Legal Aid Society recognized her with its Elizabeth Susan Khoury Guardian ad Litem Award of Excellence. Parents choosing a guardian benefit from that background in children’s advocacy. The same estate planning lawyer in Winter Park, FL who drafts your will also prepares the powers of attorney and health care directives that complete the plan.
Understanding Will Cases
What Are Important Aspects of a Will Case?
A will is only as good as its execution and its fit with the rest of the estate. A Winter Park will lawyer pays attention to the following before the document is signed.
- Formal execution. Florida requires a will to be signed in a specific manner before witnesses, and a document that misses a step is not a legally binding will. A self-proving affidavit signed before a notary spares the witnesses from testifying later.
- Assets the will does not control. Life insurance, retirement accounts, jointly titled property, and anything held in a trust pass outside the will. The plan has to account for those separately.
- Family changes. A will signed before a marriage, a divorce, or the birth of a child may produce a result the client never intended. Blended families in particular need more than a will, since leaving everything to a spouse can disinherit children from a prior marriage.
- Spousal and homestead rights. Florida gives a surviving spouse rights that a will cannot take away, and the family home passes under its own rules. The will has to be written with those limits in mind.
- Safekeeping. The original will, not a copy, is what the court admits. We advise clients on where to keep it and who should know.
What Is the Will Case Timeline?
A will is one of the faster documents to complete. Most clients sign with a Winter Park, FL will lawyer within two to four weeks of the first meeting. A will with a testamentary trust or a business succession provision takes a week or two longer.
The first meeting covers your assets and your family. It also covers the three decisions every will requires: who inherits, who administers, and who raises minor children. Drafting follows, and clients receive the draft to review at home before a second meeting. Revisions are made, and the signing is scheduled with the witnesses and notary present. The whole process can move faster when a client needs a will before surgery or travel, and we accommodate those requests.
What a Florida Will Can and Cannot Do
Clients sometimes expect a will to accomplish more than the law allows. Understanding its limits prevents surprises later.
- A will can name beneficiaries for probate assets and appoint a personal representative. It can also nominate guardians for minor children and create a testamentary trust.
- A will cannot override a beneficiary designation or transfer property held jointly or in a trust. It does not avoid probate, and it cannot strip a spouse of the rights Florida protects.
- A will does not stop creditors. Under Florida’s creditor claims deadline, most claims against a decedent are barred two years after death, but claims filed within that window are paid from the estate before beneficiaries receive anything.
- A will can be changed at any time while the maker has capacity, by a codicil or a new will signed with the same formalities.
What Should You Bring to Your Will Consultation?
- Any existing will, codicil, or trust, including documents signed in another state.
- A list of assets and debts with approximate values.
- Names and contact information for the people you want as beneficiaries, personal representative, and guardian.
- Deeds and account statements showing how property is titled.
- Any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
The meeting takes about an hour and costs nothing. A will attorney in Winter Park, FL will tell you whether a simple will, a will with a trust, or a full trust-based plan fits your situation.
Winter Park, FL Probate Court and Local Resources
- The Florida Bar’s consumer pamphlet on having a will explains what a Florida will can accomplish and what happens when someone dies without one.
- The Florida Bar’s page on advance directives links to the state-approved living will and health care surrogate forms that accompany most wills.
- The IRS answers common questions about federal estate taxes, including who must file a return, which matters for larger Winter Park estates.
Reach Out to Hirani Law to Schedule a Consultation
A signed will is the difference between your instructions and the state’s default. Hirani Law offers a free initial consultation to anyone who needs a first will or an update. We return calls during business hours. Contact us to schedule a free consultation with a will lawyer in Winter Park, FL, and bring the names you have in mind for beneficiary, personal representative, and guardian so we can draft from that list.