Estate Planning Attorneys in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples & Lehigh Acres
Secure Your Family’s Future with Estate Planning in Southwest Florida
Planning for the future is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your loved ones and your assets. At Martin Law Firm, our experienced estate planning attorneys in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Lehigh Acres, and surrounding Southwest Florida communities provide tailored legal solutions to ensure your wishes are honored.
Whether you need a will, trust, power of attorney, or healthcare directive, our team is here to guide you through the estate planning process with personalized attention and legal expertise.
Why Estate Planning is Essential in Florida
Estate planning is not just for the wealthy—every individual and family in Florida can benefit from having a well-structured estate plan. Without proper planning, the Florida probate process can be costly, time-consuming, and stressful for your family.
Benefits of estate planning include:
✔ Avoiding Probate – A properly designed estate plan can help your loved ones avoid the lengthy and expensive probate process.
✔ Minimizing Taxes – Strategic planning can reduce estate taxes and preserve more of your assets for your heirs.
✔ Protecting Your Loved Ones – Ensure that minor children, dependents, and family members are cared for according to your wishes.
✔ Planning for Incapacity – Assign a power of attorney and create an advance healthcare directive to make financial and medical decisions if you become incapacitated.
✔ Ensuring Business Continuity – Business owners in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Naples need succession planning to protect their companies.
At Martin Law Firm, we help individuals and families throughout Lee and Collier counties take control of their future with comprehensive estate planning services.
Estate Planning Services in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples & Lehigh Acres
1. Wills & Trusts
A last will and testament is a critical document that outlines how your assets will be distributed after your passing. However, a will alone does not avoid probate. Establishing a trust can provide additional benefits, such as asset protection and avoiding probate.
Our estate planning lawyers assist clients in:
✅ Drafting legally sound wills to ensure your assets go to the right people.
✅ Creating revocable living trusts to simplify the transfer of assets.
✅ Setting up irrevocable trusts to protect assets from creditors and tax burdens.
✅ Designing special needs trusts to provide for disabled loved ones without affecting government benefits.
✅ Establishing charitable trusts to leave a philanthropic legacy.
We will help you determine the best estate planning tools for your unique financial and family situation.
2. Florida Durable Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney (DPOA) allows you to appoint a trusted individual to handle financial and legal matters if you become incapacitated. Without this document, your family may need to go through guardianship proceedings, which can be costly and time-consuming.
If you live in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, or Naples, having a power of attorney in place ensures that someone you trust is managing your affairs if you are unable to do so.
3. Florida Healthcare Directives & Living Wills
A living will outlines your preferences for medical treatment if you are unable to communicate. A designation of healthcare surrogate allows you to appoint someone to make medical decisions on your behalf.
Southwest Florida residents should have these documents in place to ensure their healthcare wishes are respected in case of illness or injury.
4. Guardianship Planning for Minor Children
If you have children under 18, it is essential to designate a guardian in your will. Without a legal guardian named, the Florida courts will decide who will care for your children, which may not align with your wishes.
At Martin Law Firm, we help parents in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, and Lehigh Acres protect their children’s future through proper legal planning.
5. Asset Protection Strategies
Florida offers strong asset protection laws, but proper estate planning is still necessary to safeguard your wealth. Our attorneys help clients use trusts, business entities, and Florida homestead exemptions to shield assets from creditors and lawsuits.
Residents of Fort Myers and surrounding areas can take advantage of Florida’s homestead laws, which provide protection from most creditors, ensuring that your primary residence remains secure.
6. Probate & Estate Administration in Florida
Even with careful estate planning, some estates go through Florida probate. Our experienced probate attorneys in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Naples handle all aspects of:
✔ Probate administration – Ensuring assets are distributed correctly.
✔ Trust administration – Managing and distributing trust assets.
✔ Will contests and disputes – Representing beneficiaries or personal representatives in probate litigation.
By working with Martin Law Firm, you can reduce the stress associated with probate and estate administration.
Florida-Specific Estate Planning Considerations
Florida Homestead Protection Laws
Florida offers some of the strongest homestead protections in the country. Your primary residence is shielded from creditors, offering estate tax benefits and ensuring that your loved ones are not forced to sell the home after your passing.
Residents of Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Naples should take advantage of Florida’s homestead laws by incorporating them into their estate planning strategy.
Avoiding Probate in Florida
Probate in Florida can be a lengthy and expensive process, but with proper planning, it can often be avoided. We help clients avoid probate through:
🔹 Revocable living trusts
🔹 Joint ownership arrangements
🔹 Beneficiary designations on financial accounts
If you live in Lehigh Acres, Naples, or Fort Myers, we will create an estate plan designed to minimize probate costs and simplify asset distribution.
Why Choose Martin Law Firm for Estate Planning in Fort Myers & Cape Coral?
🔷 Experienced Florida Estate Planning Attorneys – Our attorneys have extensive experience serving clients throughout Lee and Collier counties.
🔷 Personalized, Client-Focused Approach – We take the time to understand your unique needs and provide customized solutions.
🔷 Avoiding Costly Mistakes – DIY estate planning can lead to probate issues, tax liabilities, or disputes. We ensure your documents are legally sound and enforceable.
🔷 Ongoing Support & Updates – Estate plans should be updated periodically to reflect life changes like marriage, divorce, new children, or financial shifts.
Start Your Estate Plan Today – Contact Martin Law Firm
Estate planning is not just about distributing assets—it’s about protecting your family, ensuring your healthcare wishes are honored, and safeguarding your legacy. Whether you live in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, Lehigh Acres, or any nearby area, our dedicated estate planning attorneys are here to help.
📍 Serving Clients in:
- Fort Myers
- Cape Coral
- Naples
- Lehigh Acres
- And surrounding areas in Southwest Florida
Take control of your legacy today. Schedule a consultation with Martin Law Firm and ensure your estate is protected for generations to come!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a Will and a Trust?
In the fundamental sense, a will is a legal document that describes how you’d like your affairs handled and your assets distributed, while a trust is a legal document that creates a fiduciary relationship whereby a grantor gives a trustee the right to hold title to assets for the benefit of a third party. Trusts offer more control of assets, but can be more time-consuming to set up, and must be actively managed. Trusts are frequently used to minimize or eliminate probate expenses. However, due consideration must be given to the costs of creating and maintaining the trust against the potential expenses of probate in Florida. Sometimes creating a trust can be quite the undertaking.
What happens when there is no will?
If you die without a will, your property does not go to the State. This is a common misunderstanding of Florida law for estates. Remember that a will describes the manner of distribution of your assets upon your death. In Florida, if you die without a will, you are considered “intestate.” Intestate means that you do not have a testamentary document. Intestate estates follow the Florida laws of intestacy which mean that your property will pass to your natural heirs. Your natural heirs are your spouse, children, parents, or siblings depending on who survives you. Following the line of descent is initially complicated but once you understand its intent it is actually simple to follow. Many people actually want their property to pass to their natural heirs and so having an intestate estate may be perfectly acceptable to you and your planning needs.
Must all children be awarded at least something from a will, even if it’s only one dollar?
No, there is no law that requires children to benefit from a will, and this type of will clause may actually cause the estate considerable added expense. It is best to simply state in a will that no provision is being made for that child.
How does a trust avoid probate?
By transferring legal ownership of an asset from the grantor to the trustee, legal title passes from the grantor. When the grantor dies, he or she doesn’t actually “own” the asset and so there is no need for probate to transfer title since the asset is already owned by the trust.
What is “funding a trust”?
All too often we see people who have created a trust in Florida but failed to properly fund the trust. If a trust was created to avoid probate, but if it was never properly funded then there is a failure of purpose. So to fund a trust you need to change the ownership of the asset from the grantor to the trustee. Our attorneys can explain to your how to properly title your assets so they are owned by your trust. This is not a difficult process and it is essential to meet your probate avoidance goal.
Why probate avoidance?
Probate is a public process that takes time and involves expenses in Florida. A probate action in Florida is part of the public record so anyone can see what assets you had and where they went. Additionally, it is much easier for a disappointed relative to file an objection to a will or cause other difficulties to your estate’s administration in a probate proceeding versus trust administration.
Is probate that expensive in Florida?
The expense of probate depends, in part, on legal fees. Legal fees for probate in Florida are set by statute and generally are no more than 3% for the first million dollars in assets in the estate with a percentage decreasing as the estate value increases. The fee for the personal representative is generally the same as that of the attorney. Doing the math, you can see how this can get expensive quickly. Beyond a certain asset base, the cost of creating and funding a trust is offset by the potential future costs to the estate for legal and personal representative fees. If we are only considering probate costs we suggest to clients that a trust may not be needed at an asset base below $300,000.00. Between $300,000.00 and $500,000.00, a trust is worth some consideration, and above $500,000.00 may be a good idea. Your situation is unique to you and no matter what your asset base, you should speak with one of our attorneys for advice.
Should I avoid probate?
It is not always possible to fully avoid probate in Florida. We tell our clients they should focus on minimizing their probate expenses versus complete avoidance. It is a grim life to be excessively concerned about probate and there are frequently minor assets that didn’t make it into the trust. Also, the probate process offers an accelerated statute of limitations for creditor claims which should be seriously considered even if your estate living trust in place.