Probate Administration

Probate Administration

We are caring professionals and responsible fiduciaries who are dedicated to providing services that enhance the lives of our clients.

Probate is a court-supervised process. Whether a person has left a will or died intestate administering a probate can be a daunting task.  A few of the legally required probate tasks include identifying and marshaling estate assets, filing an inventory, accounting to the court and to beneficiaries, paying or objecting to claims filed against the estate, managing/selling property, filing taxes and distributing assets.

The individual in charge of carrying out these tasks is called the personal representative or executor of the estate.  The personal representative, though required to be represented by an attorney, has a personal fiduciary duty to both creditors of an estate and its beneficiaries, in addition to a legal duty to carry out his/her duties in accordance with the law.

If an individual has a will, he or she can nominate a personal representative to administer his or her will.  If an individual dies without a will, the court will appoint an individual to serve according to the priority set out in the Florida Probate Code.

To serve as personal representative of an estate in Florida, one must either be a Florida resident or a family member of the decedent.  When drafting a will, one of the most important decisions involves nominating a personal representative.  As many attorneys will suggest, you should consider nominating a professional to serve as your personal representative.

We are professional personal representatives.

As such, we have the expertise and skills to efficiently administer an estate to avoid costly delays and transfer the estate assets to the proper beneficiaries.  Our professionals can serve as an independent, neutral party when administering an estate, relieving family’s members from burdensome duties during a difficult time.

In addition to ensuring that all legal requirements are properly and efficiently carried out, our professionals have relationships with financial institutions, attorneys, real estate agents, and other professionals in the local area to assist in the efficient administration of the estate.

Our Office

6230 Scott Street, Suite 211
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Phone: 941-743-4151

 

Contact our professional advocacy service in Punta Gorda, Florida

Estate and Guardianship Management Services, Inc. is a professional estate management service for seniors in Florida. We serve in several capacities to help ensure that your loved one enjoys the highest possible quality of life and that their finances are in order.

To schedule a free consultation, call 941-743-4151 - or - contact our office online.

Trust Administration

Trust Administration

Capable management from our advocates, who are skilled and dedicated fiduciaries.

If you have formed a trust in Florida and are searching for a capable administrator, the professional fiduciaries at Estate and Guardianship Management Services, Inc. are prepared to help. We manage real property and financial holdings with meticulous care.

What is Trust Administration?

A trust is a legal document drafted for the purpose of holding assets.  The person or persons that draft the trusts are generally referred to as the grantor(s) or settlor(s).  At the time of creation, the grantor(s) will customarily serve as trustee of the trust.  The trustee of a trust is the fiduciary that is duty bound to manage the assets held within the trust.  At some point in time after creating a trust, the initial trustee will cease to serve as trustee of the trust.  This could be due to the trustee’s death, incapacity, inability or unwillingness to continue serving. When this occurs, a successor trustee will assume responsibility for managing the trust assets.

Successor Trustee Responsibilities

The successor trustee has a legal obligation to administer the trust according to its terms as set forth by the grantor. These tasks can include prudent management of assets, managing real property, payment of debts, and preparation of tax returns, accountings and proper distributions to beneficiaries.

The professionals at Estate and Guardianship Management Service, Inc have served as trustees for trust estates of all sizes.  The relationships they have developed over years of professional experience with attorneys, financial advisors, and tax professionals enable them to efficiently administer trusts. This helps ensure that the grantor(s) goals are met and beneficiaries are satisfied.

Our trust administrators provide personalized service to fit your specific needs.

Our Office

6230 Scott Street, Suite 211
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Phone: 941-743-4151

 

Contact our professional advocacy service in Punta Gorda, Florida

Estate and Guardianship Management Services, Inc. is a professional estate management service for seniors in Florida. We serve in several capacities to help ensure that your loved one enjoys the highest possible quality of life and that their finances are in order.

To schedule a free consultation, call 941-743-4151 - or - contact our office online.

Guardianship

Guardianship

Professional and Personalized Guardianship for Financial, Health and Welfare Oversight

Among retirees in Florida, there are a significant number who gradually lose the capacity to manage finances, make decisions or act in a timely manner to safeguard their own health and welfare. This naturally causes concern for the seniors and their relatives who are not in a position to assume that responsibility. In Florida, the court is empowered to appoint guardians for adults who are unable to manage their affairs for their own benefit.

Our firm, Estate and Guardianship Management Services, Inc. in Punta Gorda, provides professional and personalized guardianship services. We are registered with the Office of Public & Professional Guardians and have built a solid reputation since our founding in 2000.

What is Guardianship?

Guardianship is the legal process in Florida during which a court of law appoints a fiduciary to make decisions for someone that lacks the capacity to make their own decisions.  A guardian is the fiduciary appointed by the court to protect that individual and manage their assets.

Occasionally, when there is no family member that is able or willing to serve, or it is in the best interests of the incapacitated individual, the court appoints a professional guardian to act as fiduciary for the incapacitated individual.

Our professional guardians are registered with the State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs.  In order to register with the department, professional guardians must undergo a background check, submit an annual credit report, pass an examination, and obtain and maintain a surety bond.  Professional guardians are represented by local attorneys specializing in eldercare and are accountable to the court.

Guardian Responsibilities

A guardian is responsible for everything that has to do with managing the care and finances of an incapacitated individual.  From ensuring that he/she is receiving the proper nutrition and health care, to making sure that all financial transactions are accounted for and recorded.

In addition to managing medical and financial decisions for the incapacitated individual, a guardian must prepare annual reports to be filed with and approved by the circuit court judge assigned to each case. The guardian works with professionals such as attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors to be sure that all decisions are made with the appropriate considerations.  It is a tremendous burden to cope with a family member whose faculties are failing.

Our skill set and experience is uniquely suited to manage these individuals’ lives, both medically and financially.

With a combined 35 years of experience acting as fiduciaries, our professional guardians have built a reputation for compassion and competence among providers of elder care, attorneys, families of those individuals they assist and the judicial system.

Our Office

6230 Scott Street, Suite 211
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Phone: 941-743-4151

 

Contact our professional advocacy service in Punta Gorda, Florida

Estate and Guardianship Management Services, Inc. is a professional estate management service for seniors in Florida. We serve in several capacities to help ensure that your loved one enjoys the highest possible quality of life and that their finances are in order.

To schedule a free consultation, call 941-743-4151, or contact our office online.

Advanced Directives

Advanced Directives

We are caring professionals and responsible fiduciaries who are dedicated to providing services that enhance the lives of our clients.

Durable Power of Attorney

A Durable Power of Attorney is a legal document executed by an individual (known as the principal), that authorizes another individual (known as agent or attorney in fact), to act on the principal’s behalf during his/her lifetime. Although a Durable Power of Attorney is valid at the time it is executed an agent usually does not begin acting on the principal’s behalf until such time as the principal is unable to act on his/her own.

When creating a Durable Power of Attorney a principal can designate the areas of authority they wish to designate to the agent. These areas can include banking and investment transactions, managing or selling real property, making decisions regarding insurance policies, legal claims and litigation, tax matters and applying for government benefits.  If an individual becomes incapacitated or unable to manage his/her own legal and financial affairs, and has not created a Durable Power of Attorney, only option may be for an interested person to initiate a guardianship.

Designation of Health Care Surrogate

A Designation of Health Care Surrogate (“DHCS”) is a legal document in which an individual nominates someone to make medical decisions in the event that he/she cannot make those decisions for himself/herself.  If an individual is unable to make medical decisions and does not have a DHCS, Florida’s health care proxy law will determine who makes the decisions.  Oftentimes, these decisions must be made under emergent and stressful conditions, so it is important that you know who you are relying on in these situations.

Living Will

A Living Will in Florida is a document drafted by an individual that indicates to a health care professional, doctor, or hospital specific instructions for carrying out end-of-life wishes of the individual.  A living will is only applicable if an individual is incapacitated to make such decisions for themselves.  A living will also only applies in very specific statutorily described situations such as an unconscious individual suffering from a terminal illness for whom a doctor has determined has no meaningful chance of recovering. The living will provides written instructions of your desires for end of life treatment.

The professionals at Estate and Guardianship Management Services, Inc. are available to serve as health care surrogates and are willing to make decisions according to your expressed wishes.

Our Office

6230 Scott Street, Suite 211
Punta Gorda, FL 33950
Phone: 941-743-4151

 

Contact our professional advocacy service in Punta Gorda, Florida

Estate and Guardianship Management Services, Inc. is a professional estate management service for seniors in Florida. We serve in several capacities to help ensure that your loved one enjoys the highest possible quality of life and that their finances are in order.

To schedule a free consultation, call 941-743-4151, or contact our office online.