For a business owner, an estate plan is not just about who inherits the house. It is about who signs the next contract, who has access to the operating account, and whether the company you built survives a death or disability without grinding to a halt. Miami Estate Planning Law focuses on owners of closely held Florida businesses and the succession questions that keep them up at night.
We help LLC members, S-corporation shareholders, partners, and sole proprietors align their personal estate plans with the realities of their companies. A buy-sell agreement that contradicts a will, or an operating agreement that ignores a trust, can unravel years of work. Our job is to make those documents speak with one voice under Florida law.
Why Succession Planning Is Different for Owners
When most of your net worth is tied up in an operating business, ordinary planning tools are not enough. Florida’s homestead protections, the spousal elective share under section 732.2065, and the probate process in Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes all interact with your ownership interests. A membership interest in an LLC, for example, may pass through probate unless it is properly titled or assigned to a trust. We map those moving parts before a crisis forces the question.
What We Help Miami Owners Accomplish
Our planning engagements typically address several connected goals:
- Naming a successor manager or interim decision-maker who can act the day after you cannot.
- Coordinating buy-sell terms, operating agreements, and your trust so ownership transfers cleanly.
- Reducing the chance that your company interest is frozen in a lengthy formal probate administration.
- Protecting a surviving spouse and children while keeping the business operating.
Florida Tools We Use
Depending on your situation, we draw on revocable living trusts under Chapter 736, Florida wills executed under section 732.502, durable powers of attorney under Chapter 709, Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deeds for real property, and health care directives. Each tool is chosen to fit how your business is owned and how you want control to move.
Our Service Pages
Explore the areas where owners most often need help: business succession trusts, Florida wills for owners, durable powers of attorney for business continuity, Florida probate and business interests, and asset protection planning. Each page explains the relevant Florida rules in plain language.
Work With a Miami Estate Planning Attorney
Every business and family is different, and the strategies described across this site are general information, not legal advice. Florida law changes and applies differently to each situation. Before acting, consult a licensed Florida attorney who can review your operating agreements, titling, and family circumstances. We welcome the conversation and are glad to start with a focused planning consultation.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of powers of attorney in Florida. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles New York elder law.