Few activities are more important, yet more intimidating, than planning for your own long-term security and the continued well-being of your loved ones. The complexities of estate laws can lead many people to put off this crucial task until it’s too late, but with competent legal help you can lay a solid foundation for protecting your life and preserving your future.

As experienced Florida Estate Planning Attorneys, we provide lasting solutions to clients in Bradenton, Sarasota and throughout the state, offering exceptional representation in the following practice areas:

• Estate Planning (Wills, Trusts & Martial Agreements)
• Estate Administration (Probate & Trust Distributions)
• Trusts (Revocable, Irrevocable & Charitable)
• Health Care Directives (Living Wills & Powers of Attorney)
• Elder Law (Guardianships & Preneed Guardian Directives)
• Estate & Trust Tax Returns
• Real Estate (Contracts, Closings, Deeds, Title Insurance & 1031 Exchanges)

With new laws being passed on a regular basis, the guidance of an experienced Bradenton, Florida Estate Planning Attorney is critical in assuring that your unique estate planning goals are understood and carried out. Proper estate planning can ensure that your invaluable legacy is not wasted, and that loved ones are cared for according to your wishes. Avoiding probate costs, expensive court proceedings and unnecessary taxes are important elements in preserving the integrity of your estate.

We are pleased to offer our valued clients the confidential and courteous service that we would expect ourselves. Our firm is happy to meet a variety of legal needs. Our caring attorneys and friendly staff welcome the opportunity to serve you and solve your legal problems. Our goal is to leave you with peace of mind.

We believe the hiring of an attorney is an important decision that should not be made solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, please ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.

Keep in mind that one size does not fit all when it comes to estate planning. To meet your specific goals, you should be represented by an estate planning Attorney who will be sensitive to your objectives and who is experienced in will, trusts, estates, taxation, probate and business law. As experienced Florida Estate Planning Attorneys, we never forget the importance of the human aspect of estate administrations, and provide conscientious, considerate attention at a time that is often difficult for many clients.

If you or someone you know in Bradenton or Sarasota needs the assistance of an experienced Florida Estate Planning Attorney, call Mary Anne Spencer today Toll Free at 866-304-7023, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Estate & Trust Planning:
Good estate planning is more than just a simple Will. It minimizes potential taxes and fees (including Federal and State gift and estate taxes), and sets up contingency planning to make sure wishes regarding health care treatment are followed before and after death. A good estate plan also coordinates what happens to a home, investments, business, life insurance, employee benefits (such as a 401K plan) and other property in the event of disability or death.

Estate & Trust Administration:
Estates are categorized as probate or non-probate property. Probate property is property that is transferred by the provisions of a Will. Non-probate property is property that is either jointly held and passes by right of survivorship, is directed by beneficiary designation such as an IRA or a life insurance policy, or passes according to the terms of a trust.

Wills:
A Will is a written instrument containing directions on how the assets and property of the testator (individual creating the Will) shall be divided upon his or her death. Wills can also contain instructions regarding the care of minor children, gifts to charity and formation of posthumous trusts. In order for a Will to be legally valid, the testator must sign the Will in the presence of two witnesses and he or she must be mentally competent and not acting under duress or under the controlling influence of another.

Trusts:
Trusts are estate-planning tools that can replace or supplement Wills and can also help manage property during life. A trust manages the distribution of a person's property by transferring its benefits and obligations to different people. Maintaining assets in a Trust often makes it easier to minimize taxes and leave a larger inheritance. A Trust is also a way to provide a steady income to the Beneficiary over time (as opposed to distribution in a lump sum), thus reducing the Beneficiary's tax burden, allowing the Trust to grow through investment, and keeping assets free from creditors of the Trust beneficiary. Trusts can also be established for the benefit of charitable organizations.

Probate:
Probate is the legal process of transferring property following a person's death. Although probate customs and laws have changed over time, the purpose has remained much the same: an individual formalizes his or her intentions as to the transfer of his or her property at the time of death (typically through a Will); his or her property is collected, certain debts are paid from the estate and the property is distributed accordingly.

Powers of Attorney & Health Care Directives:
Powers of Attorney are governed by the law of agency, a branch of common law concerned with the delegation of power from one person (the principal) to another (attorney-in-fact or agent). When a person becomes incapacitated, the government or the court often steps in and appoints someone to represent and make legal decisions for the incapacitated person. One of the ways to avoid government or court intervention and the appointment of a stranger to act as your guardian, is to use a Power of Attorney. A Power of Attorney is a written document that can be limited in scope, or it can allow one person to give another the full power and authority to represent him or her. There are two types of Power of Attorneys; one covering assets and one covering health care decisions.

Living Wills:
A Living Will is your written expression of how you want to be treated in certain medical conditions. Depending on state law, this document may permit you to express whether or not you wish to be given life-sustaining treatments in the event you are terminally ill or injured, to decide in advance whether you wish to be provided food and water via intravenous devices ("tube feeding"), and to give other medical directions that impact the end of life. "Life-sustaining treatment" means the use of available medical machinery and techniques, such as heart-lung machines, ventilators, and other medical equipment and techniques that will sustain and possibly extend your life, but which will not by themselves cure your condition. In addition to terminal illness or injury situations, most states permit you to express your preferences as to treatment using life-sustaining equipment and/or tube feeding for medical conditions that leave you permanently unconscious and without detectable brain activity.

Guardianship & Preneed Guardian Directives:
A guardianship is a legal relationship created by a court between a guardian and his ward, either a minor child or an incapacitated adult. The guardian has a legal right and duty to care for the ward. This may involve making personal decisions on his or her behalf, managing property or both. Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity or disability.

Courts generally have the power to appoint a guardian for an individual in need of special protection.  There are different types of guardians that can be appointed.  A guardian with responsibility for both the personal well-being and the financial interests of the ward is a general guardian.  A person may also be appointed as a special guardian, having limited powers over the interests of the ward.  A guardian appointed to represent the interests of a person with respect to a single action in litigation is a guardian ad litem.

Estate  & Trust Tax Returns:
The money and property you own when you die (your estate) may be subject to federal estate tax.  Most estates are not subject to the tax.  Only about 2% of all estates are subject to the estate tax.  An estate tax return generally will not be needed unless the estate is worth more than the applicable exclusion amount for the year of death.  The estate tax is technically a tax on the transfer of property to others, generally to children of a decedent.

Estate taxes are different from, and in addition to, probate expenses and final income taxes owed on income the decedent earned in the year of his or her death.  They also are separate from inheritance taxes that are collected by some states.

Most states impose their own estate taxes, usually as a "sponge tax" that piggybacks on the federal estate tax.  The federal estate tax allows each estate a tax credit for any state inheritance or estate taxes paid, up to a maximum dollar amount.

Real Estate Document Preparation:
Whatever may be said during real estate negotiations, whatever promises may have been made, it is the final written documents that will control what happens.  Many of the closing documents involve the completion of pre-printed forms, but sometimes the details of a particular transaction require modification of a form to provide adequate protection.  Your real estate attorney can either prepare all of the documents, or can review the documents that have been prepared, explaining them to you and suggesting changes, as needed, for your benefit.

If you or someone you know in Bradenton or Sarasota needs the assistance of an experienced Florida Estate Planning Attorney, call Mary Anne Spencer today Toll Free at 866-304-7023, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

Real estate transactions can appear deceptively simple and straight-forward at first glance, only to disintegrate into a complicated morass of technical pitfalls that can lead to financial disaster.

A seemingly minor title defect, a miscalculation concerning the short or long-term tax consequences of a particular deal, an overlooked requirement or restriction in zoning and land use regulations; each of these items can become a potential catastrophe without competent legal advice and guidance from an experienced Attorney in real estate law. We understand the devastating impact of flawed real estate transactions, and we know how to help.

As experienced Bradenton, Florida Real Estate Attorneys, we provide competent advice, guidance and counsel to help minimize the risks in real estate transactions for clients throughout Florida, within the following areas:

• Real estate contracts
• Real estate closings
• Real estate deeds
• Title insurance
• 1031 exchanges
• Preparation of sales agreements
• Loan closings
• Sale of businesses and business assets
• Clearance of title defects
• Quiet title lawsuits
• Preparation of notes and mortgages
• Representation of buyers or sellers in real estate transactions
• Preparation of commercial and residential leases
• Preparation of Wills and Trusts
• Representation in probate matters
• Preparation of Powers of Attorney and Advance Directives
• Contract preparation
• Florida Homestead Matters

Click Here for more information on our Florida real estate practice.

If you or someone you know in Bradenton or Sarasota needs the assistance of an experienced Florida Estate Planning Attorney, call Mary Anne Spencer today Toll Free at 866-304-7023, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Schofield & Spencer, P.A., Attorneys
1429 60th Ave W, Ste 300
Bradenton, FL 34207-4614
Toll Free: 866-304-7023
Fax: 941-756-0981

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Mary Anne McClure Spencer
Mary Anne McClure Spencer is a co-shareholder of the Bradenton law firm of Schofield & Spencer, P.A., and a fourth generation native of Manatee County.   She has practiced law in Manatee, Sarasota, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties since 1986.   Her practice is devoted to counseling clients in estate planning with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care surrogates and living wills; she also handles trust and estate administration and lectures on these topics.  She is Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a specialist in Wills, Trusts and Estates.  She is a member of the Florida Bar, the Washington, DC Bar and the Manatee County Bar where she served as Treasurer.  She is a member of the Elder Law Section, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section and the Tax Section of the Florida Bar.  Ms. Spencer received her law degree from Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, Georgia, and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

EDUCATION:

• Wake Forest University, 1981
  • Bachelor of Arts
• Georgia State University College of Law, 1985
  • Juris Doctorate

JURISDICTIONS:

Florida

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Co-shareholder of law firm since 1988; original firm established 1974
  
• Fourth generation native of Manatee County
• Has practiced law in Manatee, Sarasota, Pinellas and Hillsborourgh counties since 1986
• Board Certified By the Florida Bar as a specialist in Wills, Trusts and Estates
• Member of the Florida Bar, District of Columbia Bar, and the Manatee County Bar
• Past Treasurer of the Manatee County Bar Association
• Member of Elder Law Section, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and Tax Section of the Florida Bar

BOARD CERTIFICATIONS:

• Wills, Trust and Estates - Florida

P. Allen Schofield
P. Allen Schofield is the senior shareholder of the Bradenton law firm of Schofield & Spencer, P.A.  He has practiced law in Manatee and Sarasota counties since 1974.  His practice is limited to real estate, trusts, wills, estates, estate planning and business law.  He is Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a specialist in Real Estate Law.  He is a member and past president of the Manatee County Bar Association and a member of the Florida Bar Association.  He is an affiliate member of the Manatee Country Board of Realtors and is the Twelfth Judicial Circuit representative of the Real Property, Probate and Trust section of the Florida Bar and a member of the Executive Committee of that section.  He taught as an adjunct professor at Manatee Community College for 6 years. Mr. Schofield received his law degree from Cumberland School of Law of Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of South Florida.

EDUCATION:

• University of South Florida, 1970
  • Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration
• Cumberland School of Law of Samford University, 1974
  • Juris Doctorate

JURISDICTIONS:

• Florida

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Senior shareholder of law firm since 1988; original firm established 1974
• Has practiced law in Manatee and Sarasota counties since 1974
• Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a specialist in Real Estate Law
• Member and Past President of the Manatee County Bar Association
• Member of the Florida Bar Association
• Affiliate Member of the Manatee County Board of Realtors
• Twelfth Judicial Circuit representative of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section of the Florida Bar Association
• Member of Executive Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section of the Florida Bar Association
• Taught as Adjunct Professor at Manatee Community College for 6 years

BOARD CERTIFICATIONS:

• Real Estate Law - Florida

Laura Jean Guy
Laura Jean Guy is a consulting attorney with this firm. She is a member of the Florida Bar and the North Carolina State Bar, and is a Certified Public Accountant.  She has been licensed to practice law in the State of North Carolina since 1972, and in the State of Florida since 1996. Her practice focus is in the areas of estate planning and administration, trust administration, estate tax, fiduciary income tax and tax planning. She also has practiced in public accounting in both North Carolina and in Florida, working primarily in the areas of estate tax, fiduciary income tax, and personal income tax. She was a member of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is presently a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States. Ms. Guy received her law degree from Duke University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Centre College of Kentucky.

EDUCATION:

• Centre College of Kentucky
  • Bachelor of Arts
• Duke University School of Law
  • Juris Doctorate

JURISDICTIONS:

• Florida
• North Carolina

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Certified Public Accountant
• Past member of Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants