How Our Team Can Help You
These are some of our main service areas:
Estate Planning
Need an estate planning attorney? Lake Mary families deserve a law firm with attorneys who will listen, strategize, and help them develop a plan that brings them financial wellness and peace of mind.
The Lake Mary estate planning lawyers at William C. Roof Law Group have experience helping individuals and families build one-of-a-kind estate plans. No matter your background or income, we can create a strategy that suits your needs and those of your loved ones.
Mirror Wills
For married couples looking to create estate plans, mirror wills (also known as reciprocal wills) are a popular option — they ensure that if one spouse dies, all assets go to the surviving spouse. Lake Mary mirror will lawyers can help you and your spouse decide whether creating reciprocal wills is best for your family and your situation.
If you’re interested in creating your Lake Mary reciprocal will, don’t take your chances with an online template — let us create something tailored specifically to your needs.
Revocable Living Trusts
Many people know that trusts can be valuable additions to their estate plans, but many also aren’t sure how to select the type of trust that best suits their unique financial situation. A revocable living trust is a simple yet effective way to shield your assets from probate, and our revocable living trust attorneys can help you create one.
When you work with a revocable living trust lawyer, you’ll establish a trust to hold all of your assets — and that way, your loved ones can inherit those assets without having to go through the stressful, expensive probate process.
Pour-Over Wills
Chances are that if you create a revocable living trust, you also will need to work with a Lake Mary pour-over will attorney. Pour-over wills are a useful catch-all; they transfer any remaining assets to your revocable living trust so that none of your assets have to go through probate.
The Lake Mary pour-over wills lawyers at William C. Roof Law Group can help you add one of these simple yet critical tools to your estate plan.
Probate Administration
If you’ve been tasked with managing a loved one’s estate, don’t go through the process alone — call our Lake Mary probate administration attorneys. Administering an estate involves filing paperwork, paying estate taxes, and doing other complex steps, and even an honest mistake can land you in legal trouble.
When our Lake Mary probate administration lawyers handle the logistics, you can be assured that your loved one’s estate will be handled the right way.
Will Contest & Disputes
If you suspect there’s a mistake in a loved one’s will, you might need to take legal action to correct it. Before pursuing legal action, you should hire a Lake Mary attorney to contest a will. Our Lake Mary will dispute lawyers can argue your case in court and help you protect the wishes of your deceased loved one.
Probate Disputes
Contesting a will isn’t the only type of dispute that can arise during probate. Whether you’re raising a legal issue or defending against one, a Lake Mary probate dispute attorney can help.
The Lake Mary probate dispute lawyers at William C. Roof Law Group can represent you in disagreements over asset distribution, the interpretation of a will, beneficiary designations, and virtually any other aspect of an estate.
Trust Disputes
After the death of a loved one, their will isn’t the only thing that can be disputed. Lake Mary trust dispute lawyers can help you pursue legal action against a negligent trustee, challenge a trust’s validity, or determine how to interpret unclear or ambiguous trust terms.
There’s a lot at stake in a trust dispute, so before you pursue one, you should consult a Lake Mary trust dispute law firm with real litigation experience.
Guardianship for Adults
Lake Mary guardianship lawyers for adults can do more than just help you secure guardianship for an incapacitated family member. Guardianship is a complex and often painful problem to contend with, and an experienced lawyer can offer advice and insights on how to proceed. Our lawyers for Lake Mary guardianship of adults have experience helping families like yours navigate this challenging issue.
Guardianship Disputes
When it comes to seeking a guardianship dispute lawyer, Lake Mary families should look for firms with litigation experience.
If you have an existing petition for guardianship over a loved one, other family members may challenge it — or you may find that you need to challenge someone else’s guardianship petition. Our Lake Mary guardianship dispute law firm understands how to deliver customized, aggressive representation, and we treat this difficult issue with the respect and consideration it deserves.
Medicaid Planning
Some people believe they will be able to rely on Medicaid as they grow older, but they eventually discover that for many, it takes careful planning and strategic steps to make sure they qualify. Our Lake Mary Medicaid planning attorneys understand that when it comes to qualifying for Medicaid, it’s best to start early.
The right Lake Mary Medicaid planning lawyer can assist you with meeting asset limits to qualify while also making sure you protect your children’s inheritance.
Living Wills
No matter how old (or young) you may be, it’s always important to have a living will. Our Lake Mary living will lawyers can help you determine which medical treatments you would be comfortable with (and which ones you wouldn’t be) if you are unable to make medical decisions yourself.
Creating your living will involves challenging decisions that are a matter of life and death, and the right living will attorney in Lake Mary can help you make a plan that grants you priceless peace of mind.
Durable Power of Attorney
A living will isn’t the only tool you can use to prepare for medical crises; a Lake Mary durable power of attorney lawyer can help you select someone to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated. Choosing the right person is vitally important — you’re trusting them to make legal, financial, and possibly even medical decisions for you if you are unable to do so — and a Lake Mary DPOA attorney can help you fully understand the process.
Our attorneys can help you select the right person and create a power of attorney document that will stand up to legal scrutiny.
Lady Bird Deeds
Lady bird deeds (or enhanced life estate deeds) allow you to pass your home down through generations. The right Lake Mary lady bird deed attorney can help you create a legally enforceable deed to protect your home and ensure your family has a place to live after your death.
The Lake Mary lady bird deed lawyers at William C. Roof Law Group are intimately familiar with the regulations surrounding lady bird deeds, and we can help you determine whether creating one is the best option for your family’s future.
Last Will and Testament
When most people think about creating an estate plan, their minds jump to a simple last will and testament. However, not everyone knows that the best way to create a legally valid will is to work with a Lake Mary last will and testament lawyer.
Many people think it’s best to use pre-formatted wills, but each person’s situation is different — and an attorney for last will and testament in Lake Mary will help you ensure your will perfectly meets your needs.
Designation of Health Care Surrogate
A health care surrogate is a person you authorize to make medical decisions for you when you’re unable to. Choosing that person and ensuring your choice will be legally respected can be a complex undertaking, but a Lake Mary health care surrogate attorney can walk you through the process.
The Lake Mary health care surrogate lawyers at William C. Roof Law Group understand that thinking about becoming incapacitated can be deeply uncomfortable, and we offer compassionate, supportive guidance throughout the process.
Designation of Pre-Need Guardianship
If you have a condition (or think you may develop a condition) that may leave you temporarily or permanently incapacitated, a declaration of preneed guardian form allows you to name someone you trust to serve as your guardian. Having this designation in place can reduce stress for you and your family in the future, and our Lake Mary pre-need guardianship attorneys can help you complete it.
We’ll make sure your form is properly filed so your wishes will be respected if you do become incapacitated.
Estate Planning
Need an estate planning attorney? Lake Mary families might understandably find it uncomfortable to think about dying, but enduring that temporary discomfort is worth granting yourself and your loved ones the peace of mind that comes with knowing they’ll be supported when you’re gone. Our Lake Mary estate planning law firm takes pride in helping clients create ultra-personalized, detailed plans.
We also stress to all of our clients (and potential clients) that estate planning is for everyone — you’re never too old or too young, too rich or too poor, and your estate plan can evolve alongside you. Whether you need to create your first estate plan or update your current one, our team of Lake Mary estate planning lawyers is ready to help!
Wills
Your will is your estate plan’s backbone. Our Lake Mary will attorneys tell clients that wills aren’t just about who gets what — they allow you to name guardians for your minor children and select someone to care for your pets. Your will also provides a centralized breakdown of all your assets and account information, so it can help your grieving loved ones fully understand your estate and ensure no assets are lost or left unclaimed.
So why do you need a Lake Mary lawyer for wills? Many online “general-purpose” wills use vague language that can be challenging for your loved ones (and even courts) to interpret, but our Lake Mary wills lawyers can ensure your will is clear and stands up to legal scrutiny.
Trusts
Many people have the misconception that trusts are only for the ultra-wealthy. This is unfortunate — no matter how few or how many assets you have, trusts can help you lower your tax burden, shield your assets from creditors, and keep your assets out of probate. Our Lake Mary trusts attorneys have helped people from all walks of life find the right trusts for their estate plans.
Our Lake Mary trusts lawyers take ample time discussing your needs and helping you select the trust that best suits your situation. We also know that circumstances can change unexpectedly, so if your estate plan includes an existing trust, we encourage you to visit Lake Mary local trust attorneys to update it as needed.
Let us help
When you’re part of a blended family, creating an estate plan that addresses everyone’s needs can be daunting. Between complex family dynamics, dividing assets between children from different relationships, and ensuring your new spouse is taken care of, it can be hard to know where to start. The team at William C. Roof Law Group has extensive experience with estate planning for blended families. Let us help you.
Probate
Whether you are administering an estate, inheriting assets, or challenging a will, the probate process can be grueling. Our Lake Mary probate lawyers have represented estate administrators, heirs, and concerned family members on all sides of probate, and we’re prepared to help you navigate any challenges you encounter during the process.
Our Lake Mary probate attorneys have also helped families who didn’t necessarily have disagreements over the will — but who were unsure of how to interpret unclear sections.
Even if you don’t need a Lake Mary probate litigation lawyer, our team can assist you as you handle a loved one’s estate. We can assist with locating and cataloging assets, filing paperwork, and ensuring the estate is compliant with all relevant tax laws.
Guardianship
Lawyers for legal guardianship aren’t as common as those who focus on estate planning. Guardianship cases can be emotionally draining, and some raise questions of ethics. We understand that, in most cases, everyone involved in a Lake Mary legal guardianship dispute is acting in good faith. When working with a family to try to resolve a dispute, we work toward the common goal of doing what’s best for the affected person.
Our Lake Mary guardianship attorneys can help you pursue guardianship, but we also regularly counsel families who are unsure whether filing for guardianship is the right course of action. Our team can help you understand what’s involved in the process and determine whether you want to pursue guardianship or not.
contact us
We’re here to answer all of your questions. Feel free to give us a call, or fill out the form to the right and we will get in touch with you soon.