Estate Planning Attorney in Pinecrest: Wills, Living Trusts, and Lady Bird Deeds
Attorney Yanitza Schoonover drafts complete estate plans for Pinecrest families. Flat fee pricing confirmed in writing. Florida Lady Bird Deeds. Revocable living trusts. Every document personally handled. Bilingual English and Spanish. Florida Bar #124081.
Estate Planning Attorney Serving Pinecrest, Florida
Pinecrest is one of the most affluent and sought-after communities in Miami-Dade County. Its one-acre-minimum lot requirements, tree-canopied streets, top-rated schools, and proximity to both Coral Gables and South Miami have made it a destination for professional families who plan to stay. Homes along Banyan Drive, Pine Tree Drive, and the Red Road corridor regularly exceed $1,000,000, and many families have owned the same property for 20 or 30 years.
That concentration of high-value real estate, established professional households, and multigenerational wealth creates estate planning needs that are specific and the stakes of getting them wrong are real. Attorney Yanitza Schoonover is a Florida Bar licensed estate planning attorney and last will and testament attorney who serves Pinecrest families from her office on Waterford District Drive in Miami, a short drive from Pinecrest. She drafts every will, revocable living trust, and Lady Bird Deed personally, charges flat fees for all estate planning services confirmed in writing before any work begins, and provides full service in both English and Spanish.
Documents prepared outside Florida or without a Florida attorney often fail Florida’s strict execution requirements. A document that fails those requirements can be voided entirely in probate court.
Typical Pinecrest Home Value
The highest property values in the location page series. Florida's 3% fee on a $1M home equals $30,000 before your family sees a dollar.
Core Documents
Last will, revocable living trust, Lady Bird Deed, durable power of attorney, healthcare surrogate designation, living will.
Surprise Fees
Full estate planning in English and Spanish for Pinecrest's Latin American professional community. Hablamos Español.
Languages
Flat fee for estate planning, written quote for all other services. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices.
What Estate Planning Services Does The Schoonover Law Firm Provide in Pinecrest?
A complete Pinecrest estate plan typically includes six legal documents. Every document is drafted to comply with Florida Statutes and Miami-Dade County recording procedures.
| Service | What It Does for Pinecrest Families |
|---|---|
| Last will and testament | Directs who receives your assets after death and names a guardian for minor children. Florida requires 2 witnesses and notarization. Without a valid last will and testament, Florida intestacy law decides who inherits your Pinecrest home and everything else. |
| Revocable living trust | The most effective way to avoid probate for Pinecrest families. Transfers your assets to named beneficiaries at death through your successor trustee without any court proceeding. Works for high-value Pinecrest properties, investment accounts, and all titled assets. |
| Durable power of attorney | Transfers your Pinecrest home to your beneficiaries at death without probate. This enhanced life estate deed preserves Florida homestead protection and Medicaid eligibility while you retain full lifetime control of the property. |
| Healthcare surrogate designation | Names a trusted agent to manage your finances if you become incapacitated. Prevents the need for a court-supervised guardianship proceeding through Miami-Dade Circuit Court. |
| Living will | An advance directive that names who makes medical decisions for you if you cannot speak for yourself. Without one, Florida law assigns that role from a ranked list of relatives who may not know your wishes. |
| Lady Bird Deed | States your wishes on life-prolonging procedures in writing. Removes the burden of that decision from your family and healthcare providers at the most difficult moment. |
Probate avoidance is the most common estate planning goal Pinecrest families bring to their first consultation. Pinecrest homes along Banyan Drive and the Old Cutler corridor regularly exceed $1,000,000. Florida probate costs 3% of the estate in statutory attorney fees under F.S. 733.6171, plus court costs. For a $1,000,000 Pinecrest home, that is $30,000 in attorney fees before your family can access a single dollar. A funded revocable living trust and a Lady Bird Deed eliminate that cost entirely for most Pinecrest families.
Florida Lady Bird Deeds for Pinecrest Homeowners
Pinecrest has some of the highest residential property values in Miami-Dade County. Properties along Banyan Drive, SW 88th Street, and the Old Cutler Road corridor represent significant family wealth built over decades. Without a plan, that wealth must pass through Florida probate court before any family member can sell, refinance, or transfer the property. That process takes 9 to 24 months on average and is entirely public record.
A Florida Lady Bird Deed, also called an enhanced life estate deed, is the most direct way to transfer Pinecrest real property to your named beneficiaries at death without any probate proceeding. You retain complete ownership and control during your lifetime. You can sell, refinance, lease, or revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiaries’ consent.
The deed preserves Florida homestead protection, the Save Our Homes assessment cap, and Medicaid eligibility under current Florida estate recovery rules. Attorney Schoonover drafts every Lady Bird Deed to comply with Florida Statutes and records it with the Miami-Dade County Clerk. Veliz and Associates has no Lady Bird Deed content for Pinecrest. Loughlin Law has no Lady Bird Deed service at all. Cardoso Estate Planning mentions it briefly with no Pinecrest-specific guidance. The Lady Bird Deed gap in the Pinecrest market is entirely open.
Incapacity Planning: The Three Documents That Protect Your Pinecrest Family Before a Crisis
Estate planning is not only about what happens after you die. Incapacity planning addresses what happens while you are still alive but unable to manage your own affairs. For Pinecrest professional families with investment portfolios, business interests, and high-value real property, this is the part most families overlook entirely.
Durable Power of Attorney
Authorizes your named agent to manage your bank accounts, real estate, investments, and financial affairs immediately upon your incapacity, without any court involvement. Without this document, your family must petition for guardianship through Miami-Dade Circuit Court, a process that takes 60 to 120 days and costs $3,000 to $5,000 before any protective authority is granted.
Healthcare Surrogate Designation
An advance directive that names the person who makes medical decisions for you when you cannot. Without this document, Florida law assigns that decision to a ranked list of relatives who may not know your wishes.
Revocable Living Trust with Successor Trustee
Your named successor trustee takes over trust administration privately and immediately upon your incapacity, skipping the guardianship proceeding entirely. For Pinecrest families with estate properties and investment accounts, the successor trustee manages everything the moment you need them to, without a single court filing.
None of the three estate planning attorneys competing for Pinecrest searches address incapacity planning as a structured three-document framework. Veliz and Associates covers power of attorney in general terms only. Loughlin Law mentions incapacity in a single bullet. Cardoso Estate Planning has no incapacity planning framework at all.
A family member who needs to manage your affairs must file for guardianship through Miami-Dade Circuit Court, a process that takes 60 to 120 days and costs $3,000 to $5,000 to initiate before any protective authority is granted.
- Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2021 through 2026
- 2024 Elite Lawyer Award
- Florida Bar #124081, admitted September 2016
Why Pinecrest Families Choose The Schoonover Law Firm
Yanitza Schoonover is a Florida Bar licensed estate planning attorney based in Miami with 13 years of Florida estate law experience. She holds Florida Bar number 124081 with active good standing status and drafts every estate planning document for Pinecrest and Miami-Dade County families personally, from the initial consultation through trust funding and Lady Bird Deed recording with the Miami-Dade County Clerk.
Pinecrest estate planning requires more than a generic will or a templated trust. The families along Banyan Drive, Pine Tree Drive, and the Old Cutler corridor have built real estate wealth that deserves a Florida Lady Bird Deed drafted by an attorney who knows Miami-Dade recording requirements, a revocable living trust funded correctly from the start, and flat fee pricing confirmed in writing before a single document is drafted. That is not what a Boca Raton firm serving Pinecrest as one of 300 location pages can offer, and it is not what a Coral Gables firm with 9-to-5 hours and no Lady Bird Deed service can deliver.
Every estate planning document, every client question, and every signing appointment handled personally by Attorney Schoonover.
Years in Estate Law
Years Licensed
Consecutive Rising Stars
Weekly Availability
Why Pinecrest Families Choose The Schoonover Law Firm
Three attorneys currently appear in Pinecrest estate planning searches, and each has a significant limitation. Veliz and Associates operates 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday with no Lady Bird Deed depth. Loughlin Law is based in Boca Raton, serves Pinecrest virtually as one of 300+ Florida city pages, and has personal injury alongside estate planning with no Lady Bird Deed service at all. Cardoso Estate Planning is based in Doral with no flat fee pricing, no bilingual framing, and no incapacity framework.
Lady Bird Deed
For a $1,000,000 Pinecrest home, the Lady Bird Deed eliminates $30,000 in statutory probate fees. It is a core service here.
Flat Fee: Written First, No Surprises
All estate planning fees confirmed in writing before work begins. Not one competing Pinecrest attorney states flat fee pricing.
Incapacity Planning as a Named Framework
Durable power of attorney, healthcare surrogate designation, and revocable living trust with successor trustee drafted as a unified plan.
Bilingual English and Spanish
Full estate planning in both languages for Pinecrest's Latin American professional community. Hablamos Español. No competing attorney offers bilingual depth as a primary differentiator.
Direct Attorney Representation
Attorney Schoonover handles every will, every living trust, and every Lady Bird Deed personally from consultation through deed recording with the Miami-Dade County Clerk.
Extended Availability Beyond 9 to 5
In-person Mon–Fri before 5 PM. Phone and Zoom Mon–Sun 8 AM to 9 PM. Veliz and Associates is Mon–Fri 9am–5pm only. No evening or weekend availability from any competing firm.
Estate Planning Attorney Serving Pinecrest and Surrounding Communities
Primary Service Areas
Pinecrest · South Miami · Coral Gables Palmetto Bay · Kendall · Cutler Bay Miami · West Miami · Westchester
In-Person Appointments
Monday through Friday Before 5:00 PM By appointment only
Phone & Zoom
Monday through Sunday 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM Evenings & weekends available
Office: 6303 Waterford District Dr, Suite 400, Miami, FL 33126 · Short drive from Pinecrest · All in-person visits by appointment only
Estate Planning Questions from Pinecrest Families
Common questions Attorney Schoonover receives from Pinecrest families during initial consultations.
Q: How do I avoid probate on my Pinecrest home?
There are two primary tools that work together. A revocable living trust holds your titled assets during your lifetime and transfers them to your named beneficiaries at death through your successor trustee, without any Florida probate court involvement. A Florida Lady Bird Deed, also called an enhanced life estate deed, transfers your Pinecrest home to named beneficiaries at death without probate, while you retain full ownership and control during your lifetime. Used together, a funded revocable living trust and a Lady Bird Deed eliminate formal probate administration for most Pinecrest families. For a $1,000,000 Pinecrest home, that eliminates $30,000 or more in statutory attorney fees alone under Florida Statutes Section 733.6171.
Q: What does a flat fee estate planning attorney in Pinecrest charge?
At The Schoonover Law Firm, flat fee estate planning means you pay a single fixed price for your estate plan, confirmed in writing before any work begins. A basic will package including a last will and testament, durable power of attorney, healthcare surrogate designation, and living will typically ranges from $800 to $1,500. A complete trust-based estate plan including a revocable living trust, pour-over will, all four supporting documents, and a Lady Bird Deed for your Pinecrest home typically ranges from $3,500 to $8,000. A written quote is provided before any work begins for all legal services.
Q: Does a revocable living trust avoid probate better than a will in Florida?
Yes, significantly. A last will and testament takes effect at death but must pass through Florida probate court before any distribution occurs. That process takes 9 to 24 months and costs 3% of the gross estate in statutory attorney fees. A properly funded revocable living trust transfers your assets to your named beneficiaries through your successor trustee at death without any court proceeding. For Pinecrest homeowners with properties regularly valued above $1,000,000, the combination of a funded revocable living trust and a Lady Bird Deed on the family home is the most effective way to transfer your estate on your own terms without court involvement.
Q: Does The Schoonover Law Firm serve Pinecrest families in Spanish?
Yes. Attorney Schoonover provides full estate planning representation in both English and Spanish. Every consultation, every document review, and every signing appointment can be conducted in Spanish for Pinecrest families who prefer it. Hablamos Espanol. Call (305) 299-7496 or email info@estateplanningattorney.us to schedule a free consultation in the language you prefer.
Start Your Pinecrest Estate Plan Today
A complete Pinecrest estate plan takes 1 to 4 weeks from consultation to signing. Attorney Schoonover reviews your assets, family structure, and goals in the first call and confirms exactly which documents you need and what they will cost before any work begins.
Attorney Schoonover drafts complete Florida estate plans for Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables, Palmetto Bay, and all Miami-Dade County families: including last wills, revocable living trusts, Lady Bird Deeds, durable powers of attorney, healthcare surrogate designations, and living wills.
Start With a Free Consultation
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Email info@estateplanningattorney.us
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Schedule a Free Consultation at estateplanningattorney.us
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In-person meetings by appointment only.
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English and Spanish, Hablamos Español
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Flat fee for estate planning, fee quote provided before any work begins
