Estate Planning Attorney in Sweetwater; Wills, Trusts, and Lady Bird Deeds
Attorney Yanitza Schoonover drafts complete estate plans for Sweetwater families. Flat fee pricing confirmed in writing. Florida Lady Bird Deeds. Every document personally handled and explained in plain English or Spanish, never legal jargon. Florida Bar #124081.
Estate Planning Attorney Serving Sweetwater, Florida
Sweetwater is one of the smallest cities in Miami-Dade County by size, but it doesn’t feel small to the families who live there. It’s a close-knit, largely Nicaraguan-American community where multiple generations often live under one roof or a few doors apart, and where a family’s home is frequently the single most important thing they own.
That closeness makes estate planning matter more, not less. When a home, a small business, or a modest but hard-earned savings account has to pass to the next generation, a plan built around your actual family, not a form pulled from a 400-city template, is what protects it.
Attorney Yanitza Schoonover is a Florida Bar licensed estate planning attorney who works with Sweetwater families from her office on Waterford District Drive in Miami, a short drive away. She drafts every will, trust, and Lady Bird Deed personally, charges flat fees confirmed in writing before any work begins, and explains every document in plain English or Spanish, never legal jargon left for you to figure out on your own.
Typical Home Value
Florida's 3% statutory probate fee on a $260,000 Sweetwater home equals about $7,800 in attorney fees before your family sees a dollar. A Lady Bird Deed eliminates that entirely.
Core Documents
Last will, revocable living trust, Lady Bird Deed, durable power of attorney, healthcare surrogate designation, living will.
Surprise Fees
Flat fee pricing for all estate planning services. Written quote before work begins; no hourly billing, no surprise invoices.
Languages
Full estate planning service in English and Spanish for Sweetwater's largely Spanish-speaking community, Hablamos Español.
What Does an Estate Plan Actually Include?
A complete estate plan usually comes down to six documents. Here’s what each one actually does, in plain terms.
| Service | What It Actually Does |
|---|---|
| Last will and testament | Says who gets your things after you die, and who takes care of your kids if they're still minors. Florida requires 2 witnesses and a notary. Without one, Florida law decides for you, and it may not decide the way you would have. |
| Revocable living trust | Holds your assets while you're alive and passes them to the people you choose, without going through probate court at all. Useful if you own your Sweetwater home outright or have multiple accounts to coordinate. |
| Durable power of attorney | Lets someone you trust step in and manage your money and property if you become too sick or injured to do it yourself, without a judge having to appoint them. |
| Healthcare surrogate designation | Names the person who makes medical decisions for you if you can't speak for yourself. Without it, Florida law picks someone from a list of relatives, and it might not be who you'd choose. |
| Living will | Puts your wishes about life support and end-of-life care in writing, so your family never has to guess or argue about what you would have wanted. |
| Lady Bird Deed | A simple, low-cost way to pass your Sweetwater home directly to your beneficiaries at death, no probate, no court. You keep full control of the house while you're alive: sell it, refinance it, or change your mind at any time. |
Here’s the number that changes most families’ minds when they first learn it: Florida law charges roughly 3% of a home’s value in attorney fees just to move it through probate court. On a $260,000 Sweetwater home, that’s about $7,800, gone before anyone in your family sees a dollar. A Lady Bird Deed can eliminate that cost completely.
Don't Leave It to the State
This is one of the most common questions Sweetwater families ask, and the honest answer surprises most people: dying without a will doesn’t mean your family sorts things out on their own. It means Florida’s intestacy law decides everything for you; who inherits, how much, and in what order, regardless of what you actually would have wanted.
Under Florida’s default rules, a surviving spouse doesn’t automatically inherit everything if there are children from outside that marriage. Unmarried partners inherit nothing at all, no matter how long the relationship lasted. Family members you were estranged from can inherit ahead of close friends or stepchildren who aren’t legally recognized as heirs.
A simple will fixes this. It puts your actual wishes in writing instead of Florida’s default assumptions, and it’s one of the most affordable documents in a complete estate plan.
What Is a Lady Bird Deed, and Why Does It Matter Here?
If you own a home in Sweetwater, this is probably the single most useful document you’ve never heard of. A Lady Bird Deed lets you pass your house directly to whoever you choose the moment you die, no probate court, no waiting months, no attorney fees eating into what your family inherits.
Here’s what makes it different from a normal deed: you keep every right to the property while you’re alive. You can sell it, take out a loan against it, or change the beneficiary entirely, all without asking anyone’s permission, including the people set to inherit it. They have no legal claim to the home until you pass away.
Yes, a properly drafted Lady Bird Deed does avoid probate on that specific property. It also protects things Florida homeowners already rely on: your homestead tax protection, the cap that limits how much your property taxes can rise each year, and your Medicaid eligibility if long-term care ever becomes a concern. None of the firms competing for Sweetwater estate planning searches offer this service.
What Happens If You Can't Speak for Yourself?
Most people think about estate planning as “what happens when I die.” Just as important is what happens if you’re still alive but can’t manage your own affairs; a stroke, an accident, or advancing age can all put a family in that position with zero warning.
Durable Power of Attorney
Lets your chosen agent manage your bank accounts and bills the moment you need them to, with no judge involved. Without it, your family has to petition Miami-Dade Circuit Court for guardianship, a process that typically takes 60 to 120 days and costs $3,000 to $5,000 before anyone has legal authority to help you.
Healthcare Surrogate Designation
Names who makes medical calls for you. Without it, Florida law picks from a ranked list of relatives, whether or not that's who you'd actually want in that role.
Revocable Living Trust
Your chosen successor trustee can step in and manage everything inside the trust immediately and privately, with no court filing at all.
For close-knit Sweetwater families, this is often the part of a plan that matters most, since it's frequently a family member, not a stranger, who ends up stepping in during a crisis.
- Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2021 through 2026
- 2024 Elite Lawyer Award
- Florida Bar #124081, admitted September 2016
Why Choose The Schoonover Law Firm for Estate Planning in Sweetwater?
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 Sweetwater families personally, from the initial consultation through trust funding and deed recording.
Sweetwater estate planning requires more than filling in a standard template. Florida homestead restrictions, Miami-Dade County recording requirements, and the specific probate avoidance tools that protect Sweetwater families, particularly the Florida Lady Bird Deed, demand an attorney who knows local law and explains it in plain language, not legal shorthand.
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 Sweetwater Families Choose This Firm
Every result currently showing up for Sweetwater estate planning searches has the same problem: no real local presence. One firm is over 200 miles away and shares nothing but a name. Two others operate out of Boca Raton and sell nearly identical template pages across hundreds of Florida cities. At The Schoonover Law Firm, P.A., estate planning for Miami-Dade families is the entire practice, not a side offering.
Lady Bird Deed Services
We use this tool to help Sweetwater families pass their homes directly to beneficiaries, eliminating the roughly 3% in probate fees Florida law would otherwise require.
Predictable Flat-Fee Pricing
Every estate plan is based on a flat fee confirmed in writing before any legal work begins; no hourly billing, no surprises.
A Real Miami-Dade Office, Close to Home
Attorney Schoonover works from Miami, minutes from Sweetwater, not a firm an hour or more away treating your city as one line in a list of hundreds.
Plain-Language Guidance
We replace dense legal jargon with clear, actionable explanations, so you understand every document in your plan and how it protects your family.
Bilingual in English and Spanish
Full estate planning service in both languages for Sweetwater's largely Spanish-speaking community. Hablamos Español.
Real Evening and Weekend Access
In-person Monday through Friday before 5:00 PM by appointment. Phone and Zoom consultations Monday through Sunday, 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM, with the attorney herself.
Estate Planning Attorney Serving Sweetwater and Surrounding Communities
Primary Service Areas
Sweetwater · Fontainebleau · Westchester Doral · Miami · Hialeah
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 Sweetwater · All in-person visits by appointment only
Estate Planning Questions from Sweetwater Families
Common questions Attorney Schoonover receives from Sweetwater families during initial consultations.
What is a Lady Bird Deed in Florida?
A Lady Bird Deed, also called an enhanced life estate deed, lets you transfer your home to a chosen beneficiary at death without probate, while keeping full control, including the right to sell or change your mind, during your lifetime.
Does a Lady Bird Deed avoid probate?
Yes. A properly drafted and recorded Lady Bird Deed transfers the property directly to your named beneficiary at death, outside of the probate process entirely.
What happens if you die without a will in Florida?
Florida’s intestacy law decides who inherits your estate, and in what order, based on a fixed set of rules rather than your own wishes. This can mean unmarried partners inherit nothing, or that a surviving spouse doesn’t automatically receive everything.
How to avoid probate in Florida?
The two main tools are a funded revocable living trust, which passes assets to beneficiaries without any court involvement, and a Lady Bird Deed, which does the same specifically for real estate.
Do I need a trust in Florida, or is a will enough?
It depends on what you own. A will alone still requires probate. If avoiding probate matters to you, especially for a home or multiple accounts, a trust or a Lady Bird Deed (or both) is usually the better fit.
Do I need a will in Florida if I already have a trust?
Usually yes. Most trust-based plans still include a simple “pour-over” will to catch anything not already titled in the trust’s name.
How much does estate planning cost in Florida?
At The Schoonover Law Firm, every service is priced as a flat fee, confirmed in writing before any work begins. A basic will package typically runs $800 to $1,500. A complete trust-based plan, including a Lady Bird Deed, typically runs $3,500 to $8,000.
How often should I update my estate plan?
Every 3 to 5 years, and always after a major life event, marriage, divorce, a new child or grandchild, a move, or the death of someone named in your documents.
Does this firm offer a free consultation?
Yes. Attorney Schoonover offers a free initial consultation to review your situation and explain exactly what you need before any work begins.
Does this firm offer services in Spanish?
Yes. Every consultation, document, and signing appointment is available in Spanish. Hablamos Español.
Start Your Sweetwater Estate Plan Today
A complete Sweetwater estate plan typically takes 1 to 4 weeks from first call to signing. Attorney Schoonover reviews your assets, your family, and your goals on the first call, and tells you exactly what you need and what it costs before any work begins, with no obligation to move forward.
Attorney Schoonover drafts complete Florida estate plans for Sweetwater, Doral, Miami, and Hialeah families; including last wills, revocable living trusts, Lady Bird Deeds, durable powers of attorney, healthcare surrogate designations, and living wills. Want to understand how to avoid probate in more depth first? Start there, then come back to build your Sweetwater plan.
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
