Revocable Living Trust
What Is a Florida Revocable Living Trust?
A revocable living trust is a legal document that holds your assets during your lifetime and transfers them to your beneficiaries after you die without any involvement from a probate court. Attorney Yanitza Schoonover creates a trust based estate plan that protects your family in two situations most people do not plan for: after you die and during a period of incapacity when you cannot manage your own affairs.
A Florida revocable living trust gives you full flexibility. You can change it, add assets to it, remove assets from it, or dissolve it entirely at any time. You are in complete control for as long as you are alive and able to manage your own finances.
A will is a direction to the probate court. A revocable living trust bypasses the court entirely. For South Florida families with real property, a trust based estate plan is almost always the more efficient structure, saving time, cost, and keeping your family’s affairs completely private.
Probate Court Fees
Assets held in a funded revocable living trust pass directly to beneficiaries, no statutory attorney fees, no personal representative fees, no court filing.
Court Proceedings at Incapacity
Your successor trustee steps in the same day it is needed, no guardianship application, no judge, no months of waiting.
Private: Never Filed in Court
A living trust is never filed with any court. Assets, beneficiaries, and distribution instructions remain completely private.
Document Covers All States
If you own property in Florida and another state, one properly funded trust covers all of them no separate probate in each state.
Three Roles. Three Phases. One Seamless Plan.
A living trust has three roles and you hold two of them yourself while you are alive and capable.
You as Grantor
You create the trust and transfer your assets into it. You set the rules for how assets are managed and distributed during your life and after your death.
You as Trustee
You manage all trust assets exactly as you did before the trust existed same bank accounts, same home, same tax return. Nothing about your daily life changes.
Successor Trustee
The person you name who takes over when you become incapacitated or when you die without any court proceeding, without delay, exactly when your family needs help.
Three Phases of Your Living Trust
The IRS treats a revocable living trust as the grantor’s personal property for income tax purposes. You file the same return you always have. No new tax obligations are created by the trust.
A fee quote is confirmed in writing before any trust work commences. Estate planning services are a flat fee. No hourly billing surprises.
During Your Lifetime
Nothing about your daily life changes. You use your accounts, live in your home, and remain fully in control. The trust holds legal title you hold practical control.
During Incapacity
Your successor trustee steps in immediately under the trust terms no court proceeding, no guardianship application, no waiting. The transition happens the same day it is needed.
After You Pass Away
Your successor trustee distributes assets to your named beneficiaries privately, without court supervision, typically within weeks. No probate filing. No public record.
Four Reasons South Florida Families Choose a Revocable Living Trust
Each benefit addresses a specific legal risk that a will alone cannot solve. Together they make a trust based estate plan the stronger choice for most South Florida families with real property.
Probate Avoidance Saves Your Family Time and Money
Under Florida Statute 733.6171, the probate attorney is entitled to a statutory fee calculated as a percentage of the gross estate the personal representative receives the same amount. On a $500,000 Miami home, that is $15,000 each $30,000 in statutory fees before court costs and the nine to eighteen month wait in Miami-Dade County. A revocable living trust eliminates all of that for every asset the trust holds at death.
Incapacity Planning Without a Court Proceeding
A will only takes effect when you die. A revocable living trust activates the moment your successor trustee determines you can no longer manage your own affairs using the specific criteria you define in the trust agreement itself. Your family avoids a guardianship proceeding in circuit court, which in Florida can take months and cost thousands of dollars to initiate.
Privacy for Your Family
A will becomes a public court record when it is admitted to probate. Anyone can search the Miami-Dade clerk's database and find out what you owned and who received it. A living trust is never filed with any court. The assets, the beneficiaries, and the distribution instructions remain completely private.
Multi-State Property Handled Through One Document
If you own property in Florida and in another state, a will requires a separate probate proceeding in each state. One properly funded living trust covers all of them. For South Florida families with property in another state, this benefit alone often justifies the cost of the trust.
Funding a Revocable Living Trust: The Step Most People Miss
An unfunded trust is a document that does nothing. Funding means transferring legal title of your assets from your name into the trust’s name. Attorney Schoonover handles this with you so your trust actually holds what it is supposed to hold.
Real Property
Florida real estate is transferred by recording a new deed. For your primary home, Attorney Schoonover includes specific homestead language to preserve your property tax exemption, your Save Our Homes cap, and your constitutional creditor protection. No reassessment is triggered.
Financial Accounts
Bank and investment accounts are retitled by contacting your financial institution and presenting a certification of trust. The account is then held in the trust's name. This is straightforward for most accounts and typically takes one conversation with your bank.
Retirement Accounts
Do not retitle an IRA or 401(k) into a trust doing so triggers an immediate taxable distribution. Instead, name your trust as the beneficiary designation, which lets the trust control how proceeds are distributed after your death without the tax penalty.
Every trust based estate plan includes a pour-over will. If you acquire an asset after creating the trust and never transfer it in, the pour-over will directs that asset into the trust through probate at death. It catches anything that falls through the cracks.
Revocable Living Trust for Married Couples in Florida
A living trust for married couples can be structured as a joint trust or as two separate individual trusts. The right choice depends on whether both spouses have children from prior relationships, whether one spouse has significantly more wealth or liability exposure, and how the couple holds title to their property.
Works well for couples in a first marriage with shared children and shared assets. The trust agreement covers both spouses and spells out what happens at each death.
More appropriate in blended families, where each spouse wants to ensure their own children inherit their specific assets. Each spouse controls their own trust independently.
Florida’s tenancy by the entireties protection shields jointly owned assets from the individual creditors of either spouse. Transferring entireties property into a trust can eliminate that protection if the trust is not drafted correctly. Attorney Schoonover addresses this in every married couple’s trust she drafts.
Will vs. Revocable Living Trust: How They Compare
| Factor | Last Will | Revocable Living Trust |
|---|---|---|
| Goes through probate | Yes: always | No: assets pass directly |
| Becomes public record | Yes: court filed | No: completely private |
| Takes effect | Only at death | At death and during incapacity |
| Covers multiple states | Probate in each state | One trust covers all states |
| Guardian nomination | Yes: in the will | Separate will still required |
| Probate timeline | 9–18 months in Miami-Dade | No probate required |
| Incapacity planning | No coverage | Immediate successor trustee |
- Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2021 through 2026
- 2024 Elite Lawyer Award
- Florida Bar #124081, admitted September 2016
Your Revocable Living Trust Attorney in South Florida
Attorney Yanitza Schoonover builds every trust as part of a fully coordinated plan. Your trust is reviewed alongside your will, your powers of attorney, your healthcare directives, and your beneficiary designations so every document works together. Nothing conflicts. Nothing is left uncovered.
Trust funding instructions provided. So the trust actually holds what it is supposed to hold when it matters.
Years in Estate Law
Years Licensed
Consecutive Rising Stars
Weekly Availability
Why South Florida Families Choose Schoonover Law Firm for Their Living Trust
When Miami families search for a trust attorney, they need someone who knows South Florida title practices, Florida homestead law, and Miami-Dade County recording requirements not just trust document templates.
Attorney-Drafted on Every Matter
Yanitza Schoonover, Florida Bar #124081, personally prepares every trust document.
Trust Funding Instructions Provided
Written funding instructions are provided for your specific assets so the trust actually holds what it is supposed to hold.
Flat Fee for Estate Planning
All fees confirmed in writing before any work begins. No hourly billing. No surprises after the trust is signed.
Extended Attorney Availability
In-person Mon–Fri until 5:00 PM by appointment. Phone and Zoom consultations Mon–Sun 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM.
Bilingual, English and Spanish
Full trust preparation and consultation available in Spanish. Hablamos español.
Every Document Coordinated
Your trust is reviewed alongside your will, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. Nothing conflicts. Nothing is left uncovered.
Areas We Serve
The Schoonover Law Firm serves clients statewide across Florida. Attorney Yanitza Schoonover is based at 6303 Waterford District Dr, Suite 400, Miami, FL 33126.
Miami-Dade County
Miami, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Homestead, Miami Gardens, North Miami, Doral, Aventura, Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, Miami Lakes, North Miami Beach, Opa-locka, Sweetwater, Sunny Isles Beach, Bal Harbour, Key Biscayne, Miami Shores, Surfside, Biscayne Park, El Portal, West Miami, Virginia Gardens, Medley, Hialeah Gardens, Florida City, North Bay Village, Bay Harbor Islands, Golden Beach, Miami Springs, Islandia, Westchester, Tamiami, Kendale Lakes, The Hammocks, Fountainebleau, University Park, Olympia Heights, Gladeview, Leisure City, Naranja, Princeton, Three Lakes, Country Club, Kendall
Broward County
Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Sunrise
Palm Beach County
Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Wellington, Greenacres
Attorney Yanitza Schoonover serves all South Florida. Call (305) 299-7496 for any Florida location not listed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Florida Living Trusts
Do I need a revocable trust lawyer to create a revocable living trust in Florida?
Florida law does not technically require an attorney, but the Florida Supreme Court has held that preparing a trust document for another person constitutes the practice of law. Beyond the legal question, the practical risk is significant. A trust that is missing homestead language, executed without the required witnesses, or never properly funded will fail to avoid probate which defeats the entire purpose. A revocable trust lawyer ensures the document is drafted, signed, and funded correctly the first time.
How does a revocable living trust help you avoid probate in Florida?
Every asset you transfer into your trust during your lifetime passes directly to your beneficiaries at death without going through probate court. Your successor trustee distributes assets according to the trust’s written instructions, without a court filing, without statutory attorney fees, and without the nine to eighteen month timeline of formal probate administration in Miami-Dade County.
What are the successor trustee responsibilities after the grantor dies?
A Florida personal representative must be a Florida resident or, if non-resident, a spouse, sibling, parent, child, or other close relative of the decedent under Florida Statutes Section 733.304. Non-resident, non-relatives are disqualified from serving. Banks and trust companies authorized to conduct business in Florida also qualify as corporate personal representatives.
What are trust beneficiary rights in Florida?
Under Florida Chapter 736, trust beneficiaries have the right to receive a copy of the trust document relevant to their interest, to receive an annual accounting of trust assets and transactions, to petition a court if the trustee is breaching their fiduciary duty, and to be treated impartially and honestly by the trustee. If you are a beneficiary and believe the trustee is mismanaging the trust, Attorney Schoonover can advise you on your legal options.
How much does a Florida revocable living trust cost?
Attorney Schoonover charges a flat fee for a complete trust based estate plan, which typically includes the revocable living trust, pour-over will, durable power of attorney, healthcare surrogate designation, and living will. The fee is confirmed in writing before any work begins. Compare that to the cost of probate: on a $500,000 estate in Miami-Dade, statutory attorney and personal representative fees alone can exceed $30,000. The trust pays for itself the first time it is used.
Do you offer trust consultations in Spanish?
Yes. All consultations and document preparation are fully available in Spanish. Hablamos español. Llámenos al (305) 299-7496.
Ready to Protect Your Family With a Revocable Living Trust?
Call (305) 299-7496 or email info@estateplanningattorney.us. Attorney Schoonover reviews your assets, family structure, and estate planning goals in the first consultation. A flat fee quote is delivered before any work begins.
Attorney Schoonover also drafts wills, durable powers of attorney, healthcare surrogate designations, living wills, and Lady Bird Deeds as part of a complete Florida estate plan, so your trust is coordinated with every other document your family will rely on.
Start With a Free Consultation
-
Email info@estateplanningattorney.us
-
Schedule a Free Consultation at estateplanningattorney.us
-
In-person meetings by appointment only.
-
English and Spanish, Hablamos Español
-
Flat fee for estate planning, fee quote provided before any work begins
