Estate Planning · Orlando, Florida
Estate planning attorney in Orlando.
Brittany G. Melendez represents Orlando families in estate planning — wills, revocable living trusts, durable powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. Plans are built on Florida law and tailored to your specific family, assets, and goals.
What an Orlando plan typically covers
The four documents most Orlando plans start with
Last Will and Testament
Names who receives your assets, who serves as personal representative, and who cares for minor children. Florida wills must follow specific witness and signing requirements to be valid.
Revocable Living Trust
Holds assets during your lifetime and distributes them at death without probate. Especially useful for Orlando families with real property in multiple states or a desire to keep estate matters out of public probate records.
Durable Power of Attorney
Lets a person you choose handle your financial affairs if you are incapacitated. Florida's durable POA statute is strict — generic online forms often fail at Florida banks when they're needed most.
Healthcare Directives
Designation of healthcare surrogate plus a living will. Names who speaks for you in an Orlando hospital and what kinds of treatment you do or don't want under Florida law.
Why Florida-specific planning matters
Florida law shapes the right plan
A few things that are unique to Florida — and that an Orlando estate plan needs to account for:
- Homestead protection. Florida's constitutional homestead rules limit how you can devise (give away in a will) the home you live in, especially if you have a surviving spouse or minor child. Plans that ignore this can be partially invalidated.
- Elective share. A Florida surviving spouse is entitled to roughly 30% of the elective estate — even if the will says otherwise. Blended-family plans need to account for this.
- Probate process. Estates of Orlando residents typically go through Orange County probate in the Ninth Judicial Circuit. Florida summary administration may be available for smaller estates; formal administration is required for most others.
- POA recognition. Florida banks and brokerages can be strict about which durable powers of attorney they will honor. Florida-statute-compliant language matters.
- Trust funding. A trust only avoids probate for the assets actually titled into it. Orlando-area title transfers (real property deed retitling, account beneficiary updates, vehicle title work) are part of the engagement, not an afterthought.
Service area
Orlando and surrounding counties
Brittany G. Melendez serves clients in Orlando and the surrounding Central Florida counties: Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Polk, Volusia, Brevard. Most consultations are by phone or video; in-person meetings are available by appointment.
How an initial Orlando consultation works.
The first call is a 30 to 45 minute conversation about your family, what you own, who you want to take care of, and what worries you. There is no charge for the initial consultation, and you leave the call with a clear sense of whether an estate plan is the right next step and what one would cost. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.