The Estate Plan

Estate planning for families and business owners

The Estate Plan works with families and business owners who want written plans for property, health care, and decision-making. The firm lists wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care advance directives among its services. It also handles business continuity planning.

These documents address different parts of a plan. A will gives instructions for probate property and can nominate a personal representative. A trust can hold assets under terms set by the person who creates it. A power of attorney gives another person authority over specified financial matters.

Health care instructions

The firm's listed health care documents include living wills, health care surrogate designations, HIPAA releases, and DNR orders. Each document addresses a distinct issue. A living will records treatment wishes, while a surrogate designation names someone who can make health care decisions under its terms.

A HIPAA release can authorize access to protected medical information. A DNR order concerns resuscitation and carries its own formal requirements. In my opinion, listing these documents separately gives prospective clients a useful picture of the subjects that an estate planning meeting may cover.

Planning for a business interest

Business continuity planning adds ownership and management questions to the estate planning process. Owners may need to identify who can manage the business during incapacity and what should happen to an ownership interest after death. The relevant papers depend on the business structure and its existing agreements.

An attorney preparing that work commonly reviews entity records, ownership terms, beneficiary choices, and the client's estate documents. Coordination matters because a will, trust, beneficiary form, or business agreement may direct different assets. The Estate Plan expressly includes business owners among the clients it serves.

Probate, trusts and contested estates

The firm's work can continue after a death places assets under court or fiduciary administration. Its listed services include estate administration, probate, trust administration, and estate litigation. Jaqueline Wong is identified on the site as an attorney who handles probate administration matters in Florida probate court.

Estate administration in court

Probate administration usually begins with a petition asking the court to open an estate. The court may appoint a personal representative, who then identifies estate property and follows the required notice procedures. Creditors, taxes, expenses, and beneficiary rights can affect the timing of distribution.

The will, if one exists, guides the administration of probate assets after the court accepts it. Florida law supplies the distribution rules when an estate lacks an effective will. Court filings may include petitions, inventories, notices, accountings, and requests for authority or discharge.

Probate counsel can prepare filings and advise the personal representative about deadlines and duties. Counsel may also respond when a beneficiary, creditor, or other interested person raises an issue. The firm's stated probate work places these court-based tasks within its service list.

Trust administration and litigation

Trust administration follows the governing trust document and applicable law. A trustee may need to identify trust property, communicate with beneficiaries, pay proper expenses, keep records, and make authorized distributions. Tax and accounting questions may also require input from other professionals.

Estate litigation brings disputed issues before a judge. Such cases can concern the validity or meaning of estate documents, fiduciary conduct, ownership, or rights in an estate. The specific pleadings and evidence depend on the dispute.

The Estate Plan lists both administration and litigation. That combination can matter when an administration develops a contested issue or when a dispute affects the handling of estate property. The website also identifies Dyson Law, PLLC as a separate firm owned by Peter A. Dyson that handles probate litigation and other disputes.

Property partition and special needs planning

Co-ownership disputes and benefit-sensitive planning bring different legal questions into the same office. The Estate Plan lists partition actions and special needs planning among its practice areas. Both can involve close review of property rights, financial records, and future needs.

Partition actions

A partition action addresses real property owned by people who seek a legal division or sale. A court generally examines title, ownership shares, the property's physical character, and the parties' positions. Expenses paid by individual owners may also become relevant to the accounting.

The court can determine whether physical division is practical or whether a sale should occur. The parties may resolve the matter by agreement, or the court may enter orders that govern the property and distribution of proceeds. Because the firm lists partition work, its services extend into a defined area of real estate litigation.

Planning around public benefits

Special needs planning can help a family arrange support for a person who receives, or may seek, means-tested public benefits. The structure and administration of a trust can affect that person's eligibility. Drafting calls for attention to the beneficiary's needs, the source of funds, and the rules of the relevant program.

A special needs plan may also identify the person who will manage funds and the purposes for which money can be used. Families often need to coordinate the plan with beneficiary designations and other estate documents. The firm's express inclusion of this area gives families a direct point of reference when seeking that kind of planning.

How the attorneys are organized

Peter A. Dyson owns The Estate Plan and also owns Dyson Law, PLLC. The website treats the two firms as separate businesses. Dyson Law, PLLC handles probate litigation, personal injury, wrongful death, and insurance disputes.

The Estate Plan identifies Danielle N. Clark and Lilleth F. Bailey as senior attorneys. It also lists paralegals and support staff as part of the team. Jaqueline Wong has the specific role of probate administration attorney.

These stated roles give the firm identifiable responsibility at the ownership, senior attorney, and probate administration levels. As a reviewer, the clearest feature is the division between planning and administration work at The Estate Plan and the separate work assigned to Dyson Law, PLLC. That distinction helps readers understand which services each named firm describes.

Office systems and Miami-Dade reach

The Estate Plan describes its office as paperless and cloud-based. Digital records can support document exchange and access during an estate planning or administration matter. The firm also says clients can reach an attorney in emergency situations.

Client communication can carry added weight when a court deadline, death, incapacity, or urgent health care choice affects the matter. The appropriate response still depends on the facts and the legal documents already in place. The firm's stated systems provide context for how its attorneys and staff manage files and communications.

The firm is based in Coral Gables. It serves families and business owners in Miami-Dade County.