Wills, trusts, probate, guardianship and property — handled by the same attorney from the first phone call to the last signature. No handoffs, no call centre, no guessing where your matter stands.
Every matter begins with a free fifteen-minute call. No fee to talk it through.
A deliberately narrow practice. These are the matters this office takes, and the ones it has taken for three decades.
Wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney and health care documents — for a single document or a complete plan. If your estate is substantial or your wishes are particular, you'll receive a questionnaire first so nothing is built on a guess.
Administering an estate after someone has died: opening the estate, marshalling assets, dealing with creditors, and closing it properly.
Florida sets attorney's fees in probate against the value of the estate. You'll be told exactly how that works, in writing, before you engage this office.
When someone can no longer make decisions or care for themselves, a court may appoint a guardian. This office acts as the petitioning attorney — the lawyer who brings that petition before the court.
This office does not serve as the guardian, and does not continue as counsel to the guardian after appointment. You'll want separate counsel in place for that, and you'll be told so plainly at the outset rather than discovering it later.
A consultation fee applies to guardianship mattersDeeds, including quitclaim deeds, and questions of title and ownership. Property matters in families are rarely only about paperwork, so expect to be asked early who else has an interest and whether everyone agrees.
A consultation fee applies to property mattersLess common in this practice than the matters above, but handled with the same care.
Tell me what's happening in your own words. It takes about a minute, there's no charge, and it goes straight to this office — not to a service.
Choose anything that applies. Plain language is fine — you don't need the legal terms.
All optional. It only helps me come to our call already knowing something.
You'll get an email confirming this came through, with what happens next.
Sending this does not create an attorney–client relationship, and nothing you send here is confidential until this office has agreed in writing to represent you. Please don't include sensitive details in this form — save them for our call.
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Felicia S. W. Thomas has practised law in Florida for about thirty years. Her work centres on the moments families would rather not think about in advance — a parent who can no longer manage alone, an estate to be settled, a house with more than one name attached to it — and on the planning that makes those moments less painful when they arrive.
She has held nearly every role a Florida guardianship can involve: the attorney who files the petition, counsel to the person the petition concerns, counsel to an appointed guardian, and the guardian herself. Having seen how tangled those roles become, she now takes only the first of them, and says so at the outset.
She works alone by choice. The attorney you speak with on the first call is the attorney who drafts your documents and appears at your hearing. She also declines matters — where the posture is wrong, where the effort and the fee are badly matched, or where the person who must sign cannot explain what they own and who should have it. She would rather tell you that in the first fifteen minutes than in the third month.
No mystery, and no meter running before you've decided anything.
You describe what's happening. You hear how it would be handled, what's involved, how long it tends to take and what it costs — before you commit to anything.
If you want to go forward, you'll receive a link to choose a time. Guardianship and property matters carry a consultation fee, payable no later than twenty-four hours before the appointment.
You receive a written agreement setting out the work and the fee. Nothing begins until it's signed and any retainer is received.
Documents drafted, petitions filed, hearings attended — by the same attorney throughout, with what's needed from you asked for plainly.
If yours isn't here, ask it in the form above. It costs nothing to ask.
Yes. The first fifteen minutes are free for every matter. You'll get a straight answer about whether this is something this office handles, roughly what it involves, and what it's likely to cost.
For guardianship and real property matters there is a consultation fee for the appointment that follows — not for that first call. You'll be told about it before anything is scheduled, never after.
It depends on the matter, and you'll be given the number before you commit to anything. Most estate planning is a flat fee. Guardianship varies with complexity. Probate is often set against the value of the estate under Florida law, which will be explained to you in writing. Litigation is hourly, and this office generally avoids it.
What won't happen is a surprise. The fee is in the written agreement you sign before work begins.
Not always — and that's worth finding out early. Guardianship is a court proceeding, and it is the more difficult and expensive road. Where the right documents were put in place while a person still understood them, it can often be avoided entirely.
Whether that's still possible in your situation depends on facts that need discussing. That's exactly what the first fifteen minutes are for.
No. This office acts as the attorney who files the guardianship petition, and does not serve as guardian. It also does not continue as counsel to the guardian once one has been appointed, so you'll want another attorney lined up for that stage. This is said at the beginning, on purpose, so nobody is surprised later.
Whatever you can find, and don't worry about what you can't. The death certificate, any will or trust, deeds, account statements and the names of family members are all useful. Come with what you have — assembling the rest is part of the work.
Most clients do, and most find it easier. Video and telephone appointments are available where they suit you better, and documents can be signed electronically or on paper — whichever actually works for you. Older clients are not expected to fight with technology.
An estate plan is usually a matter of weeks, most of which is deciding what you want. Probate and guardianship run on the court's calendar and take longer. You'll be given a realistic range on the first call rather than an optimistic one.
Not yet — and that matters. Sending the form does not create an attorney–client relationship, and information sent through a website is not privileged until this office has agreed in writing to represent you and confirmed there's no conflict. Send enough to explain your situation, and keep the sensitive details for the call.
A few times a year: what changes in Florida law, what the office sees families get wrong, and the documents worth having before you need them. No advertising, and you can stop any time.
Your address is used for these notes and nothing else. It is never sold, and never shared.