Practice Areas

The Mattar Firm has been a part of the Florida legal community for a long time. We love reaching out to the people in the areas we serve to deliver information on asset protection and estate planning that can be essential to their financial futures. Our focus is on estate planning and asset protection, but we have a wide variety of practice areas that allow us to be your resource for many important aspects of your life.

We know you have questions, which is why we offer these summaries of the different practice areas we cover. If you have any more questions or want to speak directly to an expert attorney, then please give us a call and we will make sure you get the information you need right away.

Estate Planning

Throughout the state of Florida, the idea of estate planning is often associated with making sure your assets are distributed to the proper beneficiaries after death and that your final wishes are honored. The truth is that the events that take place after you pass away are only part of what really goes into a full estate planning program.

Without an estate planning program in place, your entire estate could be compromised if you suddenly become incapacitated and unable to speak for yourself. An estate plan includes a power of attorney to help determine who speaks for you on legal issues when you cannot speak for yourself, and it includes a health care proxy to determine who makes medical decisions for you when you are no longer able to make your own decisions. In this way, estate planning does just as much good for you when you are alive as it does after you have passed on.

Elder Law

The practice of elder law is done to protect someone as they age from the high costs of long-term care and the complicated Medicaid application system. If you are unfamiliar with the rules of Medicaid, then there are several things you can do that would harm your chances of getting approved on time, and in some instances you could harm your chances of getting approved at all.

In the state of Florida, it can cost upwards of $40,000.00 per year just to share a standard assisted living room in a state approved facility. With services such as Medicaid planning, estate planning, and long-term care planning, we can help make sure that your family does not become burdened with the high costs of assisted living. We can also help you to make the right decisions when it comes to protecting your assets before applying to Medicaid.

Non-Crisis Medicaid Planning

It takes professional planning to protect your assets when you apply for long-term care assistance. At the Mattar Firm, we recommend that every Florida resident take the time to sit down with one of our experts to put together a plan that would protect your assets when the time comes to apply for Medicaid. Assisted living can be extremely expensive, and you need to make sure that you are prepared financially and legally to protect your assets for your family’s future.

We give you all of the resources you need to plan for the future while still enjoying your life. You spent your entire life building up assets to leave behind to your family. At the Mattar Firm, we want to make sure that you enjoy those assets now and are able to protect your family in the future.

Medicaid Crisis Planning

Did you know that if you try to transfer ownership of your Florida home just before you apply for Medicaid then you might have to wait five years before you can be approved? Did you know that there is a way to transfer your real estate to your children without incurring the five year Medicaid penalty? We are experts at Medicaid crisis planning that includes consulting you on how to protect your assets, explaining the Medicaid application process to you, and assisting you with filling out the Medicaid paperwork.

If you or someone you love is on the verge of entering an assisted living facility and will need to apply for Medicaid, then we can be the professionals that guide you through the process. You should never try to face a Medicaid application situation on your own. You should give our experts a call and let us make sure you understand every step of the process.

Asset Protection

What does asset protection mean and why do you need it? Any person in Florida who owns a home, has a bank account, or has a family needs to talk to our experts about asset protection. If you do not have a plan in place, then everything you have spent a lifetime building could be gone in the blink of an eye. There are more civil lawsuits filed in the United States than any other country in the world, and you need to make sure you are protected in case you are hit with a lawsuit.

If you got into a car accident and the damage exceeded your coverage limits, then the other party will sue you for the difference. Coming to us for asset protection help after you have received notice of a lawsuit is too late. Even if we did move your assets, the courts will order the assets moved out of any protective vehicle we have put in place. The time to let us protect your assets is now. We have the tools and expertise necessary to make sure that a lawsuit is not going to financially destroy your family.

Special Needs Planning

Preparing to care for a special needs child or adult can be complicated if you do not have the right people on your side. The Mattar Firm has years of experience in working with parents, trustees and caregivers to make sure arrangements are in place to take care of special needs family members now, and after you have passed on.

Our experts will explain how the entire situation works for special needs planning. We will explain to you why you need to start thinking about these things now, and what types of legal and financial mechanisms exist to make planning and providing for the future easier. We will make special needs planning part of your estate planning and ensure that there are provisions made for the comfortable future of your special needs loved ones after you have passed on.

Probate / Trust Administration

When a loved one passes away, their estate is put into the hands of the Florida probate court system. This is a system that reviews and verifies the loved one’s will, puts an administrator in place to help with final arrangements such as settling debts and distributing assets, handles all tax issues, and works with the estate to finalize all legal and financial arrangements. It can be a complicated process, and it happens immediately upon the loved one’s death. We can help with that process and make sure everything is done right.

One of the biggest misconceptions about a trust is that it automatically takes care of the final wishes of the deceased the moment the person passes on. The truth is that a trust needs administration when someone passes away just as much as an estate does. We can assist with trust administration and make the process easier on you.

Our professionals are ready to help you with those issues that affect your family the most. We invite you to give us a call today and set up a time to talk to one of our friendly experts.