Your Estate Plan May Be Doing the Opposite of What You Think It Does

Why having a will does not avoid probate in Florida — and why probate is public, slow, expensive, and the forum where family lawsuits begin

The "unfunded trust" mistake that sends assets through probate anyway — and the one-minute account statement check that reveals whether your trust actually holds your assets

Why do-it-yourself asset protection structures look fine on paper but fall apart in a deposition — and why timing determines whether they hold up at all

The estate tax exposure most wealthy families overlook — and the mainstream planning structures that can move significant wealth out of your taxable estate while you keep control

How missing incapacity documents and blended-family dynamics quietly set the stage for guardianship court and estate litigation — and what prevents both

You’re a Florida resident without an estate plan

You signed your estate planning documents five, ten, or fifteen years ago and haven't seriously reviewed them since

You have a revocable living trust but have never verified that your accounts and real estate are actually titled in it

You own a business or work in a profession with real liability exposure

You're in a second marriage or have children from a prior relationship

Marianne Moran has practiced estate and trust law for nearly twenty years and leads Moran & Associates, a firm that has served Palm Beach County families for over fifty years. She is a member of The Florida Bar, the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar, the Palm Beach County Bar Association, and the Florida Association for Women Lawyers.

What makes her practice unusual is that she works on both sides of estate planning: she drafts plans, and she litigates the plans other attorneys drafted badly. She has watched, in real time, how good intentions and standard documents fall apart when someone dies, becomes ill, is sued, or divorces — and this masterclass is built on what she has learned from those cases.