Ms. Bates provides comprehensive estate planning services that are uniquely tailored to the client’s individual needs and wishes. Estate planning involves the evaluation of the best plan and strategies to achieve the client’s goals for his or her estate, including providing for family, avoiding attorney’s fees to the estate, avoiding taxes, and protecting privacy. Estate planning also involves drafting estate planning documents that reflect the client’s intentions and personal goals and objectives. Ms. Bates drafts the following Estate planning documents for clients:

1. Last Will and Testament;
2. Durable Power of Attorney;
3. Health Care Power of Attorney;
4. Living Wills;
5. Revocable Trusts;
6. Irrevocable Trusts;
7. Educational Trusts; and
8. Testamentary Trusts.

With the client’s consent, Ms. Bates collaborates with the client’s financial advisor as to the proper funding of any trust established for the client for probate avoidance and privacy purposes.

Ms. Bates assists personal representatives in navigating through the probate administration process in formal probate proceedings and summary administration proceedings. Ms. Bates represents the personal representative in a probate estate in a formal probate proceeding throughout the entire probate process as summarized as follows:

1. Determining whether a probate proceeding is necessary;
2. Establishing the probate proceeding;
3. Obtaining Letters of Administration giving the personal representative the authority to administer the estate;
4. Preparing an inventory of probate assets;
5. Publishing a notice to creditors and notifying ascertainable creditors of the probate proceeding;
6. Assisting clients in the preparation of an accounting of the administration of the probate estate;
7. Preparing a plan of distribution of the probate estate; and
8. Preparing the necessary papers to close the probate estate.

Ms. Bates represents successor trustees in the administration of trusts in Florida. Ms. Bates advises successor trustees throughout the administration of the trust as to:

1. The fiduciary duties of the successor trustee;
2. Preparing the necessary notifications to beneficiaries of the trust;
3. Filing the necessary notice of trust with the clerk’s office;
4. Depositing the original Last Will and Testament with the probate clerk’s office;
5. Assisting successor trustees in obtaining valuations of trust assets;
6. Collaborating with certified public accountants in the preparation of any federal estate tax return, if required;
7. Preparing trust accounting;
8. Preparing plan of distribution in accordance with the trust; and
9. Preparing the necessary papers to terminate the trust once all the necessary trust administration bills are paid and the remaining assets fully distributed to the beneficiaries of the trust.

Ms. Bates represents business owners and provides business legal support services to clients by collaborating with the client’s certified public account to determine the best corporate entity and tax designation in establishing the corporate entity to insulate the owners from personal liability and evaluating legal issues that may arise in the daily operations of the business and the legal issues arising in the long-term planning of the business as far as succession planning for the operations of the business and ownership of the company and future potential sale of the business.

Ms. Bates assists clients in the formation of corporate entities to insulate clients from personal liability. Ms. Bates assists clients with the following in the formation of corporate entities such as corporations, limited liability companies, and professional associations with personal attention to the following considerations in forming a corporate entity:

1. Choosing a name of the entity and determining its availability;
2. Evaluating the best type of corporate entity for the particular operations of the business;
3. Evaluating the most appropriate ownership structure of the corporate entity;
4. Drafting of bylaws, operating agreements, stock certificates, articles of incorporation, articles of organization, and minutes to establish the corporate entity and as evidence of ownership and rights and obligations of the owners;
5. Filing of articles of incorporation and articles of organization; and
6. Obtaining a taxpayer identification number for the corporate entity.

Ms. Bates assists business clients in the drafting, negotiating and review of contracts to support business owners such as

1. Employment agreements;
2. Independent contractor agreements;
3. Commercial leases;
4. Residential leases;
5. Sale and purchase of stock agreements;
6. Sale and purchase of business assets agreements;
7. Buy-sell agreements;
8. Shareholder agreements;
9. Marketing agreements; and
10. Other business contracts to support business owners in the operations of the business and in the long-term planning for the business.

Ms. Bates represents business owners in planning for the succession of the business with respect to ownership and management. When there is more than one business owner, succession planning involves the drafting, negotiation and review of an agreement commonly referred to as a buy/sell agreement or shareholders’ agreement to memorialize the rights and obligations of the shareholders of the corporation or members of the limited liability company in the event of death, disability, retirement, divorce, and bankruptcy. Ms. Bates consults with clients as to the many considerations involved in a buy/sell agreement or shareholders’ agreement such as:

1. Specific triggers of a sale of stock or membership interests such as death, disability, retirement, divorce, and bankruptcy;
2. Mandatory sale versus option to sell;
3. Valuation methods;
4. Funding through life insurance; and
5. Financing terms for purchase of stock.

At London L. Bates Law, P.A., Ms. Bates represents the buyers and sellers of businesses from the initial phases of the purchase and sale with the drafting, negotiating, review of the letter of intent, purchase and sale agreement all the way through to the closing table with the review of the closing documents and attendance at the closing table. In an asset sale, the buyer is purchasing specific business assets from the seller. In a stock sale, the buyer is purchasing the stock of the selling company. To protect the legal and financial interests of clients, Ms. Bates provides personal service to clients and attention to the details of the many complex issues that arise in a business purchase and sale transaction such as the following:

1. Non-compete obligations;
2. Holdback from sale proceeds post-closing;
3. Entity selection as buyer in the transaction;
4. Asset sale versus stock sale;
5. Particular assets to be sold in an asset sale including intellectual property;
6. Employment matters; and
7. Other practical business matters.

Ms. Bates also assists business clients in the planning for a sale of the business.

Ms. Bates represents clients to best protect their financial interests in commercial and residential real estate transactions.

Ms. Bates represents buyers and sellers in the purchase and sale of residential and commercial real estate, including the review, negotiation and drafting of contracts and the review of settlement statements and other closing documents, and the attendance at the closing table with clients. The purchase and sale of real estate in Florida is a significant investment and clients benefit from having independent legal representation to help them navigate through the intricacies of the real estate transaction.

In addition, Ms. Bates represents landlords and tenants in the review, negotiation, and drafting of commercial and residential leases on behalf of clients.

Leslee J. Wallach advises businesses in identifying sales and use tax compliance and reporting requirements while focusing on tax minimization. Ms. Wallach represents businesses in sales and use tax audits and controversies before all state and local taxing authorities.