Shannon Smith, Attorney at Law

10/19/2026

🏡 Florida Homeowners: Have You Ever Heard of a Lady Bird Deed?

Here’s an estate planning tool that many Florida homeowners don’t know about!

One of the questions families often have is, “How can I make sure my home passes to my loved ones without having to go through probate?”

In Florida, one option worth considering is something called a Lady Bird deed, also known as an Enhanced Life Estate Deed.

So, how does it work?

A properly prepared Lady Bird deed allows you to name who will receive your home after your death while generally allowing you to maintain control of the property during your lifetime.

That means you can typically:

✔️ Continue living in your home.

✔️ Sell or mortgage the property without needing permission from the beneficiaries you’ve named.

✔️ Change your mind about who will receive the property.

✔️ Allow the property to pass directly to your named beneficiaries upon your death, without probate for that property.

Sounds pretty convenient, right?

But here’s the important part: A Lady Bird deed isn’t necessarily the right solution for every family.

Florida’s homestead laws, marital status, family circumstances, and your overall estate planning goals all matter when determining whether this type of deed is appropriate.

And while a Lady Bird deed can help avoid probate for a particular property, it doesn’t replace a comprehensive estate plan.

Estate planning isn’t always about complicated documents or elaborate trusts. Sometimes it’s about understanding the different tools available and choosing the ones that make sense for your family.

So here’s my question for the week:

Have you ever heard of a Lady Bird deed, or is this something completely new to you? 💙

This post is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. The suitability and legal effect of a Lady Bird deed depend on individual circumstances and applicable Florida law. Consult with a qualified attorney regarding your specific situation.

10/07/2026

Do you have a will? Great! But is a will enough?

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear about estate planning is that having a will means you have everything covered.

A will is an important estate planning document, but it only does certain things—and it generally takes effect after your death.

What happens if you become sick or injured and can’t make decisions for yourself?

Who can manage your financial affairs?

Who can make health care decisions for you?

Who can access necessary medical information?

And what happens to assets that pass outside of your will through beneficiary designations, joint ownership, or other arrangements?

Depending on your circumstances and goals, a complete estate plan may include documents such as a Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Surrogate Designation, HIPAA Authorization, Living Will, and, for some families, a trust.

The goal isn’t to collect as many legal documents as possible. It’s to make sure the right documents work together to protect you and carry out your wishes.

So, if you have a will that you prepared years ago and haven’t looked at since, this might be a good week to pull it out and ask yourself:

Does my estate plan still fit my life today?

This post is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Estate planning needs and laws vary based on individual circumstances and jurisdiction. Consult with an attorney regarding your specific situation.

09/29/2026

Exciting news — my new Florida estate planning website is live! 🌴

Through the Law Office of Shannon R. Smith, I now work with Florida clients to create estate plans designed to protect the people and things that matter most.

And for my California friends and clients, I continue to provide estate planning services through Armentrout & Associates.

Estate planning isn’t just about what happens someday — it’s also about making sure the right people can step in and help if you can’t make financial or healthcare decisions for yourself.

If estate planning has been sitting on your “I’ll get to it eventually” list, this is a great time to start the conversation.

🌐 smithlaworlando.com

Florida: Law Office of Shannon R. Smith
California: Armentrout & Associates

Shannon R. Smith, Esq. is licensed to practice law in Florida and California. Through her independent Florida practice, Smith Law Orlando, PLLC, d/b/a Law Office of Shannon R. Smith, she helps clients plan for the people and priorities that matter to them.

09/08/2026

Have you ever thought about what would happen to your digital life if something happened to you?

Think about how much of our lives now exists online:

Photos stored in the cloud.
Social media accounts.
Email.
Online banking.
Automatic payments and subscriptions.
Digital business records.
Even cryptocurrency or other digital assets.

Most of us have accumulated years of digital information, but our families may have no idea what exists—or how to access it.

Digital assets are becoming an increasingly important part of estate planning. It’s worth thinking about what accounts and digital property you have, what you would want to happen to them, and whether the appropriate person would have the legal authority and information necessary to handle them.

This doesn't mean writing all of your passwords on a piece of paper and putting it in a drawer! It means having an organized plan for your digital life just as you would for your other important assets.

Here's a little challenge for this week:

Take five minutes and think about how many online accounts and digital assets you actually have.

You might be surprised by the answer!

Estate planning has changed a lot because the way we live has changed. A good plan should account for that too.

This post is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Estate planning laws vary by jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Consult with an attorney regarding your specific situation.

08/31/2026

Here’s an estate planning question you may not have thought about lately:

If something happened tomorrow and you couldn’t handle your own affairs for a period of time, who would step in?

Most people think about estate planning in terms of what happens after we die. But a good estate plan also considers what happens while we’re still here.

Who could handle your financial affairs if you couldn’t?

Who could make health care decisions for you?

Would the people you trust actually have the legal authority they need to help?

Documents such as a Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Surrogate Designation can be an important part of making sure the right people are able to step in when needed.

And here’s something else worth considering: if you prepared these documents years ago, are the people you named then still the people you would choose today?

Life changes. Relationships change. The people we trust and rely upon can change too.

Estate planning isn’t only about having documents in a folder somewhere. It’s about making sure those documents still reflect your life and your wishes today.

So, a little question for the week:

When was the last time you looked at WHO you named in your estate planning documents?

This post is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Estate planning laws vary by jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Consult with an attorney regarding your specific situation.

08/27/2026

A question I hear often is: “If I already have beneficiaries listed on my accounts, do I really need an estate plan?”

Beneficiary designations are certainly an important part of planning, but they aren't a substitute for a complete estate plan.

An estate plan addresses much more than simply who receives a particular account. It can address who will make financial or health care decisions for you if you become unable to make them yourself, how and when your loved ones receive assets, who will handle your affairs, and what happens to property that doesn't pass through a beneficiary designation.

It's also important to remember that beneficiary designations and your estate planning documents need to work together. An outdated beneficiary designation can sometimes produce a very different result than what you intended in your will or trust.

Good estate planning isn't just about having documents. It's about making sure all the pieces of your plan actually work together.

When was the last time you checked the beneficiaries listed on your retirement accounts, life insurance policies, or other accounts?

This post is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Estate planning laws vary by jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Consult with an attorney regarding your specific situation.

08/18/2026

Have your kids turned 18?

Does that mean it’s time to throw out your estate plan and start over? Not necessarily—but it may be time for a review.

When your children were younger, one of the most important decisions in your estate plan was likely naming the person you wanted to serve as their guardian if something happened to you.

But once your child becomes a legal adult, that guardianship designation generally no longer applies to them.

So does that blow up your whole estate plan? Usually, no.

But it IS a great reminder that an estate plan shouldn’t be something you create once and forget about. As your children grow up, your family changes, your assets change, and your wishes may change too.

Maybe the person you chose as guardian years ago is also named in other important roles. Maybe your children are now old enough that you want to reconsider when and how they receive an inheritance. Or maybe your plan simply hasn’t been looked at in years.

Estate planning should grow and change along with your family.

When was the last time you actually looked at yours? 💙

This post is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Estate planning laws vary by jurisdiction and individual circumstances. Consult with an attorney regarding your specific situation.

08/12/2026

Estate planning isn’t just about what happens someday. It’s about making things easier for the people you love. 💙

Think about this:

If something unexpected happened to you, would your family know…

Where your important documents are?

Who to contact?

Who you would want making financial or medical decisions for you?

What accounts, insurance policies, or other assets you have?

What you would want to happen next?

These aren’t always comfortable questions, but answering them now can save your family from having to figure everything out during an already difficult time.

A good estate plan isn’t about expecting the worst. It’s about making sure the people you love aren’t left guessing.

This week, take 10 minutes and ask yourself: Would my family know what to do if I couldn’t tell them?

If the answer is “probably not,” that might be a good place to start.

— Shannon Smith, Esq.
Florida & California Attorney

For educational purposes only. This post does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship.

01/20/2026

TIMESHARES!!! This week, we assisted a couple in transferring their vacation club timeshare into their trust. Deed transfers are an integral component of estate planning, yet often overlooked. If you or someone you know owns an interest in a timeshare/Disney Vacation Club/Marriott Vacation Club, we can ensure seamless inclusion within a new or existing trust and discuss various options for managing these properties. Please do not hesitate to reach out for our expertise.