Central Florida Estate Planning & Probate
Award-Winning, Compassionate Estate Planning & Estate Administration
We help Central Florida families protect what they’ve earned and prepare for what lies ahead.
Our founder, attorney Merrell Bailey, is a seasoned estate planning attorney and Certified Public Accountant who holds five business degrees from the University of Central Florida. Her rare blend of legal, financial, and tax experience sets our firm apart in the fields of estate planning, probate & trust administration, and asset protection.
Merrell’s leadership and knowledge have earned her national and local recognition. She has been named to the Super Lawyers® list for Trusts & Estate Planning from 2017 through 2025, honored by Best Lawyers® in America from 2018 through 2025, and selected by her peers as one of Orlando Magazine’s Best Lawyers eight times since 2010. For over ten years she has also been rated AV Preeminent®, the highest peer rating from Martindale Hubbell. She is also a regular speaker at UCF and has served on the board of the National Endowment for Financial Education, reflecting her commitment to education and client empowerment.
Your Caring Law Firm proudly serves families, retirees, and closely held business owners throughout the greater Orlando area. Whether you’re looking to establish a revocable living trust, navigate the Florida probate process, or implement an asset protection structure to safeguard your business, we’re here to guide you with clarity, compassion, and real-world experience.
Nevermind the Awards. See What Our Clients Have to Say!
Florida Probate & Trust Admin
Knowing where to start can be daunting, especially in the middle of the grieving process. We will assist you throughout the court proceedings or trust administration whether you are named as personal representative, trustee, or a beneficiary.
Married Estate Planning
All families are modern families! Protecting your traditions, legacy and assets is where we excel.
We can help you plan for your future, and create documents that safeguard your children.
Even married couples don’t have all of the rights and protections that a good estate plan will give them…
Single Estate Planning
Estate planning is just as important, if not more so, for single parents or those in non-traditional partnerships. We are here to help you protect your loved ones.
Whether you’re a young adult, or further along in your life’s journey, all adults need estate planning documents!
Once you’re 18, you’ll want to make sure you legally give your parents, or other trusted adults the right to help you. See attorney Bailey’s free ebook, 18 and On Your Own.
Unmarried Partners
Let us craft an estate plan that offers you both the legal shields and benefits of marriage.
Same-sex and LGBTQ couples, whether married or unmarried, require plans that can negotiate the shifting landscapes of State and Federal laws. We have the experience you need.
Asset Protection
In a nutshell, if you own things, and you’d like to keep them, we help you to legally protect your assets from creditors and predators. Many of our clients tell us that they do not want their wealth to be used to support their daughter-in-law’s next husband. Nor do they want their family-owned business to be taken away in a lawsuit resulting from a car accident.
Our goal is to help you thoughtfully create entities to hold wealth. We counsel our clients about inside liabilities vs. outside liabilities and will help you to become unattractive to predators.
Attorney Merrell Bailey is experienced with helping clients protect their Florida Lottery winnings and their privacy.
Special Needs Trusts
A properly drafted and properly maintained special needs trust is a great vehicle to meet the needs of special needs individuals. We’ll also guide you in creating a team that will include a guardian, a trustee, a financial planner, an attorney, an accountant, advocacy groups, friends and family in order to make sure the special needs individual is properly cared for and public benefits are preserved.
Let us guide you through some of the most important decisions you'll ever make
With a well-crafted estate plan, you have the opportunity to pass down family values along with heirlooms and tangible property. You are able to protect the people you care about from predators, creditors, family strife and months of probate proceedings. You can prepare for others to legally act on your behalf if the need arises; for a lawsuit you never saw coming; and to make the most of your assets.
Your Caring Law Firm will accommodate your needs without trying to fit you into a one-size-fits-all plan.
We craft sophisticated, layered tax and estate plans as well as brilliantly simple solutions. Whether you have a large family, or have just recently graduated, you have assets to protect!
We make Florida probate and trust administrations easier
We fully recognize the emotional challenges of preparing for the time when you will pass on your assets, values and family legacy to your heirs and loved ones. We also recognize the confusion – and even helplessness – that often occurs in families after they’ve lost a loved one, irrespective of whether all legal documents are in order.
That’s why it’s important to have legal counsel you feel comfortable with, you may confide in, and you may trust – especially for those who may be in the process of grieving while handling the affairs of a loved one who died intestate (without a will.)
We have extensive experience with Orange County, Seminole County, Volusia County, Lake County and Osceola County probate courts. We have guided clients through probate in nearly every county in Florida, and can work with you remotely as well.