JULIAN H. CASAL, ESQ
Julian focuses his practice on estate planning, probate, commercial transactions and corporate law. He has made regular radio appearances on WQBA and 670 AM La Poderosa in Miami, and television appearances on Telemiami. Before entering private practice, Julian was a legal intern in the Probate Division of the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Miami-Dade County.

Profile: Over the past 5 years as Managing Partner of Casal & Moreno, I’ve cultivated a practice that focuses on Estate Planning, Probate, Commercial Transactions, and Corporate Law. My focus as a Miami lawyer includes commercial transactions, asset protection, business succession planning, and wealth preservation. My practice allows me to help clients succeed in acquiring and accumulating wealth, and leaving it to future generations.

I work with Business Owners and their families: including CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Foreign Investors, and Executives in Miami, South Florida and Internationally. The clients my law firm helps typically fall into 4 main groups: Visionaries whose organizations are doing well, and whose families are thriving, but who haven’t yet prepared for the future of their business or their estate with the proper legal documentation. The families of business owners and successful entrepreneurs who have passed away without properly planning for the distribution of their estate. Individuals concerned about issues of guardianship, whether that be guardianship of a minor or an elder. Foreign investors coming to the US to start or buy a business, but need help navigating the proper structure to avoid huge tax bills later.

Some of the things I can help you with as a Miami lawyer include: Establishing a Will or Trust to prepare for the future of your business and family and ensuring your wishes are carried out regarding the distribution of your assets. The creation of advanced directives like Durable Power of Attorney, Living Wills and Health Care Surrogate Designation to ensure your wishes are respected in the situation that you become somehow incapacitated. Execution of a Will under probate for a loved one without proper estate planning. As counsel for the executor, I handle certain duties not designated by Wills or Trusts such as identification and safekeeping of the decedent’s assets and notification and payment of creditors. Guidance and counsel during the stressful situation of facing Guardianship Court. I can help you understand what it means to have someone declared legally incapacitated and explain and explore options for guardianship with you.

Navigation of the estate implications for foreign nationals coming to the United States to start, buy or sell a business or invest in real estate. My law firm has helped hundreds of individuals and their families plan ahead for the future of their businesses and assets and navigate complex legal situations of all types. With my expertise, I can help you structure your estate correctly, build your business to be legally sound, and help you receive am inheritance from someone who didn’t set up their estate properly. I’m proud to cultivate an atmosphere that is both deeply knowledgeable but also very approachable. Despite having handled highly complex cases successfully, I aim to consistently be informative, reassuring, understanding, and business oriented with my clients. My focus: Estate Planning, Probate Administration, Living Wills, Durable Power of Attorney, Corporate Law, Execution of a Will, Wills and Trusts, Florida Probate Rules, Probate and Estate, Probate of a Will, Elder Law, Probate Court, Foreign Investors, Asset Protection, Business Succession Planning, Buy Sell Agreements.

Areas of Practice:

Probate
Have you thought about how your assets are going to be distributed after your death? Probably not! We know it can be a difficult topic to approach. While no one really likes to think about death, there are many important things you need to know about the legal process surrounding wills and probate. Here is how a probate attorney can help. Probate is the name of the legal process of how your assets are distributed after your death. The process can happen in two ways: Testate, which means the person died with a will. or intestate, meaning the person died without a will. There are many things that you probably don’t think about on a daily basis that will need to be handled in the intestate probate of a will if proper estate planning is not put into place. The executor is in charge of handling all duties. These duties include:

  • the identification and safekeeping of all the decedent’s assets,
  • notification of the heirs,
  • notification and payment of creditors,
  • payment of taxes and administrative expenses,
  • and distribution of the assets to the beneficiaries.

Simple estates, in which there is no litigation or complicated issues such as having to file estate tax returns, comprise the majority of cases. The probate process for these estates takes about six months. More complex estates can take about one to two years to administer. A shorter process, known as Summary Administration is available if the person has been deceased for more than two years, or the value of the assets is less than $75,000. There are many people and organizations your probate attorney will coordinate, depending on the facts of the situation:

  • Clerk of the circuit court in the county in which the decedent lived at the time of their death.
  • Circuit court judge.
  • The personal representative (or executor).
  • Probate Attorney providing legal advice to the personal representative throughout the probate process.
  • People and organizations filing claims in the probate proceeding relative to debts incurred by the decedent. An example may include credit card issuers and health care providers.
  • The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), regarding federal income taxes that the decedent and their estate may owe. In the event of federal gift, estate or generation-skipping transfer tax matters the IRS will also get involved.

For further inquiries regarding the probate process or for a consultation please contact us.

Estate Planning
If you haven’t already begun thinking about how your estate will be distributed and cared for after your death, then you’re leaving a lot to chance on the table regarding your assets, investments and family. An Estate Planning Attorney can help. Estate Planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the disposal of your estate. There are a variety of legal documents used to complete this process. The most common are Wills and Trusts.

  • Will: A will is the most straightforward of all estate planning documents. In a will, you state who your beneficiaries will be and who will administer your estate. A will begins to function after one’s passing. Then, the Will must be admitted to Court through a Probate Administration. All of the assets will pass to the beneficiaries as stated in the Will.
  • Trust: A trust is a legal document in which a trustee holds legal title to a specific property. The property is to be administered for the benefit of the beneficiaries named in the trust. A Trust can either be revocable or irrevocable. You choose who the trustee will be. A trust differs from a will in a few keys ways. First, the trust begins to function once it’s executed. Also, if funded correctly, a trust does not require a lengthy and costly Probate Administration.

There are also advanced directives like Durable Power of Attorney, Living Wills and Health Care Surrogate Designation. These legal documents are tools by which you can designate another person to make medical and financial decisions on your behalf in case you are unable to make decisions for yourself in the future. An estate planning attorney can help you to select the right way to plan.

  • Durable Power of Attorney: A durable power of attorney a unique power of attorney in that it remains effective if a person becomes incapacitated. This is accomplished by specific language within the document that provides for the survival of the power. These documents are used by the attorney-in-fact to handle decision making for the incapacitated person. Durable powers of attorney are a good tool to try and avoid a guardianship case.
  • Living Wills: In order to specify your wishes for care in the event of an end-stage condition, terminal condition or if you are ever in a permanent vegetative state, A living will must be established. This document allows you to state whether or not you wish to have life-prolonging medical procedures administered if you are somehow incapacitated. Living wills can help remove trauma and stress for loved ones who may be left to make those decisions without your guidance.
  • Health Care Surrogate Designation: This document allows you to choose someone to make medical decisions for you in the event you cannot make those decisions yourself. This document is limited to health care decisions only. These documents help one avoid a potentially lengthy, costly, and litigated guardianship process. They allow the person to make the decisions on their future care during their lifetime and relieve stress on the family in what are very difficult situations for all involved.

By working with an estate planning attorney now, you can avoid additional expenses and stress on your family after your death. We know that Estate Planning is a personal matter. Everyone’s situation is unique. The planning process begins with a thorough discussion and analysis about your family, marital status, and the assets you own. For further inquiries or a consultation, please contact us.