If you have yet to create an estate plan, there is no time like the present to get started. A well thought out estate plan can accomplish a number of important goals, including creating a framework for the division of your estate assets upon your death, protecting you and your family in the event of your incapacity, and ensuring that your loved ones are provided for when you are gone. If you are a resident of Port St. Lucie, Florida, the estate planning attorneys at Kulas & Crawford would be honored to help you create a personalized plan that will accomplish all of your estate planning goals.
Port St. Lucie, Florida
Located in St. Lucie county along the eastern shore of Florida and covering about 75 square miles, the City of Port. St. Lucie is home to approximately 165,000 year around residents.
Until the 1950s, the area now known as Port St. Lucie was a largely uninhabited tract of land composed of a fishing camp along with a few farms and a handful of businesses near U.S. 1. In 1958, with a budget of $5, the General Development Corporation (GDC) purchased the River Park development and 40,000 acres along the North Fork of the St. Lucie River. In 1959, the GDC opened its first bridge over the St. Lucie River, allowing for direct automobile access to the up and coming Port St. Lucie. Just two years later, in 1961, there were 250 homes in the new city prompting the GDC to request that the state legislature to incorporate 70 miles, along with the River Park settlement, into the City of Port St. Lucie. Port St. Lucie was officially born on April 27, 1961.
Core Communities (CC) acquired and began planning what would become St. Lucie West at the end of the 20th century. Although the original plan was to construct about 14,000 homes over a 20-year period, that plan didn’t fit into the city’s overall strategist growth plan. Consequently, CC began building business sectors and places of entertainment and leisure as well. The construction during the 1990s brought an influx of jobs to the area, causing a population boom in Port St. Lucie around the turn of the 21st century. In 2006, CC started development of its newest community, Tradition, which is located west of Interstate 95. There they built around 13,000,000 square feet of commercial area, and room for over 18,000 residences. According to CC’s website, Tradition is the largest fully entitled residential development area from the tip of Interstate 95 to the Canada–U.S. border. The community is modeled after a 1950s-era town and holds festivities year-round. In 2008, Tradition and Core Communities welcomed the Florida Center of Innovation, a research laboratory and campus, which has a building in Tradition for two biotech and life science companies, the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and the Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute. This campus alone is projected to bring more than 30,000 jobs to the city of Port St. Lucie. Tradition was also chosen as the site of HGTV’s Green Home 2009, and one of America’s best 100 communities.
Kulas & Crawford in the Port St. Lucie, Florida Community
At the Kulas & Crawford, our goal is to create lifelong relationships with our clients who live and work in the Port St. Lucie community because estate planning, when done properly, is a lifelong process. As you move through the various stages of your life, and your estate becomes more complicated and complex, changes will need to be made to your estate plan in order to keep up. We hope to be there with you to ensure those changes are properly incorporated into your estate plan.
Estate planning is not something that is completed in one sitting and then forgotten – at least not when it is done properly. Instead, your estate plan is something that will need to be reviewed and updated throughout the course of your life as your needs and objectives change. When you first sit down to create an estate plan your primary concern may be simply ensuring that you do not leave behind an intestate estate. Consequently, a Last Will and Testament may be all you need. As you move through the various stages of your life, however, that Will may become inadequate to protect your assets and your loved ones. As such, you may find that you need to include additional components into your estate plan, such as an incapacity planning component or probate avoidance strategies. A trust may be needed to protect your minor child’s inheritance. As the value of your estate grows, you will need to consider tax avoidance and asset protection tools as well. Finally, as you look toward your “Golden Years,” you will want to incorporate your retirement plans into your estate plan and add Medicaid planning to your comprehensive estate plan along with funeral and burial planning tools to ensure that your final wishes are honored. At Kulas & Crawford, we would be honored to be with you throughout your life’s journey to help ensure that your estate planning needs, wishes, and objectives are fulfilled.
Contact Us
For more information, or if you have specific questions or concerns regarding estate planning, or wish to get started on your plan, contact the experienced Port St. Lucie, Florida estate planning attorneys at Kulas & Crawford by calling (772) 398-0720 to schedule an appointment.
