Bogin, Munns & Munns P.A.
(855) 780-9986
(855) 780-9986
Click Here to Request a Consultation
Click Here to Request a Consultation
Bogin, Munns & Munns

Orlando Estate Planning Lawyers for High Net Worth Individuals

Your legal issues need our expertise. With 40+ dynamic attorneys on staff, Bogin, Munns & Munns serves Central Florida’s legal needs and treats our clients like family.
1000 Legion Place, Suite 1000, Orlando, Florida 32801 855-686-6752 View all Google Reviews here
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  1. Do You Still Need Advanced Planning With the Higher Estate Tax Exemption?
  2. Why Florida Is an Advantageous State for High Net Worth Planning
  3. What Advanced Strategies Do High Net Worth Estate Plans Use?
  4. Which Trust Fits a High Net Worth Estate?
  5. How Do You Pass a Business to the Next Generation?
  6. Do Not Overlook Portability, Even With a Large Exemption
  7. Who Handles High Net Worth Estate Planning at Our Orlando Office

If your estate involves a business, significant real estate, investment portfolios, or wealth you intend to pass across generations, an Orlando high net worth estate planning lawyer helps you protect and transfer it with intention rather than by default.

We work with affluent individuals, families, and business owners across Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties on the advanced strategies a simple will cannot address. The goal is control: over taxes, over timing, and over what your family receives.

Call our Orlando office at 407-578-9696 to schedule a confidential consultation.

Do You Still Need Advanced Planning With the Higher Estate Tax Exemption?

an eldery couple consulting an estate planing lawyer, sitting at the table checking papersYes, and here is why. As of January 1, 2026, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is $15 million per person, or $30 million for a married couple, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made that level permanent rather than letting it drop as previously scheduled. Estates above those amounts are still taxed at a top federal rate of 40 percent.

The higher exemption removed the old deadline pressure, but it did not remove the need to plan. Estates grow, business interests and real estate appreciate, and a family approaching the threshold today may cross it in a decade. The Internal Revenue Service maintains an official portal for estate and gift tax information, where you can also view annual updates and filing requirements. We build plans that stay effective as your wealth and the law evolve.

Why Florida Is an Advantageous State for High Net Worth Planning

Florida is uniquely positioned for wealth preservation due to a tax environment that omits state-level estate, inheritance, and income taxes. This absence is anchored by the Florida Constitution, which permanently prohibits these levies, ensuring that heirs receive inherited assets without state-level taxation. While federal estate taxes still apply to estates exceeding the $15 million individual threshold, Florida’s lack of supplemental state burdens simplifies administration for high-net-worth families.

Beyond taxes, Florida provides robust asset protection frameworks:

  • Homestead Protection: Under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, a primary residence is generally shielded from forced sale by judgment creditors, regardless of the property’s value.
  • Retirement & Financial Accounts: Florida Statute § 222.21(2)(a) provides broad exemptions for qualified retirement plans and IRAs, protecting these assets from creditor claims.
  • Annuities & Life Insurance: Cash values in annuity and life insurance contracts are protected under Florida Statute § 222.14, serving as an additional layer of financial security.

These advantages are powerful but technical, and capturing them requires proper structuring. We help clients position assets to take full advantage of these statutory protections as part of a comprehensive estate plan.

What Advanced Strategies Do High Net Worth Estate Plans Use?

Orange City Commercial Closing LawyerHigh net worth planning goes well beyond a will and a power of attorney. It coordinates tax planning, asset protection, and business succession into one structure designed to preserve wealth across generations.

Strategies we implement for affluent Orlando clients include:

The right combination depends on your assets, your family, and your goals. We design the structure around those specifics rather than applying a template.

Which Trust Fits a High Net Worth Estate?

Different trusts serve different purposes, and most substantial plans use more than one. The core distinction is between revocable trusts, which you control and can change, and irrevocable trusts, which offer tax and creditor protection in exchange for giving up direct control.

Trust Type Primary Purpose Removes Assets From Taxable Estate?
Revocable living trust Probate avoidance, privacy, incapacity planning No
Irrevocable trust Estate tax reduction, creditor protection Yes
Irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) Keeps life insurance proceeds out of the estate Yes
Dynasty trust Multi-generational wealth transfer Yes
Charitable remainder trust Income stream plus charitable giving and tax benefit Partially

We explain the tradeoffs of each in plain terms so you can make informed decisions about control, taxes, and protection.

How Do You Pass a Business to the Next Generation?

Business succession planning determines what happens to your company when you retire, become incapacitated, or pass away. Without a plan, a successful business can lose value fast or trigger disputes among heirs.

A well-structured succession plan can transfer ownership gradually, minimize transfer taxes through valuation strategies and gifting, and keep the business running smoothly through the transition. Buy-sell agreements, family limited partnerships, and grantor trusts are common tools. For business owners whose company is the largest asset in the estate, this planning is often the single most important piece.

Call 407-578-9696 or contact us online to discuss your estate and business planning goals.

Why Do You Need an Estate Planning Attorney?

Do Not Overlook Portability, Even With a Large Exemption

Portability lets a surviving spouse use the deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exemption, potentially preserving up to $30 million in combined shelter for the family. It is one of the most valuable and most frequently missed opportunities in estate planning.

The catch is that portability is not automatic. The executor must file a federal estate tax return (Form 706) within the required window after the first spouse’s death, even when no tax is owed. Missing that filing can forfeit millions in future tax shelter. We make sure surviving spouses and executors understand this obligation and meet it.

Who Handles High Net Worth Estate Planning at Our Orlando Office

David Pilcher

David Pilcher

David Pilcher is an estate planning and probate attorney at Bogin Munns & Munns whose legal career has been dedicated exclusively to estate planning and probate law. He focuses on comprehensive strategies that protect assets and transfer wealth efficiently, including wills, trusts, and tools such as Lady Bird deeds.

He is an active member of the Florida Bar Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, and a lifelong Floridian admitted to The Florida Bar in 1994. Before law, he earned a degree in Computer Science and worked for major companies including IBM, experience that informs his work with complex, asset-heavy estates.

Justin M. Brick is a wills, trusts, and probate attorney at Bogin Munns & Munns who is known for the precision and thoroughness of his legal documents. He founded his own estate-planning-focused firm before joining larger firms, and he believes that taking the time to word documents correctly, especially in the wills and trusts arena, pays dividends for families down the line.

Our Orlando office is at 1000 Legion Place, Suite 1000. Consultations are confidential.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Estate and tax planning depend on individual circumstances and current law. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Ready to Talk to an Orlando High Net Worth Estate Planning Attorney?

Substantial estates reward planning and punish its absence. The tools to protect your wealth, reduce taxes, and pass a business or portfolio to the next generation work best when they are put in place early and reviewed as circumstances change.

We work with high net worth individuals and families across Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties from our Orlando headquarters at 1000 Legion Place, Suite 1000.

Bogin Munns & Munns also handles probate, business law, real estate, civil litigation, and tax-related matters, giving affluent clients coordinated counsel under one roof.

Call 407-578-9696 or contact our Orlando office online to schedule a confidential consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A revocable trust can be changed or canceled during your lifetime and is used mainly for probate avoidance and privacy, but its assets remain part of your taxable estate. An irrevocable trust generally cannot be changed once established, and in exchange it can remove assets from your taxable estate and shield them from creditors. Most substantial plans use both types for different purposes.

  • Lifetime gifts move assets, and their future appreciation, out of your taxable estate. The annual gift tax exclusion ($19,000 per recipient in 2026) lets you give to any number of people each year without using your lifetime exemption. Larger gifts draw against the lifetime exemption but can still be worthwhile because they remove future growth from the estate. We structure gifting to match your broader plan.

  • Estate planning documents should be reviewed whenever you change your state of residence, because estate tax, asset protection, and probate rules vary significantly by state. Florida’s lack of a state estate tax and its strong homestead protection make it favorable, but documents drafted elsewhere may not take full advantage. We review and update plans for clients establishing Florida residency.

  • At least every three to five years, and sooner after major life or financial events: a marriage, divorce, birth, death, business sale, significant change in asset value, or a change in tax law. Because tax law affecting large estates changes periodically, plans built around older assumptions can become outdated. We offer plan reviews to keep your structure current and effective.

  • Yes, and privacy is a common priority for high net worth families. Assets that pass through probate become part of the public court record, while assets held in a properly funded revocable trust transfer privately, outside of probate. For families who value discretion, trust-based planning keeps the size and disposition of the estate out of public view.

  • Yes. Even without federal estate tax exposure, high net worth families need probate avoidance, asset protection, incapacity planning, and coordinated beneficiary strategy. Estates also grow over time, and business or real estate appreciation can push you over the threshold. A plan built now can adapt as your wealth and the law change.

  • Florida offers strong protections, including an unlimited homestead exemption and protection for certain trusts and retirement accounts. Additional tools like irrevocable trusts, family limited partnerships, and properly structured LLCs can shield assets when set up correctly and in advance. Asset protection must be in place before a claim arises, not after.

  • Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax, so the only concern is the federal estate tax, which applies to estates above $15 million per person as of 2026. For estates above that level, planning strategies can reduce or eliminate the exposure. We assess your specific estate to determine whether federal tax is a factor.

  • A dynasty trust is designed to pass wealth across multiple generations while minimizing transfer taxes at each generational level. Assets held in the trust can benefit children, grandchildren, and beyond without being taxed as they pass down, subject to the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption. Florida’s trust laws make it a favorable jurisdiction for these long-term structures.