Shelly Wald

Ms. Wald combines a sophisticated approach with proven techniques to help clients meet their goals for the future. She works patiently with those clients who have very detailed and specific expectations and can work efficiently with those clients who need more guidance. To protect her clients' assets, she builds custom plans using a creative mix of revocable, irrevocable, charitable, insurance and dynasty (generation skipping) trusts to optimize the personal and tax goals of the client. For those who are suited to more resourceful techniques, she is experienced with numerous tools such as family limited partnerships, sales to grantor trusts and Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs).

Ms. Wald also administers estates, represents trustees, beneficiaries, and creditors of estates, and prepares estate tax returns, gift tax returns and accountings. Couples turn to her for help with residence agreements, and pre-marital agreements, and families also turn to her for help with passing down family businesses, obtaining private letter rulings from the IRS, advance directives (such as health care surrogates) and elder law issues.  Ms. Wald is also experienced in establishing private foundations and public charities and has successfully obtained tax exempt status for those charitable organizations.

Ms. Wald shares her legal expertise with others in the industry.  She is a co-author of Florida Estate Planning, part of West’s Florida Practice Series, which is published by Thompson-West, the preeminent publisher of legal treatises.  She is also author of chapters in various continuing legal education books for attorneys including chapters entitled Spousal Rights – Exempt Property, Allowances and Elective Share and Using Trusts and Powers of Attorney as Estate Planning Tools.  Ms. Wald also lectures to accountants, financial planners and other attorneys on various estate planning and estate administration issues.