Family Law

• Guardianship
  Settlement Preservation Trusts (SPTs) can be useful for receiving and managing settlements when a lawsuit claimant is unable to receive or manage the settlement funds. For example, SPTs are often used as a less restrictive alternative to guardianship when settling the claims of minor children. As plaintiff attorneys know, parents are only authorized to settle claims and receive settlements up to certain statutory amounts as the natural guardians of their minor children. If a settlement exceeds the statutory amount, a guardian ad litem (GAL) or legal guardian must be appointed by the Court to protect the child’s interests. Depending on the circumstances and needs of the child, the GAL can recommend that a SPT be used as a less restrictive measure to guardianship.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Settlement planning is a process that can be summed up as optimizing all the elements of a personal injury settlement for the claimant’s benefit.
• Medicaid Planning

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Estate planning is the process of planning for the orderly management and transfer of your property. Estate planning is for everyone because everyone has an estate, whether they consider themselves wealthy or not.
• Wills
  A Testamentary Trust is a trust created through a Last Will and Testament.  This means that the trust does not come into existence until the Last Will and Testament that creates the Trust is probated.
• Trusts
  John Staunton is an attorney based in Clearwater, Florida, and he is a graduate of Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Mr. Staunton’s practice areas include Special Needs Trusts, Special Needs Trust Administration, 468B Qualified Settlement Funds, Structured Settlement Planning, and planning for Medicaid and other Government Benefits.  He also provides Litigation Support relative to settling government liens and preserving government assistance eligibility, both in Florida and other States.  Mr. Staunton’s memberships include the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the National College of Probate Judges, the Florida Justice Association, the Elder Law Section of the Florida Bar, and the American Bar Association.  He is past President of the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys, Past Chair of the Florida Bar’s Elder Law Section, and a past President for the Tampa Bay Trial Lawyers Association. He is also incoming President of the Thomas E. Penick, Jr. Elder Law Inn of Court, which is the country’s first Elder Law specialty  Inn of Court.
• Power of Attorney
• Probate