A considerable amount of thought and planning will undoubtedly go into the creation of your comprehensive estate plan. Consequently, you should put the same amount of thought into choosing an estate planning attorney to help you create your plan. The estate planning attorneys at Stivers Law realize the important choice you make when you select an estate planning attorney and we would be honored to be chosen to help you create, or update, your Miami, Florida estate plan.
History of Miami
Located in Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami sprawls across about 56 square miles in the northeastern corner of the county. As of the 2020 Census, Miami had a population of 442,241 residents, making it the second-most populous city in the State of Florida. As the heart of the Miami Metropolitan Area, Miami is also part of the nation’s ninth largest and world’s 34th largest metropolitan area with a population of over six million people.
The area that eventually became the City of Miami was occupied by the Tequesta tribe as far back as 500–600 BCE. When Europeans arrived on the continent of North America, the Spanish claimed the area now known as Florida for the country of Spain. Florida remained under the control of the Spanish or British until it was ceded to the United States in 1821. For much of the next two decades, the area was the center of fighting in the Seminole Wars.
Founded by Julia Tuttle (the “mother of Miami”), Miami is the only major city in the entire U.S. founded by a woman. Tuttle was a wealthy Cleveland native who purchased and farmed the land on which the City of Miami would eventually develop. As a citrus framer, Tuttle took the opportunity presented by the Great Freeze of 1894–1895 to convince railroad tycoon Henry Flagler to extend his Florida East Coast Railway to the Miami area. When the city was officially incorporated in 1896, only about 300 people lived in the city.
In the early part of the 21st century, African Americans and Bahamian migrants made up about 40 percent of Miami’s population. During the Florida land boom of the 1920s, however, northerners began moving to the city, resulting in significant growth in both population and infrastructure. The 1926 Miami Hurricane and the Great Depression both caused a noticeable pause in the development of the city. Miami experienced an increase in population during World War II when the city’s ideal location on the southern coast of Florida made it a perfect place for a submarine base and yet again following the Cuban revolution in 1959. By the turn of the 21st century, Miami was well-established as a major international, financial, and cultural city.
Miami Today
Today, Miami is home to the largest urban economy in Florida as well as the third-largest skyline in the United States with over 300 high-rises, 58 of which exceed 491 ft. Miami’s Latin roots remain strong with Hispanics accounting for 70 percent of the city’s population. One of the largest concentrations of international banks in the United States can be found in downtown Miami along with numerous large national and international companies. Jackson Memorial Hospital, the nation’s largest hospital, and Port Miami, the busiest cruise port in the world can also be found in Miami.
In the last several decades, Miami has also become an internationally known tourist destination, ranking second in the U.S. only to New York City. More than 16 million visitors arrive in Miami every year, adding billions of dollars to the economy and putting Miami in the top 20 cities worldwide by international visitor spending. Along with the desire to spend time on the world-famous South Beach, visitors come to Miami for events such as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Miami, to shop in the upscale boutiques and cultural markets, and to enjoy the nightlife.
Stivers Law in the Miami Community
Creating a comprehensive estate plan is one of the most personal, yet important, endeavors you will undertake over the course of your lifetime. At Stivers Law, we understand what your estate plan means to you and to those you love. We strive to create lifelong partnerships with our Miami, Florida clients so that they feel comfortable discussing their sensitive and personal legal issues with us. Given the importance of your estate plan, we understand that choosing the right attorney to assist you is imperative and we would be honored to be that choice.
Estate planning is somewhat unique within the law in that it is not a legal matter that is ever truly “resolved.” On the contrary, for your estate plan to be successful, it needs to be an ongoing venture that is continuously reviewed and updated to reflect changes that occur in your life. As a young, single, adult just starting your career, your estate planning concerns may be limited to a Last Will and Testament that ensures you do not leave behind an intestate estate. When you marry or become a parent for the first time, you should take the time to update your estate plan to include your spouse and/or child. You may also wish to incorporate new components into your plan, such as incapacity planning and probate avoidance. Hopefully, the value of your estate will grow along with your family, prompting the need to include asset protection strategies into your plan as well. Once you have a well-established family and career, you should begin to focus more on the future by creating a retirement planning component within your estate plan. As you get closer to actually retiring you will also want to discuss the need for Medicaid planning and funeral planning with your estate planning attorney.
Our hope at Stivers Law is that we can be there with you as you pass through the various phases of your life to help ensure that your estate plan protects you, your assets, and your loved ones.
Contact Us
If you have additional questions about estate planning, contact the experienced Miami, Florida estate planning lawyers at Stivers Law by calling (305) 456-3255 to schedule your appointment today.
