Phillip William Gunthert

Phillip Gunthert is an experienced Estate Planning & Probate attorney based in Central Florida who handles matters throughout the state of Florida.

After working for another firm, he founded his practice in 2011, with the guiding principles of wanting to provide accessible counsel to those seeking guidance & direction regarding both advance planning of estate matters and probate matters, in a down-to-earth and understandable manner. His testimonials endorse his commitment to his clients and his area of expertise.

When Phillip is not practicing law, he can be found spending time with his wife & 2 young children, catching up with rugby or watching Sci Fi.

• General Practice

• Free Consultation
  Free general consultations; if documents submitted for review, hourly billing will apply at a reduced rate to take into account the preparation time and consultation time.
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  Hourly and Flat-fee $0-$350 per hour

Florida

Since 2011

Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law

(2004)

The Florida Bar  # 0087575

Member

Current

Q. Property willed in Florida. Attorney demands high fees. Legal aid referred in VA. Seeking guidance on probate and fees.

June 1, 2025

A: You will need to get a probate attorney in the state where the property is located, if the property is in Florida then that would be a Florida Attorney. The primary probate would be done in the state where the person lived and had their Homestead. The type of probate required and time involved will also need to be determined, Formal Probate, Summary Administration, Ancillary Administration, etc. Fees can vary drastically from law office to law office; it is not uncommon for me to see probate fees between $400 to $600 per hour here in Florida depending on the law office. Whether $5000 to $8000 is reasonable would need to be determined based on the amount of probate work that is required and additional specifics you would need to provide so that a probate attorney could better assess precisely what needs to be done. I will note, special filings are necessary at times related to Florida Homestead, Exempt property, Spousal Share, rights of children under 18 and so forth, so it does matter. Usually, if a probate is under $75000 excluding the Homestead property a more efficient probate can be used in the form of Summary Administration which is quicker and typically less costly. ... Read More

Q. How to change beneficiary and executor in a revocable trust in Florida?

May 29, 2025

A: Depending on how old your trust is and how substantial the changes the changes are that you need will determine whether a restatement of trust or amendment of trust will be necessary, you will have to work with a Florida Estate Planning Attorney.

Generally, the restatement of a trust will completely replace the original trust document with a new one and an amendment of the trust will only modify specific provisions of your existing trust documents. You normally would us the restatement of the trust when substantial and significant changes are needed and or necessary or if the trsut you have is substantially outdated. On the other hand, the amendment of trust can be used and is most useful when relatively minor changes and updates need to be made to your trust documents.

I would further add, based on the time that has passed, you may want to look at and review and possibly update your Will, Living Will, Power of Attorney, Florida Healthcare Surrogate, HIPAA Waivers, Nomination of Guardian and so forth if needed and necessary. ... Read More

Q. Can a lien be placed on a Florida home owned as "Tenants by Entirety" due to husband's medical bills?

May 28, 2025

A: Medical bills cannot be attached to a property held as tenants by entireties if debt is only against one spouse and if it is Homestead there is no way to attach to such a home either as it is protected, if death occurs, the property is also protected in Probate.