Lake Monroe Estate Planning Lawyers

Attorney Melora G. Vandersluis has been a resident of Central Florida since 2012. She graduated cum laude from Barry University School of Law where she earned the distinction of “Outstanding Senior Editor” on Law Review and competed nationally while on the Moot Court Honors Board. She was awarded the highest grade in Torts I, Torts II, and Mediation. She completed an externship in federal court with The Honorable John Antoon II. She is a Florida Supreme Court certified county mediator. Prior to attending law school, she served in Higher Education for 15 years as an English professor, department chair, and associate...

Born in Brooklyn, New York, a Florida resident since 1971, graduate of the University of Central Florida, Florida State University and the University of Florida, admitted to the Florida Bar in 1983, admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1992, and has practiced law for over 37 years.

Established in 1990.

Protecting Individuals, Families and Businesses for over 29 years! The Mendez Law Firm is dedicated to protecting our clients. Every day, we help people like you get their lives back on track by fighting their legal battles for them.

Specialties:
Serious Personal Injury Auto, Motorcycle & Truck Accidents, Slip & Fall Accidents, Wrongful Death, Family Estate Planning, Wills & Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Asset Protection, Bankruptcy

Since 2000, I have helped business owners, professionals, and other people understand how the law affects them, their businesses, and their families, I have helped them deal with problems, and I have helped them realize opportunities. I've helped people with a wide range of legal matters including business ownership, mergers and acquisitions, private placements, commercial transactions, joint ventures, business succession planning, wills, trusts and estate planning, estate tax planning, asset protection planning, trust administration, probate administration, and federal and state taxation.

Todd Mazenko is a decorated U.S. Navy veteran who received his law degree from the University of Florida (Cum Laude). Attorney Mazenko is the founder and owner of the Mazenko Elder Law Firm located in Mount Dora, Florida. His law practice focuses on estate planning, probate, Medicaid Planning, and will contests and trust litigation. Attorney Mazenko is the chairman of the Advent Health Waterman Foundation Board of Directors, is a member of the Christian Legal Society and is active in his local Church. He also serves as a volunteer for several Veteran’s groups including the Wounded Warrior Project...

Wendy A. Mara attended Stetson University and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1993
Ms. Mara taught language arts in high school for 13 years. While teaching full time, she earned her MBA degree from the University of Central Florida in 2006. Deciding to pursue a legal career, she entered law school at Florida Coastal School of Law where she graduated in the top 10 percent of her class. While in law school, she was a teaching and research assistant, earned the Dean’s Certificate for Pro Bono Work and became an award winning oralist for the Jessup International Moot Court Competition....

Matthew is a native of Florida and Brevard County and was raised locally in Merritt Island. Matthew has an extensive and diverse education which includes a bachelor’s degree in accounting, a master’s degree in taxation, and a law degree. Prior to practicing law Matthew acquired his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license and worked in public and private accounting for several years before entering law school. Matthew’s unique background in law, accounting, and taxation provide a unique perspective that is unmatched by most attorneys. Matthew has been located in the same office in Cocoa for the past 15 years practicing...

Katherine Barski is an associate attorney with the Central Florida law firm of Bogin, Munns & Munns. Her primary areas of practice are Estate planning, Probate, Litigation, Elder Law, and Real Estate. She received her M.B.A. from Nova Southeastern University (1993) and her J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans School of Law (1996). Ms. Barski has held the distinction of SuperLawyer since 2016.

Growing up in Central Florida, Mr. Bailey decided to stay local when pursuing a higher education. Attending the University of Central Florida, Mr. Bailey obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice in 2012. While completing this degree and afterwards, Mr. Bailey worked for a large firm handling Bankruptcy cases for those who had fallen on hard times, especially those caused by the mortgage crisis. Mr. Bailey was inspired to go to law school by the work and dedication of the attorneys he worked with for years. Mr. Bailey obtained his Juris Doctorate in December 2016.
Mr. Bailey focuses his...

Elan is a graduate of NYU School of Law (Masters in Tax Law), Emory University School of Law (Juris Doctorate), and Florida State University. Elan has devoted her practice (over 16 years) to estate planning, estate administration, tax and business law. She is respected by her peers and loved by her clients for her compassionate, knowledgeable approach to each matter she handles.

Before becoming an attorney, I spent 7 years in the insurance and financial services industry. I became frustrated with the fact my “client” was not the person I was selling insurance or financial services to but was instead the company for which I worked. I decided to become a lawyer because the client – the person I represent – is the one to whom I owe my loyalty. From the moment I entered law school I knew I wanted to practice estate planning and related areas of law because they were directly related to my prior work experience;...

A native of Ormond Beach, Mr. Shapiro is a proud graduate of Seabreeze High School. Mr. Shapiro received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Florida International University where he finished ranked in the top ten in his class. As a law student, he was an associate member of his school’s law review and had the honor of having his comment selected for publication. He also served as a teaching assistant for his law school’s legal research and writing program; was an intern at the Fifth District Court of Appeal; and was the recipient of book awards in Legal Research and...

My background as a chiropractic physician gives me a clear understanding of the human body, injury, medical treatment and long term consequences of injuries. This knowledge allows me be an effective advocate for my clients. I handle matters where the law intersects with healthcare.

Legal Practice Areas: Family Law Business Law Estate Planning Probate Civil Appeals (Appellate Law) Landlord/Tenant Pet Trust Guardianships Litigation Percentage: 90% of Practice Devoted to Litigation Bar Admissions: Florida, 2008 Education: University of Florida Levin College of Law Gainesville, Florida J.D. cum laude – 2008 University of Florida Gainesville, Florida B.A. – 2004 Major: English Professional Associations and Memberships: Eighth Judicial...

I am a Board Certified Elder Law attorney practicing primarily in the areas of Estate Planning, Medicaid Asset Protection, Probate, Guardianship, Family Law, and Bankruptcy. These are all areas which affect senior citizens. I have 3 locations to best serve my clients: The Villages, Orlando, and Volusia County, FL

Licensed to Practice Law in Florida Court and Federal Court

Juris Doctor (J.D.)
University of North Dakota School of Law

Masters of Business Administration (MBA)
University of Idaho College of Business

Educational Leadership
Sierra Nevada College

Bachelors of Science in Accounting (B.S.)
Brigham Young University - Idaho

Florida Probate Litigation and Estate Planning Attorney Thomas Upchurch grew up in Daytona Beach. Prior to returning to the Daytona Beach area to join the law firm of Every, Stack & Upchurch, he was an Assistant State Attorney in Pinellas County. Mr. Upchurch is an experienced Florida Probate Litigation and Estate Planning attorney who dedicates his practice to ensuring his clients receive competent advice and assistance in dealing with their legal matters. As a Florida Probate Litigation law firm, Every, Stack & Upchurch is qualified to handle your probate litigation case, whether it be a will contest, undue influence, fraud or...

Jennifer started her law practice 17 years ago, with a primary practice areas in real estate, foreclosure & collections and wills & probate. Jennifer desires to educate and empower her clients.

With more than 33 years in practice, Attorney Randal L. Schecter has extensive experience in asset protection, Medicaid planning, estate planning, powers of attorney, probate and Elder Law. Attorney Schecter has built a highly respected Elder Law firm serving the Central Florida area. A compassionate lawyer, Mr. Schecter is committed to delivering the highest quality legal and personal services to his clients and their families. Always responsive and attentive, Mr. Schecter helps sort through the confusing array of decisions encountered when families have to place their loved ones in long term care facilities. He understands that this is one of...

Attorney Charlie Douglas represents clients across the state of Florida for legal matters in many different areas. He has extensive experience in Family Law, Estate Planning, Probate, Business Matters, and Personal Injury. Charlie also owns Douglas Law Firm, which is a full-service firm dedicated to serving communities across Florida. The firm is equipped with a team of attorneys who bring years of knowledge and experience in many legal matters including Family and Divorce law, Criminal Defense, Business Law, Guardianships, and more. Prior to Charlie opening Douglas Law Firm, he gained national recognition for his fight to free a Texas man,...

Handles cases involving Divorce, Child Support, Time-Sharing, Modifications, Alimony and Relocation in the Family Law field, since 1995. Also counsel with clients for Estate Planning, including Wills, Trusts, Power of Attorney, and Health Care Documents, since 1996. Handles Probate of Estates since 1996. Handle both Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy cases, and other debt assistance. Am admitted to Florida Bar as required of all Florida attorneys, Orange County Bar Association, Brevard County Bar Association, US District Court for Middle District of Florida and since 2012 United State Supreme Court. Represent children in dependency court in...

Experienced, wise, and compassionate.  From thirty plus years of being a circuit court judge and an attorney, Linda is not your ordinary attorney. She uses common sense and practical advice for you to resolve legal problems as quickly, saving relationships, money and time.

Her law practice caters to individuals with legal issues related to life transitions and caters to individuals who understand how important it is to resolve legal issues that threaten the security of their family, home, and business. Her knowledge and experience from serving as both judge and attorney gives her a unique perspective that enables her to project...

Mary Trotter is a Florida Bar board certified specialist in elder law. Her practice focuses on wills, trusts, special needs planning, and other areas of concern to today’s senior population. Ms. Trotter addresses delicate legal matters with a unique combination of compassion and expertise, qualities that have earned her great respect among her clients and the local community. A past president of the Seminole County Bar Association and a Department of Veteran’s Affairs Accredited Attorney, Ms. Trotter is a popular public speaker and community educator on elder law matters.

Ms. Trotter Graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

I have worked for Finra, a financial regulator; LeClairRyan; and the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia. I have been recognized as a Technology Litigation Fellow by the Center for Legal and Court Technology, in Williamsburg, Virginia and was selected to participate in the Center’s annual lab trial. I focus on corporate law and estate planning for the small business owner. During my time at Finra, I worked in Registration and Disclosure, developing policies relating to past criminal sanctions, as well as assisting in decisions regarding expungment of customer complaints against registered brokers. While at LeClairRyan, I...

Attorney Heather Barry grew up in Napa Valley, California as the youngest of three children. She pursued a variety of interests including Girl Scouts, dance, music, baseball and gymnastics. In high school Ms. Barry participated in Air Force ROTC, campus leadership and had the privilege to serve as a prosecutor in her government class mock trial where she first got her first exposure to law. Ms. Barry moved to Orlando, Florida in 2004 for college where she majored in Entertainment Business at Full Sail University and minored in Recording Arts. During her degree program Ms. Barry took several law...

Attorney Patrick L. Smith was born in Lakeland, Florida. He graduated from Lake Region High School and went on to receive degrees in Political Science and Economics from Stetson University. He received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Prior to coming to Pippen & Associates, Patrick Smith worked at the Walt Disney World East coast tax department from 2002-2003. Patrick Smith is currently an attorney practicing in the fields of estate planning, corporations, and charitable giving. In addition to his current position as a partner at Pippen & Associates, he serves on the...

Attorney Wheelock has been in private practice since 1986, he provides services in numerous areas of law. With his military background Mr. Wheelock represents service personnel around the globe in military law, divorces with miliatry issues and in military justice matters.