Estate planning for Ocala and Marion County.

The same plan, wherever you live in Florida

Florida law is the same in Ocala as it is in Gainesville, so the plan is the same too. It starts with the documents that speak for you while you are alive but unable: a durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate designation, and a living will. Then a trust, if one fits your life, and a will that speaks last.

I explain each one in plain language on the Estate Planning page, in the order I take them.

For horse owners

Marion County is horse country, and a horse can easily outlive the person who cares for it. Florida law allows a trust for the care of an animal during the animal's lifetime (section 736.0408, Florida Statutes). It can name who takes over, set aside money for board, feed, and veterinary care, and leave the instructions your horses need.

The documents that speak for you while you are alive matter here too. If you are in a hospital, someone has to be able to pay the farrier, call the vet, and get into the barn. I wrote a short card for horse owners that keeps those names in one place: the Horse Owner's Emergency Card.

If an estate is settled in Marion County

When someone dies as a resident of Marion County, any probate is opened there, in Florida's Fifth Judicial Circuit. A plan built around a funded trust can keep much of that out of court. Where probate is still needed, the official offices are listed on the Marion County resource page of my Emergency Manual® Resource Hub.

Part of The Villages is in Marion County

The Villages spans Marion, Sumter, and Lake Counties. If you live there, I have a page written for you: startwithbunn.com/villages.

How we work together

Most of our work happens by video or phone, so you do not have to drive anywhere. When it is time to sign, we hold a Signing Party, where your documents are signed, witnessed, and notarized with every formality Florida law requires. Depending on where you live, I attend in person or direct the signing with witnesses and a notary near you.