Elder Law in Coral Gables: the Local Picture
Coral Gables has a median age of 39 and 19 percent over 65, younger than Florida overall. Planning demand in this community of 49,802 is shaped by high property values. A median home value of $1,089,900 in Miami-Dade County makes Florida homestead protection and domicile central to the plan.
With a median age around 39, Coral Gables has the families elder law is built for, aging parents who want to stay in control, protect the home, and pay for care without losing everything, and adult children trying to help, often from another state. We handle all of it wherever you are.
Families here search for this under different names, whether a geriatric attorney, a senior care lawyer, an elder care planning attorney, or simply an attorney for the elderly, and it is all the same work, protecting an aging parent’s home, savings, and right to decide for themselves.
Long-Term Care and Medicaid
Skilled nursing in Florida commonly runs several thousand dollars a month and up, and Medicare doesn’t cover long-term custodial care. Nursing-home Medicaid can, but giving assets away to “qualify” usually backfires under the five-year look-back. There are legitimate ways to protect the home and savings, whether you’re planning ahead or already in a crisis. See Medicaid planning → · check eligibility →
Protecting the Home
The homestead is the family’s biggest asset and is generally exempt for Medicaid eligibility. The real risk is estate recovery after death. A lady bird deed keeps the home out of probate and beyond recovery while your parent keeps full control. See how the home is protected →
Avoiding a Guardianship
If a parent loses capacity with no plan, the family’s only route is a court guardianship, which is slow, public, and expensive. A durable power of attorney, a health-care surrogate, a living will, and a HIPAA authorization, signed while your parent is competent, are the documents that block it. The medical ones are what Florida law calls advance directives, and this whole step is the part of elder law people call incapacity planning. If you have been searching for a guardianship lawyer in Miami-Dade County, start with the comparison, because most families need the document a parent can still sign, not a court case. Guardianship vs. power of attorney → · See the full elder-law guide →
Helping a Coral Gables parent from anywhere.
A free consultation maps the care, the home, and the documents, by phone or video.
Book a free consultationNotary Services in Coral Gables
The firm prepares your deed or trust and most clients sign from home by online notarization, with the firm arranging the notary and the two witnesses by video. Some people prefer to sign on paper in person. A Florida deed must be signed in front of two witnesses and acknowledged before a notary, so you need to bring two adult witnesses who are not named in the deed. Do not count on the store to supply witnesses. Call the store first to confirm a notary is on duty that day.
| Store | Address | Phone | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| The UPS Store #16538 Blocks South Of 8th Street | 1825 Ponce De Leon Blvd, Coral Gables 33134 | (305) 441-7161 | Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 7 pm · Sat 10 am to 5 pm · Sun 10 am to 3 pm |
| The UPS Store #2232Cvs Plaza Across Univ Of Miami | 1172 S Dixie Hwy, Coral Gables 33146 | (305) 667-2181 | Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 7 pm · Sat 10 am to 5 pm · Sun 10 am to 3 pm |
| The UPS Store #7285University Of Miami | 1211 Walsh Ave, Coral Gables 33146 | (786) 392-3003 | Mon to Fri 10 am to 8 pm · Sat 10 am to 5 pm · Sun 11 am to 5 pm |
Hours read from each store’s own page on October 30, 2026. Confirm by phone before you go.
Communities We Serve
We work with families across Miami-Dade County, and beyond. Any deed in your plan records with the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court and Comptroller. We are a Miami firm serving Coral Gables wherever you are; this is not a Coral Gables office.
Local Senior Resources in Coral Gables
You don’t have to do this alone, and not all of it is legal. For care navigation, Miami-Dade County’s Area Agency on Aging is Alliance for Aging, the Aging and Disability Resource Center for Miami-Dade. It runs Florida’s Elder Helpline (1-800-96-ELDER) and free SHINE Medicare counseling, your first call for a Medicaid screening, caregiver support, and local senior services. We handle the legal side, the Medicaid-qualifying plan, the deed, the powers of attorney, and coordinate with those resources so nothing falls through the cracks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have an office in Coral Gables?
No. StepUpLaw is a Miami firm that serves Coral Gables and Miami-Dade County families by phone and video. That works well for adult children handling a Florida parent’s Medicaid, deed, or incapacity plan from out of state.
Will Medicaid take my parent’s Coral Gables-area home?
The Florida homestead is generally protected for Medicaid eligibility, so it is not sold to qualify. The real risk is estate recovery after death, which runs against the probate estate. A lady bird deed keeps the home out of probate and beyond recovery.
What documents keep my parent out of guardianship?
A durable power of attorney, a designation of health-care surrogate, a living will, and a HIPAA authorization, signed while your parent is clearly competent. Florida courts must consider these less-restrictive alternatives before appointing a guardian.
Updated September 29, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. We serve Coral Gables and Miami-Dade County residents wherever they are. Medicaid figures change annually and eligibility turns on your specific facts.
