Welcome to Cramer Law Center

Welcome to the Cramer Law Center. Our law office is conveniently located in the Mandarin area of Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida. I am Jeffrey Cramer and as an estate planning lawyer I focus my practice on all aspects of estate planning for individuals and their families, asset protection and business planning for professionals and owners of small businesses, including preparing wills, trusts, living wills, powers of attorney, designations of healthcare surrogate, special needs trusts, revocable living trusts, buy-sell agreements, family partnerships, and family limited liability companies. The estate planning attorneys at the Cramer Law Center also focus on the legal needs of senior citizens, practicing in the area of elder law, including Medicaid planning and guardianships. In a guardianship proceeding, we can represent the interests of the person seeking to be appointed guardian or we can protect the interests of the ward, who is alleged to be incapacitated. We also are involved in all aspects of estate administration, including probate and trust administration. In situations where there has been no planning or ineffective planning, we also handle cases involving probate litigation, guardianship litigation, will contests, trust contests, disputes between heirs, removal of a trustee, removal of a personal representative, undue influence, probate fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, forged documents, trust reformation, or spouse’s elective share.

Our office is located in Duval County, but we also service the surrounding areas including Ponte Vedra Beach and St. Augustine in St. Johns County, Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island in Nassau County, Orange Park and Green Cove Springs in Clay County, Palatka in Putnam County, Palm Coast in Flagler County, MacClenny in Baker County, and Starke in Bradford County, in Northeast Florida. I hope you will find the information contained in this website useful and that you will feel free to contact an estate planning lawyer at the Cramer Law Center if you have any legal questions.

Our Mission

Our mission as estate planning attorneys is to ensure that our clients maintain control of their property while alive and well, plan for themselves and their loved ones if they become disabled and then give what they have, to whom they want, when they want and in the way they want, all while assuring their wisdom is transferred along with their wealth. We combine extensive client counseling with a continuing maintenance and education program to design estate plans that work. We focus not only on transferring financial wealth, but also on assisting clients to leave their wisdom and legacy to future generations. We do all of this in a caring and compassionate environment. Read and learn more about how we can help you in the menu under Areas of Practice.

Latest Post

LLC Owners, Be Aware and Be Prepared!

On May 3, 2013, the Florida legislature passed the new Florida Revised Limited Liability Company (“LLC”) Act. This new LLC act will be effective for every LLC formed in Florida on or after July 1, 2014 and will apply on a mandatory basis to all LLCs, including those formed earlier, as of January 1, 2015. There are some major changes in the new act that could materially affect existing LLCs and certainly need to be considered for any LLCs set up in the future. This newsletter will cover the changes the new LLC act brings and our next newsletter will cover parts of Florida LLC law that are not being changed that every LLC owner needs to keep in mind.

One of the biggest changes the new LLC act brings is the expansion from 6 to 16 “non-waivable provisions.” These are provisions that are mandatory by law and cannot be altered through the LLC operating agreement. Some of these new provisions include: 1) the ability of the LLC to sue and be sued in its own name, 2) the inability to change Florida Law as the governing law of a Florida LLC, and 3) the inability to vary the statutorily-required contents of a plan of merger, plan to acquire interest in another company, plan of conversion into another form of company, or plan of domestication to become a Florida LLC.

Another important change the new LLC act brings is the elimination of the “managing member” form of management. Under existing Florida law, Florida LLCs can have three types of management: 1) management by its members, 2) by one or more managers, or 3) by a managing member. This third category is fairly unique to Florida and the term has caused significant confusion over the years. To eliminate this confusion and make Florida’s LLC laws more similar to those of other states, the new LLC act eliminates the category of “managing member.”

These changes in the Florida LLC law are likely to have a material effect on all existing and future Florida LLCs. If you currently operate a Florida LLC or are thinking about creating one, it is important that you have your company’s operating agreements carefully reviewed by an attorney to make sure they will be in compliance with the new LLC act when it takes effect. Cramer Law would welcome the opportunity to help. We can review an existing agreement or help start a new one. Please consider contacting us for help with your Florida LLC.