Overview
Melissa Rodriguez specializes in providing legal counsel to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families. Her expertise lies in guiding clients through complex legal matters about their wealth and assets. Melissa offers personalized and comprehensive counseling to her clients in advance of preparing legal documents such as wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, marital agreements, and sophisticated estate planning documents that include dynasty trusts, intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGTs), irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), lifetime spousal access trusts (SLATs), inter vivos qualified terminable interest trusts (QTIPs), and domestic and offshore asset protection trusts.
Melissa's practice also involves helping clients navigate the intricacies of probate and trust administration. She is empathetic to the fact that these matters can be emotionally charged and legally intricate, and is dedicated to providing thoughtful guidance. Her practice includes personal representative, trustee, and beneficiary representation. Melissa works with clients to assess the merits of potential disputes, identify viable solutions, and explore alternative dispute resolution methods. She also assists clients in modifying, decanting, reforming, and terminating trusts.
In addition to trusts and estates, Melissa has experience in preparing and negotiating comprehensive prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. She specializes in marital agreements for couples with complex marital histories, including second marriages and blended families, and for clients with substantial assets, including real estate holdings, investment accounts, business interests, and significant inheritances or trusts.
Melissa is a state of Florida Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).
* No aspect of these advertisements has been approved by the highest court of any state. See Awards Methodology.
Education and Credentials
Education
- University of Florida, Levin College of Law, L.L.M in Taxation
- University of Florida, Levin College of Law, J.D., Certification in Estate Planning
- Florida International University, B.A. Accounting
Admissions
- State of Florida
Affiliations
- American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel, Florida Fellows Institute, Class Member, 2023-2024
- American Bar Association, Tax Section, Member
- The Florida Bar, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Member; Tax Section, Member; Family Law Section, Member
- Miami Dade Bar, Probate and Guardianship Committee, Member
- Cuban American Bar Association, Member
Languages
- Spanish
Recognition and Community
No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the highest court of any state. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. See Awards Methodology.
Recognitions
Selected to the list of Ones to Watch for Trusts and Estates in Florida by The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2024-2025
In The Media
Speaking Engagements
- "Maven Rising," Maven Leadership Collective, November 4, 2022
- "Tax-Exempt Organizations," Maven Leadership Collective, 2019-2020
- "Domestic Asset Protection Trusts: Key Income and Transfer Tax Implications," Strafford, Strafford, July 15, 2020
- "Restructuring Existing Trusts to Work Under New Tax Law," Strafford, December 3, 2019
- "Asset Protection Techniques for Real Estate," Professional Education Broadcast Network, November 5, 2019
Publications
- An Unwavering Result, Third DCA Analyzes Waivers in the Context of the Former Wage Exemption Statute in Castro v. Mercantil Commercebank, N.A, LISI Asset Protection Planning Newsletter, #407, June 17, 2020
- The South Dakota Supreme Court Confronts an Out of State Creditor in the Context of the Full Faith & Credit Clause, LISI Asset Protection Planning Newsletter, #391, September 23, 2019
Media Mentions
- On the Move, Florida Bar News, February 1, 2024
- Private Client Atty From Akerman Joins Day Pitney in Miami, Law360 Pulse, December 22, 2023
- Day Pitney Continues to Grow Private Client Department, Attorney at Law Magazine , December 19, 2023
- The Daily Docket Industry Moves, Thomson Reuters, December 19, 2023
- Day Pitney Lands Trusts & Estates Attorney from Akerman in Miami, Daily Business Review, December 18, 2023
- Day Pitney Recruits Rodriguez as Miami Trusts, Estates Partner, Bloomberg Law, December 18, 2023