R. Blake Smith - Vero Beach, FL

Overview

Prior to joining Block & Scarpa in 2023, Blake spent the last ten years at a local law firm practicing incapacity, guardianship, and mental health law. Blake started his career as an Assistant Public Defender in Vero Beach and spent 5 years as a felony trial attorney.
Blake hails from Richmond, Virginia and attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee for undergraduate studies and obtained his Juris Doctor from Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville.
Blake's unique concentration on incapacity and mental health law combined with his criminal and civil probate experience have made him one of the leading voices in this emerging field of law. He has developed an unparalleled approach to avoiding guardianship filings and has provided his client's families with more privacy and dignity using estate planning documents with a boldness and creativity that is unmatched. By utilizing his criminal law experience and his passion for understanding mental illness, addiction, and human behavior, he can guide your family through the most tumultuous times. Mental Health law spans a variety of legal practice areas, and he can guide you through all of them.
Blake works closely with families, their financial advisors, and other attorneys seeking specialized advice during times of crisis. As an emerging field of law, it can be helpful to specifically define what mental health and incapacity law often entails:
a) Private removal of Trustee due to mental incapacity by utilizing physician's certificate(s) and installing successor,
b) Filing for judicial determination of legal incapacity and avoiding guardianship using lesser restrictive alternatives like Durable Power of Attorney,
c) Emergency Temporary Guardianship filing to seek immediate delegation of civil rights to stop exploitation or abuse,
d) Incapacity and Guardianship appointment filings in the absence of estate planning documents and without viable alternatives,
e) Addiction Recovery Contracts to guide families through the long process and provide an incentivized path that considers the need to address issues like co-dependency and enabling,
f) Trustee/Guardian of the Property service when the circumstances preclude a corporate fiduciary, g) Baker Act and Marchman Act advice,
h) Criminal defense and preparation of NGI (not guilty by reason of insanity) defense or guidance on ITP (incompetent to proceed), and
i) Guardianships for Minors in lieu of grandparent adoption or for safekeeping funds inherited or earned until adulthood.