The Lawyer
Your CFO
Wishes You
Had.
Strategic counsel for business owners, executives, and families making decisions that define what comes next.
20+ Years
Serving Tampa Bay
Families & Businesses
A Business Strategist Who Happens to Practice Law.
"Most attorneys tell you what's legal. We tell you what's strategic — then make it legal. That distinction is everything when the decision in front of you will define the next decade."
With 20+ years across private wealth planning, business law, and executive strategy, Debbie Faulkner serves as trusted counsel for business owners, executives, and multi-generational families who expect more from their attorney than documents.
Legal Infrastructure
for What You've Built
Every engagement answers one question: what does getting this right make possible for you?
Your Legacy, Structured.
Wills, trusts, and advance directives built around your actual life — not a template. Tax exposure minimized. Family conflict pre-empted. Peace of mind, permanent.
Explore Estate Planning 02 — ProbateClosure, Without the Chaos.
Efficient administration of estates, protection of assets, resolution of creditor claims — handled by counsel who knows how to move things forward.
Explore Probate 03 — Business LawBuilt to Grow. Built to Protect.
Entity formation, contracts, succession planning, and exit strategy — counsel that thinks like a business partner, not just a document reviewer.
Explore Business Law 04 — Business StrategistCounsel Before the Decision. Not After.
Advisory counsel for acquisitions, exits, restructuring, and succession — combining legal authority with the business thinking that turns good decisions into great outcomes.
Explore Strategy AdvisoryHow We Advise
A continuous lifecycle — not a file opened and closed. We stay in the conversation as your business grows, your family changes, and your goals evolve.
Discover
Understanding your full picture — business, family, risk, and ambition — before a single recommendation is made.
Strategize
Mapping the legal and strategic path aligned with your long-term goals, not just the immediate problem.
Protect
Precision structures — trusts, entities, agreements — that insulate what you've built from tax, liability, and uncertainty.
Execute
Handling the complexity, the filings, the negotiations — so you can lead, not manage legal issues.
Partner
An ongoing relationship — not a closed matter. We remain in the conversation as your life and business evolve.
Review & Evolve
Legal infrastructure that grows with you — regularly assessed, updated, and aligned to where you're going next.
Questions We Hear Often
Answers here are general in nature. For guidance specific to your situation, schedule a consultation.
Yes. Estate planning is not about wealth — it's about control. Without a plan, Florida law decides who receives your assets, who manages your finances if you're incapacitated, and who makes your medical decisions. A basic estate plan ensures those choices belong to you.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (July 2025) permanently raised the federal exemption to $15M per person ($30M for couples) starting January 1, 2026. While the "use it or lose it" urgency has lifted, strategic gifting, dynasty trusts, and SLATs remain powerful tools for locking in appreciation outside your estate.
Most businesses access legal counsel reactively — when something goes wrong. A Business Strategist operates proactively, as an ongoing advisor who understands your business deeply and helps you make smarter decisions before the problem arrives. Think of it as having a fractional Chief Legal Officer embedded in your strategy.
Review your estate plan after any major life event — marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a beneficiary, significant change in assets, or business transaction. At a minimum, review every 3–5 years. An outdated plan can be as harmful as no plan at all.
If you have a co-owner, yes — without exception. A buy-sell agreement defines what happens when an owner dies, becomes disabled, wants to exit, or faces divorce. Without one, your business partner's spouse could become your new partner. It's one of the most overlooked and consequential documents a business can have.
Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will and distributing estate assets. In Florida, formal probate typically takes 6–12 months for straightforward estates; complex or contested estates can take considerably longer. Many clients structure their affairs specifically to avoid probate — saving their families time, cost, and public exposure.
Depth of Perspective
At The Faulkner Firm, the practice of law is about more than legal results — it's about strengthening the community.
Our Community Commitment →The Kimberly Home
Pregnancy resource center, Clearwater, FL. Debbie serves on the Board of Directors.
Life is a Donation
Providing food, clothing & essentials to those in need throughout the Tampa Bay area.
TBPAA Foundation
Performing arts education for students across northern Pinellas County.
Student Ministry
Supporting student ministry & Open Door Church throughout the Tampa Bay area.