Our Team.

Melissa Betancourt, Esq.

Melissa Betancourt, Esq. is the founder and managing attorney of MEB LAW FIRM, PLLC, where she assists individuals and families throughout Florida with probate administration, estate planning, guardianship administration, and property deed matters. She is committed to providing thoughtful legal guidance with professionalism, compassion, and personalized attention.

Ms. Betancourt graduated cum laude from St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the St. Thomas Law Review and earned a certificate in Elder Law. She also holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Criminology and Anthropology from the University of Florida. During law school, she completed a judicial internship with the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida’s Probate Division, where she observed probate and guardianship proceedings and conducted legal research to assist the court.

Prior to founding MEB LAW FIRM, PLLC, Ms. Betancourt practiced estate planning, probate, and guardianship law, advising clients and managing probate matters from initiation through resolution. As a proud Colombian-American, she is fluent in Spanish and regularly assists Spanish-speaking clients.

Ms. Betancourt’s dedication to this area of law is deeply personal. Her family’s experience navigating elder abuse litigation in Colombia, along with her sister-in-law’s experience living with Down syndrome, has given her a meaningful understanding of the importance of protecting vulnerable individuals and supporting families through complex legal matters. These experiences continue to shape her commitment to helping clients plan for the future and safeguard the well-being of their loved ones.

In her free time, Melissa enjoys reading, traveling, crafting, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets. She also has a well-known fondness for the color purple.

PUBLICATIONS:

Melissa Betancourt, Reforming Ethical Science: Advocating for Federal Legislation to Ban Animal Testing, 19 Intercultural Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 311 (2024).

Melissa Betancourt, Dog Owners Deserve Public Housing: Why Florida’s Dog Breed Restrictions are Discriminatory and Should be Repealed, 35 St. Thomas L. Rev. 163 (2023).

Melissa Betancourt, From Property to Family: Why Florida Should Assist Divorces with a Pet Custody Law, St. Thomas L. Rev. (2023), https://stthomaslawreview.org/from-property-to-family-why-florida-should-assist-divorces-with-a-pet-custody-law/.