Florida Probate Lawyers

Working with an experienced and understanding Florida probate lawyer can help make the estate process easier at the difficult time of losing a loved one. Filing a probate estate in Florida can be confusing, so it is important to have solid legal advice when transferring assets through the probate process to make sure your loved one’s wishes are carried out.

Do I need a probate lawyer in Florida? How do I know if probate is required when your loved one has passed away? First, look at how the assets are titled. Did the person own real estate in their individual name? Did they have a bank account or investment account without a co-owner or designated beneficiary? Did they have a retirement account or life insurance without a designated beneficiary? If you took the death certificate to the bank, or maybe you even showed the Will, were you turned away and told to come back with “Letters of Administration”? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes”, then probate is required. According to probate law Florida, even simple estates must follow the proper court-supervised procedures to be settled correctly.

Florida Probate Lawyer

A knowledgeable and compassionate Florida probate lawyer will work with you to figure out what assets require probate, determine what type of probate case best fits your situation, explain the process, and provide you with a quote for fees and costs. Once you retain a Florida probate attorney, they will prepare all the court documents for your review and signature, file the case in the county where the person resided, serve required notices on heirs or creditors, and prepare proposed orders for the judge to sign. Depending on the type of estate and whether there is a Will, some of these steps differ from case to case. Here are some of the different types of probate estates in Florida: Summary Administration with a Will (testate), Summary Administration without a Will (intestate), Formal Administration with a Will (testate), Formal Administration without a Will (intestate). A review of the types and the value of the assets and other factors help determine what type of estate is necessary.

Probate Law Florida: Summary Administration

Summary Administration with a Will (testate): Summary Administration is a streamlined process, and experienced Florida probate lawyers can handle Summary Administration quickly and efficiently. This type of estate is available when the following is true:

The estate is less than $75,000 not counting the exempt assets or the person died more than two years ago regardless of the value of the assets.
The person had a Will that named beneficiaries to receive specific assets or a share of the rest, residue and remainder of the estate.
The assets are known and can be itemized in the petition and the proposed order for the judge to sign.
A personal representative is not required in a summary administration, but the petitioner must be a beneficiary named in the Will.
Instead of a personal representative who takes charge of assets during the probate process, in summary administration, the judge signs an order admitting the Will and distributing the assets directly to the heirs. The court order is then used to obtain the assets.
If the person owned a homestead real property, a petition to transfer the homestead to the beneficiaries named in the Will can be included. When the judge signs the homestead order, the homestead is transferred to the Will beneficiaries just like a deed.

Do you need a lawyer to make a Will in Florida? Contact our probate lawyers today for a consultation.

Summary Administration without a Will (intestate): Even without a Will, there can still be summary administration. The main difference is that the beneficiaries are determined by statute. The intestate statute determines who the heirs are instead of a Will. Other than that main difference, the process for intestate summary administration includes the same steps as summary administration with a Will. It does, however, take a knowledgeable Florida probate attorney to look at the family tree and explain exactly who the intestate heirs are and what their shares of the estate are. Having an experienced probate attorney handling your case will make sure that the heirs are correctly identified and that everyone gets their proper share. The intestate statute can be found at Florida Statutes Sections 732.101-732.1081.

Probate Lawyer Florida: Formal Administration (with a Will)

Formal Administration with a Will (testate): It is required by statute for a Florida probate attorney to represent a personal representative throughout the estate process with the only exception being when the personal representative is the sole beneficiary of the estate.

Formal Administration is required when any of the following is true:

The total value of the estate exceeds $75,000 not counting exempt assets and the person died less than two years ago.
The assets are not fully known, and it will take a personal representative to be appointed to discover the nature and location of all the assets.
There are numerous creditors that cannot be addressed in a summary administration.
A personal representative is needed to continue to wrap up or sell the deceased person’s business.
A personal representative is needed to serve as a substitute party in ongoing litigation or to file a wrongful death case.

Florida Probate Lawyers Here to Help Every Step of the Way

Here at Fast Florida Probate, you can hire an experienced and knowledgeable probate lawyer Florida residents trust and recommend. The process can be exhausting and confusing if you’re unfamiliar with the procedures and requirements.

There are many steps in Formal Administration including the following:

Put the original Will on deposit at the clerk of court in the county where the person was a resident.
Hire a Florida probate attorney to prepare all the court documents and advise the personal representative of their duties and responsibilities throughout the probate process.
Publish a Notice to Creditors in the newspaper two weeks consecutively to start the 90-day claims period.
Make sure that all known creditors are served with a copy of the Notice to Creditors to run the time for them to file a claim, if any.
Prepare an Inventory of the assets in the estate and serve a copy on the beneficiaries.
At the end of the claims period, determine which claims are to be paid from the non-exempt assets in the estate.
Get satisfactions and releases from all paid creditors.
File a petition to determine homestead status if there is homestead property to be distributed to the beneficiaries. Once the homestead order is signed, the homestead property is no longer in the estate. It is transferred to the beneficiaries just like a deed. The beneficiaries are then free to sell or keep the property, whatever they decide.
Prepare a formal accounting of all the fees, costs, expenses of administration, and serve a copy on the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries may agree to receive an informal accounting and sign a waiver of the formal accounting. This may save time and money at the end of the estate process.
Prepare to make distribution of the assets in the estate. If the beneficiaries have not waived the final accounting and consented to the distribution in an informal manner, then additional documents must be filed and an order authorizing the distribution signed by the judge.
Once the estate is ready to be closed, the probate attorney files a petition for discharge, and the judge signs an order of discharge closing the estate.

The cost of probate in Florida varies by estate complexity. Contact one of our experienced probate lawyers in Florida to help you map the next steps in your probate journey.

Florida Probate Lawyer: Formal Administration (without a Will)

Formal Administration without a Will (intestate): The process for Formal Administration is the same as outlined above with the exception that an experienced Florida probate attorney will need to determine who the intestate heirs are, and someone will need to be selected to serve as personal representative. To avoid any dispute over who should serve as personal representative, a majority of the heirs should select the person of their choice. To qualify, a personal representative must either be related to the deceased by either blood or marriage or be a Florida resident. The person who is selected to serve as personal representative must meet other requirements such as not being convicted of a felony, being 18 years of age or older, not being determined to be incapacitated, and being willing and able to serve. If a personal representative cannot continue to serve for any reason, then a successor can petition for removal and replacement, or the personal representative can resign, and another qualified person can petition the court to be appointed. Any time that the beneficiaries can agree on the decisions throughout the estate process, an estate is “uncontested”. A “contested” estate happens when a party files an objection or a counter-petition and there is no longer agreement between the parties. This adds considerably to the cost of probate and should be avoided if possible.

If you’re wondering, how much does a probate lawyer cost in Florida, contact us today to get a consultation.

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