Probate

Probate

Probate is the legal procedure specifically designed to handle a decedent’s estate.  There is a fiduciary assigned by the court to handle the affairs of the estate.  In Florida, that person is call the “Personal Representative.”  In other states, that person may be designated as the “Executor” of the estate.  The Personal Representative undertakes the responsibility of winding-up the affairs of the estate.  This entails notifying all the creditors, paying all of the expenses associated with the estate, inventorying/gathering all assets, satisfying all the valid claims against the estate, and distributing the property to the heir(s).

There are a lot of misconceptions concerning probate. One is that if you have a “Will,” you do not have to probate an estate. That is not true. Wills are probated.  Another misconception is that probate takes a long time.  Although there can be court backlogs in certain circuits, in general, provided there is cooperation between the beneficiaries and Personal Representative is pro-active, probated estates can move pretty quickly through the courts.  Another misconception is that the probate process is expensive.  Again, this is extremely case specific.  In most cases, provided there are no disputes, the cases are relatively inexpensive.

When a person passes with a will their estate is a testate estate (which translates from Latin testatus, past participle of testari to make a will). When a person passes without a will, their estate is intestate. In the event that a person does not have a will, Florida has statutory provisions to address handling the affairs of the decedent and determining the beneficiaries of the estate. As with the a testate estate, the Court will appoint a Personal Representative.

One of the more common situations that arise in Florida that does not occur in other states is filing an ancillary estate.  I go into this in more detail on other pages of this site, but for purposes of a brief introduction, an ancillary estate is filed when a resident of another state owns property in the state of Florida.  We have a large snowbird population in Florida and when they pass, there is still the issue of the property in Florida.  The Courts in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Massachusetts do not have jurisdiction over the property in Florida.  Therefore, although there may be a probate case pending in another state, there needs to be an ancillary case filed in Florida to address the issues with the estate in Florida.  An “Ancillary Estate,”just as the name implies, provides the necessary support to resolve the probate issues in Florida so the entire estate can be probated to it conclusion in the decedent’s state of residence.

My office provides comprehensive probate services, whether the estate is small and only requires a summary administration or requires a formal administration. If you find you need a probate attorney, please give my office a call and schedule and appointment.  I will meet with you and go over the entire process.  My phone number is (772)463-7737.  I appreciate you taking the time to read my website and look forward to helping you this difficult period.