What sets us apart
We don’t just advise the Personal Representative on their obligations and duties, collect your money and then walk away…
To assure that you are in the best hands and well taken care of, we have a dedicated Probate Specialist, whose role is to personally assist the Personal Representative, take on the wearying and difficult aspects for which the Personal Representative is responsible, and manage the administration. She has been serving our probate clients for the past 15 years. Our practice of using a Probate Specialist has proven to have the best results for our clients!
Our Probate Specialist will come to you – at your convenience, whether it be at your home, place of work or at a convenient location!
Using a Probate Specialist reduces both the time necessary to administer the estate, as well as the final cost of the administration!
Key Factors of the Probate Process
Probate is a widely used term and, although many people know it has something to do with Wills, many do not understand the process until they are forced to deal with it. In Florida, how a Last Will and Testament is written, may lead people to incorrectly believe that their Will controls all of their assets.
Generally speaking, Probate is the process of assembling the assets (real property, belonging, investments, etc.) of a deceased person. The estate must first pay:
- medical expenses of the decedent’s last 60 day of their dying illness
- administration cost
- government taxes owed
- creditors / claimants of the estate
The estate then distributes the assets to the heirs and beneficiaries.
However, in Florida, there are many factors that determine what kind of probate administration is needed and how that administration is going to be processed. Some of the most fundamental include:
- Did the decedent have a Will?
- Is the Will the original?
- Where (in what states) are all the decedent’s assets (home, car, etc.)?
- Who are the heirs/beneficiaries of the estate?
- Are the heirs/beneficiaries heirs at law?
- Are all the heirs/beneficiaries living?
- Are there any heirs/beneficiaries from a previous marriage?
- Are there any heirs/beneficiaries not of legal age?
- Can all the heirs/beneficiaries be contacted?
- Will any assets need to be sold or liquidated?
- Are all creditors reasonably ascertainable?
