What To Expect And How To Prepare Formal Administration In Florida
In preparing for formal probate Florida residents typically have a number of questions about the probate court process, since most individuals outside the practice of probate law have limited familiarity with these proceedings. The degree of complexity will depend to some extent on whether your loved one’s estate requires full probate administration vs. qualifying for the simpler – but less common – process of summary administration. A Florida probate lawyer with Loughin Law, P.A. may be able to walk you through the essential elements of probate estate administration and help you determine your next steps. Call our office in Palm Beach County today at 561-559-6214 to book a consultation.
What Is Probate vs. Estate Administration?
If you have already spent some time online looking for helpful resources on Florida probate, you will likely have noticed that probate and estate administration sometimes are, and sometimes are not, used interchangeably. Generally speaking, however, Florida law refers to “administration” in almost all contexts, with notable exceptions for the formal processes for submitting a decedent’s Last Will and Testament to the Probate Court and for adjudicating any disputes that arise in relation to the Will’s terms, validity, or execution.
Do All Florida Estates Have To Go Through Probate?
Technically speaking, there is a non-probate process for closing out estates in Florida. However, this process – called Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration – is by law allowed only when the total value of the decedent’s non-probate property is under $20,000, the total value of the individual’s non-exempt property does not exceed the combined costs of his or her funeral expenses together with any medical or hospital expenses incurred in the final 60 days of the individual’s life, and there is no property to be distributed via the terms of a Will. These criteria, thankfully, do not apply to most Florida residents (or their estates), and in the vast majority of cases either “summary administration” – a shortened and simplified procedure compared to full probate administration – or the formal probate Florida law outlines will be required. A formal probate Florida attorney with Loughlin Law, P.A. may be able to help you determine whether summary administration, or even disposition of personal property without administration, may be applicable in your situation.
Steps to Preparing for Formal Probate Florida Families and Friends Can Follow
In the days and weeks immediately following a loved one’s death, it can be difficult to think about anything much beyond the present moment and your all-consuming grief. However, many bereaved families and close friends are eventually able to take some small measure of comfort in carrying out a loved one’s final wishes.
As you begin to prepare for the Florida probate court process – even if you do not feel ready to begin full probate administration right away – there are a few steps you can take to put yourself and your family in position to move through the process of estate administration as seamlessly as possible. These steps may be especially helpful for individuals nominated as the personal representatives of their departed loved ones’ estates, but in many cases the entire family may benefit from becoming familiar with the basic steps to formal probate Florida requires.
Step 1: Determine Whether Your Loved One Left a Will
If the decedent left behind a Last Will and Testament, anyone with a legal “interest” in the estate (which usually means anyone who might expect to receive a share of the decedent’s property, either as a creditor or by reason of kinship) may submit the Will to the Probate Court of the jurisdiction where the individual was a legal resident at the time of their death. If there is no known Will, then any member of the decedent’s family may instead proceed directly to petitioning the court for full probate administration.
Generally speaking, discovering whether your loved one had a Will is likely to involve at least some degree of familiarity with, and often a cursory assessment of, his or her important legal and financial documents. If you are already aware of the existence of a Will and you know whom the testator nominated as personal representative, then often this person can take the lead in submitting the Will and petitioning for administration. If you are the person nominated – or if you are not sure – then any member of the family can make the petition, and allow the personal representative to carry out the necessary sorting of papers once he or she has been formally appointed by the Probate Court.
Step 2: Accept Letters of Administration
Once a Probate Court has determined that a decedent’s Will meets the requirements for legal validity, the judge will appoint a personal representative of the estate and issue Letters of Administration (known in some states as letters of testamentary) authorizing this person to begin the process of full probate administration. Usually the court will appoint as personal representative the person nominated in the decedent’s Will – however, if there is no Will, or if the individual nominated in the Will for any reason does not meet the formal probate Florida guidelines for personal representatives, then the court will instead appoint a personal representative according to the order of preference set out in §§ 733.301-3101, Florida Statutes.
Step 3: Get a Lawyer
In most legal contexts in the United States, individuals have the right to legal representation by an attorney, but are not required to work with one. Florida Probate Rules 5.030, however, specifies that a personal representative carrying out full probate administration of a decedent’s estate will need to be represented by an attorney admitted to practice law in Florida under most circumstances (the rule does also spell out the conditions for limited exceptions). After you have accepted Letters of Administration, and before you embark on the tasks of serving family members with Notice of Administration and publishing the required notice to creditors, is an ideal time to schedule a consultation with an estate planning lawyer to discuss the documentation you may need and gain the benefit of professional guidance on what more you can expect as the next steps of the probate court process – less predictable than the early stages, because much more heavily dependent on the specifics of the individual estate – begin to unfold.
Gain Perspective Tailored to Your Situation
Full probate administration of a loved one’s estate can be intimidating, especially if this is your first time navigating the probate court process. An experienced attorney with Loughlin Law, P.A. may be able to review the formal probate Florida rules with you and help you determine how they apply in your situation. Call us today at 561-559-6214 to book your personalized consultation.
