Administering an estate is often more complicated than people realize. You have to inventory the estate, contact creditors, pay debts, handle final expenses, complete accountings, and ensure that assets are properly distributed. Yet, matters can be even more complex...
Estate Administration
Considerations when choosing a personal representative
When you create an estate plan, you intend that your wishes will be carried out after your death by the person who is named as the personal representative in your will. There are several factors to consider when choosing this person. Choosing a personal representative...
What is a lady bird deed?
When a person dies, there must be a legal process to determine how to distribute their property. In Florida, this process is called probate. Probate isn't necessarily bad. In fact, it's a necessity in many ways. However, the process can be slow and cumbersome. It can...
What is a living will?
When it comes to setting up an estate plan in Florida, you are probably familiar with some of the more common documents, such as a will or power of attorney. However, you may have heard of something called a living will and wonder what it is and if it is different...
Probate asset inventory and distribution
When a person passes away in Florida and has a will, probate is the legal process that takes place to transfer their assets to their beneficiaries. Beneficiaries are the people or entities the deceased person named in the will. Probate overview The process begins when...
What is a lady bird deed?
You may have heard the term Lady Bird deed and wonder what exactly it is and how it differs from a regular deed. A lady bird deed is a deed with a life estate. It is also sometimes called an enhanced life estate deed. It lets a property owner maintain control of a...
Formal and summary probate administration
Probate is the necessary legal process to distribute the deceased’s property to any beneficiaries named in a will or according to Florida’s intestate succession laws. It can be a long process, but it does not have to be as long as many people think. There are two main...
Know the time limits to object after notice of administration
In Florida, probate and estate administration has many layers and responsibilities to the personal representative. One of the key roles is serving a notice of administration on specific people. This is critical because if there are issues with the estate plan and a...
Florida’s elective share protects spouses from being disinherited
Prior to the enactment of elective share laws in Florida, a surviving spouse could be totally disinherited by the other spouse. This could be done on purpose through a will or trust, or it could be the result of a mistake in a will or poor advice. To avoid these...
Handling probate proceedings in Florida
When you die, your estate will go through probate. Probate is the legal process in which your property is passed on to your heirs. Your estate will go through probate if you have a will or if you die intestate (without a will). There are two basic probate proceedings...