Category Archives: Florida Probate Tips

Cost (expenses) associated with Florida probate administration

There seems to be more confusion these days regarding the costs (expenses) associated with a probate administration in Florida. Let me try to clear things up: Attorneys fees are determined by whatever agreement you have made with your attorney. These fees are compensation for the attorneys and law firm staff who are working on your…

Why Summary Administration is NOT always the best choice

summary-administration-florida

In a nutshell, Summary Administration in Florida is a type of probate proceeding for small estates. To be eligible: The estate must contain less than $75,000 in non-exempt assets (typically, assets other than the decedent’s home) OR At least 2 years have passed since the date of death No brainer right? Not exactly. Lately, I’ve…

Do I have to probate the dog?

[podcast]http://weprobateflorida.com/podcasts/do-i-have-to-probate-the-dog.mp3[/podcast] I don’t get a whole lot of questions about probating Sparky or Mr. Wigglesworth but make no mistake, pets are considered personal property and theoretically could be subject to probate. Certainly Florida probate courts have encountered animals in probate, but domestic house pets are often overlooked. The thing about pets, particularly dogs or cats,…

D’Oh! alert: Mom died, why are *you* paying HER credit card bill?

payingcreditors

There seems to be a pattern developing lately where clients (and tire kickers) are apparently paying creditors out of pocket – that is – they are making say, credit card payments on behalf of the decedent before probate has even started! I can’t be sure if they were coerced by a collections agent or if…

Florida Probate’s golden rule: Make nice or pay the price!

I have spent countless hours on any given week hearing about what the evil stepmother, wicked stepsister, deadbeat father and estranged spouse did to be undeserving of an inheritance. My response has always been the same. “Tough cookies” Florida Probate law does not care if your sister never visited mom at the nursing home. Florida…