Miami Probate Attorney
Probate is a headache. This is a court process for administering a person’s estate when they die. It might sound simple, but it’s not. Probate serves many purposes and is unavoidable for many. For example, if your loved one owed money at death, then the creditors can make a claim on the estate. At the end of the process, the deceased person’s assets should pass to beneficiaries named in a will. If there was no will, then Florida law will determine who inherits the estate.
Contact Ronald Cutler, P.A. today if you suddenly find yourself in probate. Many of our clients were named as the personal representative for a spouse or parent’s estate, and they don’t know what to do. Our firm can answer questions and handle the entire probate process. This might feel like an overwhelming time, but our Miami probate attorney can assist.
An Overview of Florida Probate
There are a couple varieties of probate. A summary probate is available for an estate worth less than $75,000 or the deceased died more than two years ago. Otherwise, most estates pass through a full probate.
Probate is required even if a person has a will. If they have no will, then the state’s intestacy laws may apply.
Probate typically involves:
- Identifying and securing the dead person’s assets (their estate)
- Valuing the assets, possibly even having assets professionally appraised
- Preparing an inventory of assets for the court and a formal accounting
- Providing notification to all possible heirs
- Publishing required legal notices
- Assessing the validity of any claim against the estate
- Defending the estate from creditor lawsuits
- Defending the validity of the will in probate
- Filing and paying all required taxes
- Paying administrative expenses
- Distributing assets to beneficiaries
- Closing the probate estate
We can only provide a summary of the duties here. Call our firm if you were named as the personal representative for the estate. You are charged with guiding the estate through this entire process and complete all the steps above in a satisfactory manner. You might end up having to defend the estate from a creditor lawsuit.
Why Probate Causes Headaches
We work with many personal representatives on various issues:
- Taking possession of assets which might be in the hands of other people. The deceased might have loaned a car to a nephew, who doesn’t want to give it back. What now?
- Protecting the value of assets, such as real estate which might need insurance.
- Analyzing whether a claim against the estate is valid. You should only pay valid creditor claims.
- Rejecting a claim and defending the estate in probate. A creditor might lack a promissory note or any documentation for the debt. They could sue if you don’t pay.
- Valuing unusual assets, like heirlooms.
- Dealing with angry or disappointed heirs. Family squabbling creates enormous tension.
- Liquidating estate assets to pay taxes or other bills, which can anger beneficiaries who are expecting to inherit the asset.
- Submitting required paperwork to the probate court. This is a paper-intensive process.
Call Our Miami Probate Attorneys with Questions
Our Miami probate attorneys are standing by to assist anyone. We have helped personal representatives but also family members with probate disputes.