No. Estate assets only require administration if they are “stuck” or “terminate” in the name of the decedent. For example, John owned a bank account titled in his name alone. He did not designate a payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary on the account. When he died, this account terminated in John’s name. It would likely need to go through probate to be …
Letters of Administration – Do you really need them?!
I can’t say this enough: There are many situations where you do not need letters of administration. Many. Yes, the bank or customer service agent you are talking to says you do…but they are just reading from a policy manual or a list of predefined answers. They are not probate lawyers. They aren’t always right. That’s what the legal department …
QOTD: Is Probate in Florida Necessary for Vacant Land?
If I receive the same question more than 3 times in a week, it is deserving of its own blog post. A fellow called my office explaining that his father was a resident of New Jersey. On a trip to Florida back in the late 70’s, dad unintentionally ended up purchasing a piece of vacant land in Lee County for …
Florida Probate Questions for the Month of July 2017
Quick links: My husband of 3 years has passed he bought a trailer home before we ever met there is no will who gets the trailer? How long can I wait before filing probate? Question: My husband of 3 years has passed he bought a trailer home before we ever met there is no will who gets the trailer? Answer: …
Real Estate Agents: A Primer on Florida Probate Property
Download a PDF optimized copy of this article here. Off the top of my head, real estate assets make up about 75% of the estates we handle. With over 600 probate cases under our belt, that’s roughly 450 real estate transfers throughout the State of Florida. Many of these properties are either sold during probate administration or shortly after the …
ALERT: Confirm Designated Beneficiary on Your Bank Account!
In the past year, we’ve had at least 5 calls requesting our Florida probate representation for just a regular checking account. If the deceased owner of the account had simply confirmed the designated beneficiary, probate could have been avoided. Here’s the rub: The original owners of those accounts had designated beneficiaries on those accounts but the bank either lost the …