How to Avoid Losing an Inheritance to a Florida Medicaid Claim
Probate in Florida requires that any probate administration for a decedent who was 55 years or older must include specific notice to the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) whether or not the heirs are aware of a potential Medicaid claim. Medicaid claims are considered to be “Class 3” claims which essentially means, they have […]
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. […]
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
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]https://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?
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 […]
The bank needs “Letters of Administration” – Are you sure?
What are Letters of Administration? Letters of Administration are court orders granting authority to the person appointed as personal representative, to do all things necessary to administer a decedent’s estate. Letters are typically only issued in a formal administration of an estate which is initiated by a Petition for Administration. Once received, a personal representative may present the […]
Florida Probate Tip #1: Read the Will carefully!
No, I’m not starting a series on probate tips, but I do want to highlight this particular point. One of the biggest mistakes you can make as both the personal representative of the estate or as a Florida probate attorney, is reading the will too quickly or not reading it at all! Four words caused […]
Can’t find the Will? A few tips!
Every once in a while, we get a call from a prospective Florida probate client who spends about 20 minutes explaining who inherits under the decedent’s Last Will and Testament, only to finish by saying “but I only have a copy of the Will.” That IS a problem. Under Florida Statutes, the custodian of the […]
