A guardian or personal representative who is an attorney admitted to practice in Florida may represent himself or herself as a guardian or personal representative. Fla. Prob. R. 5.030 (a). In nearly all Florida probate cases, it’s important and typically required, that the personal representative of an Estate have legal representation.
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Probate law in Florida requires you to retain a probate attorney licensed by the Florida bar to handle administration of an estate in almost all cases. Although some exceptions to this law exist, it is best for all involved parties if a Florida probate attorney is retained to handle legal matters, and to help with the execution of the Will and distribution of the estate.
Step 26: Petition to close estate and follow plan of distribution as submitted to heirs and the probate court. As you can see, the probate process, with all of these required steps, can be quite cumbersome, although a good probate attorney would generally make the process relatively painless under most circumstances.
Florida probate administration is a formal process with deadlines that must be met. Having an experience probate attorney that can advise you as to your right as a beneficiary and the deadlines of the probate administration can be very valuable. A probate attorney representing a beneficiary can insure that the probate administration is administered in a timely and efficient …
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You can find the Florida Probate Code in Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes. You can find the rules governing Florida probate proceedings in the Florida Probate Rules, Part I and Part II (Rules 5.010-5.530).
The personal representative is the person, bank, or trust company appointed by the judge to be in charge of the administration of the decedent’s probate estate. The term “personal representative” is used in Florida instead of such terms as “executor, executrix, administrator, and administratrix.”.
If the decedent left a valid Will, the Court will admit the Will (according to procedures) to probate to transfer ownership of probate assets to the named beneficiaries. If the decedent had no Will, probate might be necessary to pass ownership of the decedent’s probate assets to those receiving them under Florida law.
A Will is a writing, signed by the decedent and witnesses, that meets Florida law requirements. In a Will, the decedent can name the beneficiaries whom the decedent wants to receive the decedent’s probate assets.
Probate is a court-supervised process for identifying and gathering the assets of a deceased person (decedent), paying the decedent’s debts, and distributing the decedent’s assets to his or her beneficiaries. In general, the decedent’s assets pay the probate proceeding’s cost, the decedent’s funeral expenses, then the decedent’s outstanding debts.
Probate administration applies only to probate assets. Probate assets are those assets owned in the decedent’s sole name at death or owned by the decedent and one or more co-owners and lacked a provision for automatic succession of ownership at death. Examples of assets or property that may be probate assets may include:
A bank account or investment account in the sole name of a decedent is a probate asset. A bank account or investment account owned by the decedent and payable on death or transferable on death to another, or held jointly with rights of survivorship with another, may not be a probate asset. A life insurance policy, annuity contract ...
Florida probate administration is a formal process with deadlines that must be met. Having an experience probate attorney that can advise you as to your right as a beneficiary and the deadlines of the probate administration can be very valuable.
Most Miami probate attorney charge between $250 an hour to $450 an hour depending on the experience of the probate attorney for probate beneficiary representation.
I have a lot of experience with the Probate administration in Miami-Dade County and other counties throughout Florida. I want to help you protect your rights as a beneficiary under the probate administration.
Probate is necessary to pass ownership of the de cedent’s probate assets to the decedent’s beneficiaries, if the decedent did not have a will.
Probate assets are those assets that the decedent owned in his or her sole name at death, or that were owned by the decedent and one or more co-owners and lacked a provision for automatic succession of ownership at death. Probate assets include, but are not limited to, the following:
An attorney in a probate is hired by a particular person, usually the personal representative. Ethically the attorney may not give advice to other people, including heirs who are to inherit under the will, and may not disclose confidential matters.
We offer substantial discounts from statutory attorneys fees in all Nevada uncontested probates and for uncontested California probates over $400,000.
Lawyers generally are not allowed to represent someone if doing so would create a “conflict of interest.” The Florida Rules of Professional Conduct say that lawyers must avoid representing two people whose interests are opposed to one another.
In a civil lawsuit, the attorney-client relationship is usually straightforward. But in estate planning and probate, you may have an attorney representing family members in preparing their Wills, filing probate in Florida courts after a loved one has died, or even administering the family trust as trustee.
In most families, who the client is doesn’t become an issue. The beneficiaries to a Will or trust generally agree on the administration. Most of the time they want the probate matter closed as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, sometimes disagreements between family members or ongoing conflicts can make their way into the probate case.
If you are considering filing a Will challenge as an “interested person,” the firm handling the estate will not be able to help you. A lawyer cannot represent a relative in a Will challenge if they have been involved in preparing or administering that Will.
Sometimes, the work a lawyer does for your family has nothing to do with the courtroom. Lawyers often act as professional trustees, managing the family trust, maintaining family property, and distributing funds to beneficiaries as directed by the Trust documents.
For the most part, lawyers are the ones responsible for detecting conflicts of interests and avoiding sharing confidential estate information with anyone but the client. However, when both parties are in the same family, the conflict may not arise until part way through the administration of the family estate.