When a spouse passes away, the surviving spouse has many decisions to make. It’s important to know a surviving spouse’s rights as those decisions are made. Fortunately, Florida statutes contain provisions stating certain surviving spouse rights. Will vs. Intestate The first thing to learn is whether the deceased person (the decedent) executed a valid Will. If...

Out-of-state Personal Representative complicates a complicated process. Probate is the proving of a deceased person’s Will, authenticating that the document was executed properly.  It also means the time during which the executor, officially known as the Personal Representative, settles the deceased person’s estate. The probate process can be time consuming, and it’s even worse when an...

Estates come in all sizes, both in the value of the estate assets and the number of people involved. Some people write Wills that name an executor and several beneficiaries. Some don’t. In fact, only about 44% of Americans have written a Will. But whether a Will exists, estate assets not disposed of in any other...

One purpose of estate planning is to avoid probate, but sometimes probate is unavoidable.  It may take some time until the executor is legally able to distribute assets.  How will the executor go about managing assets during probate? Executor Duties During Probate An estate executor, also known as a personal representative, is charged with settling and...

Legal documents are sometimes invalidated because they were signed incorrectly, not dated, not notarized, or not signed at all. Meeting legal requirements is especially critical when it comes to your Last Will and Testament. After all, people may not learn a Will is deficient until it is too late to have the testator re-do the document....

Most of us want to leave as much of our property to our families as possible. But in many cases after someone passes away, they leave behind debts that must be paid, too. Many states, including Florida, have enacted laws to protect certain property. While developing your estate plan, take time to find out if you...

When someone dies without leaving a valid Last Will and Testament, they are referred to as being “intestate.” But dying without a Will doesn’t mean there’s no estate to distribute to appropriate parties. It just means there’s no document stating how to do it. If there’s no Will, Florida law still provides a way to settle...

They advantages and disadvantages of probate are subject to wild and often inaccurate observation.  Probate advantages exist!  The most commonly held notion about probate is that it is a negative and difficult process that should always be avoided if possible. This misconception is an oversimplification of the truth that does not account for certain aspects of...

For many people, Florida probate is an intimidating concept that they need to deal with at one of the worst times in their life, just after a loved one has passed away.  The probate process is set up to identify assets of a person after they have died so that they can be used to pay...