How does Florida probate work?

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. You can find the Florida Probate Code in Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes.

How do you avoid probate for Florida property?

How to Avoid Probate in Florida

Get Rid of All of Your Florida Property.
Use Joint Ownership With Rights of Survivorship or Tenancy by the Entirety.
Use Beneficiary Designations or Life Estate Deeds.
Use a Revocable Living Trust.
The Bottom Line on Avoiding Probate in Florida.

How much does it cost to file probate in Florida?

For estates between $100,000 and $900,000: 3% of the estate’s value. For estates between $1 million and $3 million: 2.5% For estates between $3 million and $5 million: 2% For estates between $5 million and $10 million: 1.5%

How does probate administration work in the state of Florida?

Florida law has a useful provision under a formal probate administration which allows the personal representative to deposit the share of a missing heir into the registry of the court after the property has been sold.

Do you need a probate lawyer in Florida?

Yes, in almost all cases you will need a Florida Probate Lawyer. Except for “disposition without administration” (very small estates) and those estates in which the executor (personal representative) is the sole beneficiary, Florida law requires the assistance of an attorney.

Is there a deadline for probate in Florida?

No, there is no deadline to open a probate in Florida, and we have handled estates 50 years after a person’s death. If family members have paid the property taxes so that no tax deeds are granted, probate is often feasible for decades.

When does an estate qualify for summary administration in Florida?

Because Florida’s homestead definition allows unlimited value (but not unlimited acreage), some estates with very expensive homestead property (principal residence), but little else, can qualify for summary administration. Also, if the deceased has been dead for more than two years, the estate can be handled in summary administration.

Who are the heirs to a probate estate in Florida?

In that case, the decedent’s probate estate will pass to the decedent’s surviving parents, if they are living, otherwise to the decedent’s brothers and sisters. Florida’s intestate laws will pass the decedent’s probate estate to other, more remote heirs if the decedent is not survived by any of the close relatives described above.

What are assets that can be probated in Florida?

Probate assets are those assets that were owned in the decedent’s 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.