It depends on the facts of each situation. For example, the personal representative may need to sell real estate before settling the probate estate or resolve a disputed claim filed by a creditor or a lawsuit filed to challenge the validity of the Will. Any of these circumstances would tend to lengthen the process of […]
The decedent’s surviving spouse and children may be entitled to receive probate assets from the decedent’s probate estate, even if the decedent’s Will gives them nothing. Florida law protects the decedent’s surviving spouse and certain surviving children from total disinheritance. For example, a surviving spouse may have rights in the decedent’s homestead real property. A […]
The decedent’s death has two significant tax consequences: It ends the decedent’s last tax year for purposes of filing the decedent’s federal income tax return, and it establishes a new tax entity, the “estate.” The personal representative may be required to file one or more of the following returns, depending upon the circumstances: The decedent’s […]
One of the primary purposes of probate is to ensure that the decedent’s debts are paid in an orderly fashion. The personal representative must use diligent efforts to give actual notice of the probate proceeding to “known or reasonably ascertainable” creditors. This gives the creditors an opportunity to file claims in the decedent’s probate estate […]
The personal representative can be an individual or a bank or trust company, subject to certain restrictions. To qualify to serve as a personal representative, an individual must be either a Florida resident or, regardless of residence, a spouse, sibling, parent, child, or other close relative of the decedent. An individual who is not a […]
