Interesting Florida Court Of Probate Information at your finger tips

1. What is Probate?

Probate is the technique by which the assets of a deceased individual are collected, creditors paid, and the remainder of the estate dispersed to beneficiaries. In many Florida counties, the probate system is performed in a specialized probate department of the Circuit Court, under the oversight of one or more probate judges.

2. How is Probate Initiated?

Any beneficiary or lender can initiate probate, generally the individual called in the will as Personal Agent, likewise known as the administrator in other states, begins the process by filing the original will with the court and submitting a Petition for Administration with the probate court. Usually a close relative of the decedent who expects to inherit http://www.naturecoaster.com/business-directory/type/services/page/114 from the estate will file the Petition for Administration if there is no will.

3. Who is Eligible to Work As Personal Representative?

A bank or trust company running in Florida, any individual who is resident in Florida, and a spouse or close relative who is not always resident in Florida are all eligible to serve as the Personal Representative. Nonrelatives who are not resident in Florida are not eligible to serve as Individual Representative.

4. How is the Individual Agent Chosen?

If the decedent had a will, the individual called in the will as the Personal Representative will serve, http://www.cylex.us.com/wesley-chapel/lawyer.html if eligible. If that individual is unwilling or not able to serve as Personal Representative, the person chosen by a majority of the beneficiaries in interest of the estate shall pick the Personal Agent. If there is no will, Florida law provides that the enduring partner might serve, or, if there is no spouse or the partner is unable or unwilling to serve, the person picked by a bulk of the beneficiaries in interest will serve.

5. Is the Personal Agent Required to Maintain a Lawyer?

In Florida, the Personal Agent is required in almost all probate estate to keep a Florida probate attorney. Although the Florida probate types are available to the general public, these are of no use to a non attorney.

6. How is the Personal Agent Compensated?

Florida law supplies a payment schedule for the Personal Agent, based on a portion of the possessions of the probate estate.

7. Is the Household of a Deceased Person Entitled to a Portion of the Estate?

Florida law offers a household allowance for the making it through spouse and minor kids of the deceased, in addition to an elective share for a surviving partner, thirty percent of the estate, if the enduring spouse would choose the optional share to that left under the terms of the will. A Florida homeowner is entitled to disinherit adult children, for any or no reason. Obviously, if it can be shown that the adult kids were disinherited as a result of the impact of another, they may have recourse through the court of probate.

8. What Assets go through Probate?

Possessions owned by the deceased person undergo probate. Assets that pass by methods of title, such as real estate titled as "Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship," or savings account entitled as "Transfer On Death" are exempt to the probate procedure. Properties that go by means of a beneficiary designation, such as life insurance or some retirement accounts, are also exempt to probate.

In some circumstances, however, properties that would otherwise go by title or recipient classification can be subject to the probate procedure, particularly when it comes to an enduring spouse choosing to take an optional share against the estate.

9. How is Distribution of the Estate Handled if there is no Will?

Florida law states guidelines for the circulation of an estate if there is no will.

The making it through partner is entitled to the entire estate if these is an enduring spouse and no lineal descendants.

If there is a making it through spouse with lineal descendants, and all lineal descendants are also descendants of the surviving partner, the surviving spouse is entitled to the first $20,000 of the probate estate, plus one-half of the remainder of the probate estate. The descendants share in equal portions the remainder of the estate.

If there is an enduring spouse with lineal descendants, and not all lineal desdendants are likewise descendants of the enduring partner, the making it through partner is entitled to one-half of the probate estate, and the descendants of the deceased share the other half of the estate in equal shares.

If there is no enduring partner and there are descendants, each kid is entitled to an equivalent share, with the children of a departed kid sharing the share of their departed moms and dad.

If there is no making it through partner and no kids or other descendants, Florida law offers extra guidelines for dispersing an estate in such situations.

10. Who is accountable for paying estate taxes?

Under the Internal Earnings Code, the estate tax is gathered from the estate of the deceased. Depending on the regards to the will, the estate tax may be paid from the probate estate only, or likewise from a living trust, life insurance earnings, and other possessions passing directly to recipients outside the probate estate. The estate tax return, Form 706, is submitted by the Personal Representative. The Form 706 is because of be submitted 9 months after the date of death.