Miami Probate court is located in Miami-Dade County. Miami does not have any unusual probate fees.
The Miami-Dade County Courthouse is located at:
73 West Flagler Street, Suite 137 Miami, FL 33130 Tel: (305) 275-1155.
Jacksonville Probate Court Information
Jacksonville Probate court is located in Duval County. All Jacksonville Probate cases are handled by Judge Dearing. Jacksonville does not have any unusual probate fees.
The Duval County Courthouse is located at:
330 E. Bay St.
What if I do not agree with the Inventory in a Probate Case?
This was included in version 7 of the Florida Probate Handbook as such I wanted to publish it on my blog for those of you who did not receive it.
An accounting is required to provide notice of the time to object. The notice shall state that objections to the accounting or inventory must be filed within 30 days from the date of service of the notice. Any interested person may file an objection to any accounting within 30 days from the date of service. If an objection if filed later than 30 days it is deemed to be abandoned. The objection shall be in writing and shall state with particularity the item or items to which the objection is directed and the grounds upon which the objection is based. All objections must be served on the fiduciary who filed the accounting as well as all other interested persons.
Follow this link to request your free copy of the Florida Probate Handbook
When do I have to File an Inventory in Probate?
This was included in version 7 of the Florida Probate Handbook as such I wanted to publish it on my blog for those of you who did not receive it.
The Personal representative shall file an inventory within 60 days after the issuance of letters of administration. The inventory must contain notice of the beneficiaries’ rights, list the assets with reasonable detail and its estimated fair market value at the date of the decedent’s death. Homestead property is also listed and designated as a protected homestead. The court can extend the date the inventory is due with cause and no notice is necessary. If there is an extension, the PR must serve copies of the petition and order on Department of Revenue, the surviving spouse, each heir at law in an intestate estate, each residuary beneficiary in a testate estate, and any other interested person who may request it in writing. The personal representative shall file proof of such service.
Follow this link to request your free copy of the Florida Probate Handbook
Are your Estate Planning Documents up to date? How about your Florida Estate Planners?
This morning I woke up ready to leave on a trip to NY with my family. We had had this trip planned for several months and my wife and I like to travel a lot. As I got out of bed, something happened and I fell and hit my head on our new tile floor. Within seconds there was blood everywhere and I became disoriented. After spending more than 12 hours in the hospital, and after having been treated by one of the nicest Jacksonville Plastic Surgeons’s that I have met, I began to think about how many estate planners take their own advice and have documents that are up to date and trusts that are funded.
I first became concerned with my Florida Estate Plan when I was going to London for an extended time and there had recently been some bombings in London. My wife refused to go, or let me go, if our plans were not set in writing prior to our departure.
Today as I sit in the hospital, I am thinking that If I did not have plans and my injury would have been more serious, it may have been more difficult for my wife to speak on my behalf. What if I have had a heart attack, stroke, or just been unconscious as a result of my fall and injury.
Free Probate Handbook
Jacksonville Probate Lawyer, David Goldman has put together a Florida Probate Handbook that is being offered free to readers and visitors of his websites. If you would like a copy, visit the Free Florida Probate Handbook web page, fill out the form, and one will be sent to you within 24 hours by email.
In the handbook, you will:
•Learn about four types of Florida Probate.
•Learn about what is involved in opening a Florida Probate.
Hurricane Season and Storage of Florida Estate Planning Documents
Florida Estate Planning Documents can be lost during a hurricane or tropical storm. Just when a Florida Will, Power of Attorney, or Florida Living Will, Designation of Health care Surrogate & HIPAA release.
You should protect your original signed documents by keeping them in with in waterproof container and if possible off the floor or at a bank in a safety deposit box A scanned copy of these documents should be keep with your and made available at an off site storage facility like Google or any free document storage provider.
If you home is damaged and is inside a Florida Revocable Trust you may have to provide an original copy of the trust to the insurance company.
Estate Planning & Asset Protection For Professional Athletes
Florida Estate Planning for professional athletes is very different than with a traditional client. Most clients accumulate wealth over a long period and have advisers in place to manage their wealth. Financial advisers are typically managing their wealth in an effort to protect it from substantial loss and the lawyers deal with methods of distributing the assets upon incapacity or death.
Most athletes accumulate their wealth in just a few years and need to have it last their entire life. They may not have the control or discipline to use a traditional revocable trust and in some cases irrevocable trusts may provide for stability and security that would be at risk otherwise.
If you are a professional athlete and looking at ways of doing Florida Estate Planning and would like to speak with a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer about methods of providing for the many years after your professional career Contact Us for a free consultation regarding Florida Estate Planning and Florida Asset Protection.
Mandatory Arbitration Clause in Florida Trusts is valid per Florida Statute 731.401
Trust Arbitration Clauses are common in Florida. In many states, they are not always enforced but Florida passed a law a few years ago that makes them enforceable in Trusts.
Florida Statute 731.041 Arbitration of disputes.
(1) A provision in a will or trust requiring the arbitration of disputes, other than disputes of the validity of all or a part of a will or trust, between or among the beneficiaries and a fiduciary under the will or trust, or any combination of such persons or entities, is enforceable.
(2) Unless otherwise specified in the will or trust, a will or trust provision requiring arbitration shall be presumed to require binding arbitration under Florida Statute 44.104.
How to get a copy of a Will in Florida
We often get calls from clients stating that they believe they are included in the will of a father, mother, or any decedent but have been unable to obtain a copy of the will to verify their thoughts. It is important to understand that just because you are included in a will, it does not mean you will receive what the will states. Often a parent has remarried and the Florida Will only transfers assets that are subject to probate. If all of the assets are jointly owned with their new spouse, there is nothing to pass through probate.
This concept is hard for people to understand and even harder when an unfriendly step-parent is involved. Regardless, many people still want to see their parents Florida Will. Generally we will send the custodian of the will a letter informing them of their obligation under Florida law to file the will within 10 days. If they refuse to do so, you have three choices:
1) do nothing or wait until they comply;
2) file a lawsuit asking that the court direct the custodian of the will to deposit it and reimburse you for your costs; or 3) open a probate and ask the court to order the custodian of the will to deposit it and reimburse your for your costs.
Opening a Florida Probate is more expensive than filing the lawsuit, but if a Florida Probate is needed it will save money in the end.