Probate for Small Estates in Florida

This blog post (starting after the first picture) was originally written by Jennie Farshchian on Feb 25, 2022. I have added the first few paragraphs here then linked to the full post on her site.

Why Should I Care About Probate?

Great question! The simple answer is most people will deal with probate at some point in their lives. Most commonly, after the death of a family member that ownes an estate of any kind.

In it's simplest explanation, probate is the method by which to ensure a persons estate is transferred to the correct heirs. Unfortunately, due to human nature we tend put off setting up the correct structure/vehicle prior to our demise to ensure our estate can be pasted on until it's to late. Yup, I'm guilty as charged.

This is where probate comes in. In my 4+ years of buying and selling real estate, I estimate that nearly 1/5 of the people that are looking to sell their land have some sort of probate issue that needs to be corrected prior to them being able to legally sell the real estate.

For the longest time, I refused to deal with these types of clients. Mostly out of my own ignorance. Now, we gladly work with clients needing help with probate issues. I finally educated myself and found a great reasource.

Below is an excerpt from Jennie's blog post on the topic of probate. You trade the full post at her website here: https://jflawfirm.com/

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"In many cases, probate can be an expensive and time-consuming process. As a court-supervised process, it entails a lot of specialized forms, paperwork, and procedures, especially for large and complex estates.

While many states have a “small estate affidavit” that allows for an expedited administration process, Florida instead provides two alternative procedures for smaller probate estates: Disposition of Personal Property without Administration and summary administration. Depending on the case, one of these options can significantly reduce the costs and time it takes to transfer the asset into the name of the heirs.

Probate in Florida for Small Estates: The Basics

A “small estate affidavit” is a legal document authorizing the beneficiary to claim certain assets after the owner has passed without having to go through the probate process.

While it is a more straightforward approach to asset distribution then traditional probate, as the name suggests, the small estate affidavit is permitted only for estates of a certain size: If the decedent’s estate exceeds a certain value set by state law, a small estate affidavit is not available, meaning the beneficiaries must wait until probate is completed to receive their assets. Depending on the circumstances and complexities of the estate, this can take months or even over a year..."

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To check the rest of Jennie's well written and informative blog post, please visit her site --> HERE

If you are in need of legal council regarding Real Estate, reach out to Jennie and her team. We highly recommend their service. We use her team and services routinely in our many real estate transactions in the greater Florida area.

Visit their site here: https://jflawfirm.com/

Until next time! Cheers!