Video Summary
What are the different types of probate in Florida? Well, Let’s start with the smallest types of probate. It’s called a distribution without administration. If you have paid the funeral bill and the bills of the deceit and the last 60 days of their life. And there is a bank account out there that is less than the amount that you paid for the funeral bill and those, you can go to the court with a death certificate, take the bills with you and show that you paid them and ask the probate clerk and ask that a letter be sent to the bank directing them to distribute the money to you. And that’s called a petition, distribution without administration. So that’s the lowest type or the minimum amount that you can use without going through a full probate proceeding.
There has been a recent statute and the last couple of years that talks about if there’s assets of $10,000 or less. And if you have all the heir state that they are, who the heirs are, and who’s entitled to it, and the decedent’s been dead for more than a year, and that all the creditors have been paid, then you can also proceed or check with the bank, or go to the court to get an order authorizing the distribution of that asset without going through a formal administration. Then at once we move up to the from that, we then go to what they call a, sum written ministration in the event that the assets of the decedent that are just in his name alone are $75,000 or less. And there are no creditors or provision is made to pay the creditors from the money. Then you can ask the court to enter an order of some written ministration. This is fairly quick and it requires all the beneficiaries of the estate, whether it be with a will or without a will, they sign this, and when they sign it, they say that they’re responsible for any of the bills. So even if they hadn’t they’re supposed to make probation for filing with the court and the court enters what they call an order of some written ministration as fairly easy to do. Of course, it varies from county to county and, and the county where I’m at, we can get this done in about 30 days. If you go down to Miami Dade county, they require you to send a notice to creditors out and that takes and wait, 3 months before you can file your petition for summary administration or get an order of some written and restoration.
So, it varied from county to county, but that’s the other type of administration. Then you have a formal administration and that’s where you petition the court and have a personal representative appointed. Many times people come to see me and they say, well, “the stock company says, well, we need to have letters”, what they’re asking for letters of administration. And that is a legal term. And that is the authority when the court signs letters of administration that gives the designated executor or now known as a personal representative, the authority to act. And so that is a formal administration. And that will take probably 6-9 months, depending on the complexity of the assets, the number of errors involved as far as that’s concerned, the unnoticed accreditors published and then the statutory period for creditors further claims takes, 3 months from the date of the first publication in the newspaper.
And notice must be given to any reasonably ascertainable creditor of the estate administration. There’s more to the formula administration, as far as that’s concerned. When determining whether or not the assets on a summary administration are applicable. You do not count the homestead property of the decedent if he left it to his heirs. So that would be something that would qualify or not count toward the $75,000. So, if you have a probate question about whether or not you need to file probate, or what type of probate you need to file, or the cost or time periods, we’ll give me a call at (727) 847-2288.