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Are probate proceedings public record? The answer is yes, they are, and that’s the reason why many times, people will want to choose a trust administration rather than a probate administration. But yes, a probate administration is public record, particularly having the will admitted to probate, which shows who the beneficiaries are. The will serves as a conveyance of real estate, and so it’s important to have the will admitted to probate or have it public record, so that you, when you examine the public records, know who owns the property after someone passes away. So if they don’t have a will, they determine who the heirs are, to show who the owners of the real property are at their death. So, yes it is public record, and it is very necessary, particularly when it comes to titles to real property. So if you have any questions about probate and titles, well give me a call at (727)847-2288.

Video Summary

Are inherited items subject to capital gains? Whenever you inherit property, such as real estate, stocks, or bonds, you as the beneficiary receive the item at the market value as of the date of death, so that if the property that you inherited was worth $100,000 on the date of death, and then you sold it for $100,000, you would not have any capital gains. If, however, you inherited it and the date of death value was $100,000 and you waited several years and it appreciated and you sold it for $150,000, then you would pay capital gains between the difference of the date of death value and the sales proceeds, and those would be long-term capital gains.

So, if you have any questions about probate and what value you have to show on your tax return, give me a call at (727)847-2288.

Video Summary

What recourse do I have if a family of a deceased person sold off items that were supposed to go to me?

Well, I assume that the decedent left a will and also left specific devise or a personal property list designating you to receive the items of personal property, and therefore you know that you were supposed to receive those. It’s very difficult to try and get those items, or to have a remedy unless there’s a probate proceeding involved. So if there’s no probate proceeding involved, you would have to probably establish a probate proceeding and then sue whoever it is who dissipated these items of personal property.

So it’s very, very problematic, and usually the amount of the value of the personal property, although it may have a lot of sentimental value, usually does not justify the cost involved in attorney fees, opening an estate and pursuing the matter. So if you have any questions, give me a call at 727-847-2288.

Video Summary

Can a vehicle title be transferred directly from the decedent’s name to a buyer? The answer to that is, is that if there is a probate proceeding, well, then the personal representative can sign the title and transfer it to the buyer, but you have to have an estate administration opened in order to have the title transferred from the decedent’s name into a buyer’s name.

If there’s no probate involved, a motor vehicle title can be transferred to his children or to his dependents, and then once it’s in their name, they can turn around and sell it, and you don’t have to go through probate to transfer the titles to a dependent or child. So that’s one way that you don’t have to go through probate, but you cannot take it directly to a buyer. It has to go into the children’s name first if you don’t have a probate proceeding.

If you have any questions about probate or transferring titles, my phone number is 727-847-2288.

Video Summary

How do I get my money from a probate estate released to me?

Well, first off you should be receiving a notice of administration in a probate proceeding that lets you know that you have an opportunity to challenge the will and that will come from the personal representative and the attorney handling the estate. Also, you should receive the inventory, and depending on how many claims there are, the claims period takes approximately four to six months, four months here in Florida, three months from the date of first publication. So you might want to give the administration about six months before you can start anticipating they’re going to start trying to wind up the estate. And also, whether or not they have to liquidate the assets in order to make distribution. In Florida you’re supposed to administer the estate within one year and then you would, if they do, you should receive the petition for distribution and discharge, which shows what the expenses are, the accounting and how much your share is.

Now, if you’re not hearing anything from anybody as far as the estate’s concerned, you may want to contact an attorney and have him contact the personal representative or the attorney, and find out what’s going on or when you can anticipate being paid. There is a procedure or statute that you can file to force the distribution of the assets. I don’t know that I’ve filed one of those, usually I go about that on trying to encourage the other lawyer to get the estate administered or get a reason for that.

So if you have any questions about your probate proceeding, a probate proceeding, give me a call at 727-847-2288.