Video Summary

Are retirement accounts considered part of an estate? They’re not part of a probate administration, an estate. And that, IRAs are usually the retirement accounts we’re talking to and, or 401ks. And so, they’re not considered to be a part of the estate since they usually designate a beneficiary. And so, then all you need in order to, if you’re one of the beneficiaries is to present a death certificate to whoever is managing the IRA, and then they should give you the options. There’s usually options from taking the full lump sum and you can maybe defer or spread it out over the time period. So, they usually have designations one. The problem that we’ve encountered is, as we know, there’s an IRA, but we don’t know who the beneficiaries are because there’s no documentation, the estates records and the banks, or whoever has it, many times will not discuss the amount or let you know who the beneficiaries are. So, it’s important that if there is an IRA, that there is some documentation to show who the beneficiaries are. So that person, the beneficiary can present a death certificate to the custodian or the person who is handling the IRA or 401k. So, if you have any questions about it, we’ll give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

How much does probate cost? That’s always a big point, in that the Reader’s Digest in the past has talked about how the lawyers get 50% and the government gets the other 50%, and it takes seven years for everybody to fleece the estate. However, that’s not the case. If you have probated assets or assets that are just in your name alone when you pass away, the Florida statutes prescribe that a reasonable attorney fee is 3% of the assets. There are certain minimum fees for handling a probate proceeding, and also prescribes that there is a 3% fee to the personal representative or executor of the estate. You’re looking at 6% of the assets.

There are two types of probate proceedings. One is a formal administration, which takes approximately six months to a year depending on how complex it is, and also a summary administration when they’re assets of less than $75,000 excluding the homestead and a provision is made for creditors. Either no creditors or you’re making provision that they be paid. And depending on which type of proceeding is involved will also affect how much the attorney fees will be. The court costs for a probate proceeding run between about 500 to 800 dollar court costs and administration costs, other than the attorney fees.

Rather than giving you a number in this video, give me a call. Let me know what assets are in the estate, and I’ll be glad to talk to you over the phone and give you a quote as to what procedure you would need to follow, how much it would cost, and some idea as the length of time. So give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

If you are the Executor and the only Beneficiary of an estate, does it have to go through probate? The answer to the question is yes.

If the Decedent owned any assets that were titled just in the Decedents name. You indicated that you are the Executor, you’re the designated or person to be appointed the Executor. The Executor is something that is appointed by the court so until such time as there are probate proceedings you are simply nominated or suggested or provided for on the will to be the Executor and as the only Beneficiary, well, you have to have the will admitted to probate to show that you are in fact, the only Beneficiary so the short answer to your question is, is yes you still have to probate the estate.

Another reason why you have to probate it, even if you are the only Beneficiary is to be sure that any creditors have been paid and if the estate is very large, of course, then you need address the federal estate tax situation.

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

Video Summary

Should I add an asset to a probate case that is in a summary administration in Florida? Well, a summary administration is filed whenever there is no bills outstanding and that the assets of the decedent that are titled in his name, other than his homestead, are less than $75,000, or the decedent’s been deceased for two years. Once petition can order summary administration has been entered, well, that is all there is to the proceedings. So, depending on when you discover this asset that was not included in the petition, is when you can add it. If the order of summary administration has not been entered, well then you can file an amended petition to include this asset and have the order of summary administration included.

However, if you’ve done a summary administration and you later discover an asset then you have to file a petition to reopen the estate as far as the disposition of this other asset and whether or not you have to go through a formal administration or an amended summary administration is depending on the value of the assets.

So if you have any questions about summary administrations and probate, well give me a call at 727-847-2288.

Video Summary

What is summary administration? Summary administration is a form of probate proceeding. It’s a decedent or an estate is eligible for a summary administration if the assets of the decedent are less than $75,000 and that there are no outstanding creditors of the decedent. This excludes the homestead property. You can file to have the will admitted into probate or if there’s no will to have a end test state proceeding file to have the heirs determined.

Whenever they sign the petition for summary administration they’re stating that they’ll personally be responsible for the debts of the decedent if there are any because they’re stating that there are none. You can present it to the court and the court will, depending on what county you’re in, but may enter it within about 30 to 45 days after you filed the petition and you get the court order and then have the asset distributed to the heirs. If there’s homestead property you can file a petition for homestead.

The other time that a summary administration be filed is if the decedent has been deceased for more than two years, then it doesn’t matter the total amount. The assets and the statutory period for creditors has filed and they’re barred so you can file a summary administration after a decedent’s been deceased for two years.

If you have any questions about probate or a summary administration give me a call at 727-847-2288.