Probate or estate administration
is the legal process through which the estate assets of a deceased person passes to beneficiaries. By its nature, this process has never been simple, even in ancient times. It involves the deepest of human concerns: death; family relationships; fortunes accumulated over a lifetime, as well as personal and very private wishes and beliefs. The Florida legislature has made and continues to make progress with regard to the clarity, fairness, and efficiency of the probate process. However, that process by necessity becomes more complicated as it moves from the authority of the Florida statutes to the administrative systems and probate judges of the twenty circuit courts throughout the state, each with minor if not major procedural differences and requirements from the next.
All Florida courts must classify every estate as one of the following four types of administration, from the most complex/costly to least:
- Formal Administration
- Summary Administration
- Ancillary Administration
- Disposition Without Administration
Formal administration requires the involvement of an attorney, but it is unwise to proceed without one for any type. Mistakes, omissions, and failure to observe obscure formalities can add months to the expected timeframe of cases; party disputes over how an estate should be administered can add years.
This can have consequences beyond client frustration, and siphon estate assets in the form of excessive attorney fees. Also, estate assets, as with most things, deteriorate over time if left unattended. Homes become uninsurable, investment opportunities are lost, accounts accrue fees, and so on. With many years of professional experience focused in probate, and in complementary practice areas such as Estate Planning, Business Succession Planning, Elder Law , the Law Office of Robert Fraxedas combines seamless legal services with a compassionate and friendly attorney-client relationship.