endobj When you deposit the will with the clerk, make sure you have a made a photocopy (or a quality scan) first for your records. endobj The date of death and the address of the decedents last residence. There may be circumstances in your particular matter that you did not anticipate. Search for information on civil, family and probate cases. Visit our page on Summary Administration to lean more about the process and the services we offer. Of course, none of the information is confidential, any member of the public could do just what I did. Florida Document Specialists is a family owned and operated Florida business that is A+ rated, 5-Star reviewed, and accredited by the Central Florida Better Business Bureau. Copyright 2023 | Collier Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller. We dont just sell summary administration or probate forms, and our document preparation processes are not automated. The financial institution may not make such payment earlier than 6 months after the date of the decedents death. AFFIDAVIT UNDERSECTION 735.303, FLORIDA STATUTES,TO OBTAIN BANK PROPERTY OF DECEASEDACCOUNT HOLDER: (Name of decedent). should not be regarded as legal advice. A typical bundle of proposed Florida pro se probate orders may consist of: Order of Summary Administration (Testate) What if a probate petitioner doesnt have a computer, doesnt have an attorney, and just wants to get a copy of THEIR OWN docket so they can fill out your mandated checklist? are filed with the court to open a small estate with a summary administration, a set of proposed orders must still be prepared. Small Estates: Disposition without Administration. Florida law gives the Court full latitude and discretion to set the estate bonds and delineates in Section 733.403(1) many factors that must be considered when setting these bonds. The length of . This Checklist must be completed and -filed with your Pe etition. MiscellaneousForms Required by Local Courts. Summary administration in Florida is governed by Chapter 731 of the Florida Statutes. If the decedent left a valid will, unless the will is admitted to probate in the court, it will be ineffective to pass ownership of probate assets to the decedents beneficiaries. [ 24 0 R] Me: So, a serious question here maam. 74-106; s. 111, ch. 3315 Tamiami Trail East, Ste. The Pinellas County Clerks office has responded very quickly to our submissions so, even though corrections have been required, things are moving right along (we are at 30 days). endobj Florida probate law provides for a form of probate procedure that results in the disposition of a decedent's assets without the necessity for lengthy or costly court proceedings. small amount of money from her father's estate. <>/F 4/A<>/StructParent 2>> <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/Annots[ 33 0 R 34 0 R] /MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 32 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 1>> There is a project that I recently worked on for a customer who actually had the judge tell her, Ive never seen these types of probate forms before, where did you get them? The petitioner told the judge that she had purchased them from the law library. 74-106; s. 108, ch. The grantee or transferee of any of them shall be authorized to sign and verify the petition instead of the beneficiary or surviving spouse. Once you have done this properly, youll get an email from the system letting you know that the proposed probate orders have been accepted and are on their way to a judge. I registered for an upload account but I cant figure out how to upload the proposed order. The Clerk of the Board is a duly elected official who provides direct administrative Agencies, such as the Dept. 102 Naples Florida 34112-5324 Phone: (239) 252-2646. endobj endobj <>>> No. But at least I had access to the docket. In this county, they are very serious about their customer-completed checklists too, but they make a little game of it. 36 0 obj 2010-132. Payment to successor without court proceedings. Legal for Summary Administration in Florida. If you have the complete account numbers, or at least the last 4 digits, and have an exact or general idea of the value of the accounts, youre probably in good shape, but not always. 29 0 obj Summary probate has a shorter time frame than formal administration an average of 3-6 months vs. 6-18 months and typically costs less. Preparation of your petition for summary administration, petition for determination of homestead status, and all other forms required by the court; We prepare the probate documents for both testate (with a will) and intestate (without a will) cases. Self Help and Forms Online. This article is intended to address two common scenarios: 1. A Petition for Summary Administration is the process of Probate Application forms used when the person has been dead for over two years and all creditors of the deceased are barred, or the value of the decedent's non-exempt assets subject to probate is $75,000 or less. Any known or reasonably ascertainable creditor who did not consent to the proposed distribution and for whom provision for payment was not made may enforce the claim and, if the creditor prevails, shall be awarded costs, including reasonable attorney fees, against those who joined in the affidavit. In order to receive the funds described in subsection (2), the family member must provide to the financial institution a certified copy of the decedents death certificate and a sworn affidavit that includes all of the following: A statement attesting that the affiant is the surviving spouse, adult child, adult descendant, or parent of the decedent. Just ask us for a quote. Proposed probate orders must be typed and presented to the probate judge utilizing the specific methods that the judge has mandated. My father in law has been deceased for 5 years. (h)The affiant understands that making a false statement in this affidavit may be punishable as a criminal offense. Sworn to and subscribed before me this day of by (name of affiant), who is personally known to me or produced as identification, and did take an oath. Clerk: Im sorry sir, that information is confidential. <> The value of the entire estate subject to administration in Florida, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditors, must not exceed $75,000; or, The decedent has been dead for two or more years prior to the filing of the petition for summary administration; and. Any heir or devisee of the decedent who was lawfully entitled to share in the estate but who was not included in the distribution under this section may enforce all rights in appropriate proceedings against those who signed the affidavit or received distribution of personal property and, if successful, shall be awarded costs including reasonable attorney fees as in chancery actions. Whether or not you choose to hire Florida Document Specialists to assist you with the preparation of your petition for summary administration, we have assembled some frequently asked questions that may help you with your research. We can also help out-of-state customers who need assistance preparing ancillary summary administration forms for decedents who owned property in Florida. There is a fee for this process. <> Smooth sailing, right? Florida Document Specialists is a nonlawyer document preparation company, not a law firm. DB!W*D_)tH eTT +SxD>E!SyB!WXv49mk4;?NlyN %YVx:,tMVww,WZwC#vSmtCfHbx C8CKf#,UuLP]h`jRz}NL~ff)pX/'rtS9kH^50[c! These include facts showing why the estate qualifies for summary administration, and information about the estates assets along with a proposed plan to distribute them. It may be necessary for an attorney to petition the Court on behalf of heirs or beneficiaries, or other interested parties, to appoint a personal representative to administer the estate. Estate: Case No. Florida does not provide a free standardized form, but you can draft one as long as you follow chapter 735 of the Florida statutes. The Probate Process can take many formsrom "regular" Formal Administration, to the more simplified Summary Administrationbut they all have in common the need for a qualified Probate Attorney. When the holder of the assets receives the court order, they will then have the authority to reissue the checks to you instead of the estate. Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires an attorney for many Probate and Guardianship cases. Not in this county. You must have a Florida E-Portal Account opened, which means that you better have filed your Notice of Designated Address and Email Address, but I digress. to the general public and our website visitors as a means to further First, you must download and complete court mandated checklists for every petition that you have filed. -- Staff. q+A,{4U*( ngFXBSs$iz8&n:A Qey$sk8D{4X4hcudm C&S:}_ They are very serious about their checklists. There is no cost for depositing a will with the clerk. Filing your case for you with with the court and weekly status checks of your court docket; Complete accessibility to your document technician by telephone and email for clerical and procedural assistance until your case has finalized. They are not intended to serve as legal advice and do not substitute for competent legal counsel or direct legal research. 16 0 obj If the court is satisfied that subsection (1) is applicable and the affidavit filed by the heir at law meets the requirements of subsection (2), the court, by letter or other writing under the seal of the court, may authorize the payment, transfer, disposition, delivery, or assignment of the tangible or intangible personal property to those persons entitled. Also, they make it clear that they want the customary lines for the judges signature and date removed from the proposed orders, or they will be rejected with an error code. If the decedent did not live in Florida, the petition is usually filed in the county where the decedent owned real property. Just follow the instructions on these forms, and you Before we get back to examples of procedures for getting proposed probate orders before the judge, I want to again stress the importance of having the proper forms and proposed orders for your summary administration case. There are many challenges that pro se parties face in filing a petition for summary administration in Florida. % Once youve prepared your proposed orders, convert them to .pdf format. Summary Administration is an abbreviated form of probate. The Clerks office can sometimes be stingy with information (I guess they dont want to be accused of practicing law) but they have been mostly helpful. A statement attesting that the total amount in all qualified accounts held by the decedent in all financial institutions known to the affiant does not exceed an aggregate total of $1,000. 23 0 obj An adult child of the decedent if the decedent left no surviving spouse; An adult descendant of the decedent if the decedent left no surviving spouse and no surviving adult child; or. Upon informal application by affidavit, letter, or otherwise by any interested party, and if the court is satisfied that subsection (1) is applicable, the court, by letter or other writing under the seal of the court, may authorize the payment, transfer, or disposition of the personal property, tangible or intangible, belonging to the decedent to those persons entitled. Oath of Witness; . At this time, there is no internet access available to the public for viewing imaged documents unless you are a registered user. Who Can Serve as Personal Representative in a Florida Probate? However, you may want to consult with an attorney before filing the will so that he or she may determine whether Probate proceedings will be necessary. Property of the decedent that is not exempt from claims of creditors and that remains in the hands of those to whom it may be assigned by the order shall continue to be liable for claims against the decedent until barred as provided in the code. <>/F 4/A<>/StructParent 3>> Florida Document Specialists provides a flat-fee service for the preparation and filing of your Florida Summary Administration forms. A financial institution in this state may pay to the family member of a decedent, without any court proceeding, order, or judgment, the funds on deposit in all qualified accounts of the decedent at the financial institution if the total amount of the combined funds in the qualified accounts at the financial institution do not exceed an aggregate total of $1,000. All rights reserved. Forty-five minutes later, Im still on their website refusing to believe that the public cant access a probate docket (all the other counties allow this). What forms do I need to file for summary administration and where do I file them? These answers are merely suggestions and endobj Considering surviving spouses or heirs cannot file a small estate affidavit in Florida, it is still possible to file for disposition of property without administration (no probate) or summary administration (a simplified and quicker form of probate). The Petitioner is a beneficiary or a person nominated as personal representative in the decedent's will offered for probate. If you dont have any information, a summary administration is probably not going to work for you. Petitioners are entitled to summary administration because the decedent did not leave a will and A. The probate clerk usually relies on a summary administration checklist, and these summary administration and homestead checklists are often available online for download. <> endobj courthouse in as little as three days! Date PETITION FOR SUMMARY ADMINISTRATION: Florida Statutes 735.201, 735.203 and 735 . 13 0 obj The questionnaire provides us with the factual information that is needed to prepare your petition for summary administration and the rest of the various summary administration forms.