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Some people die leaving their homes or any other sort of real estate behind without making any will. Real estate or the ones that are mostly made of real estate, personal items all have to follow the same guidelines of the law. Illiquid estate or the estates where no cash is involved is hard to distribute among the family members or beneficiaries.
Also, if you found a property for buying and get to know that the owner has died years ago, you have to follow the probate law to buy that estate. In this article we talk about the assets you can probate or when and how should you do it.
What is Probate?
The court supervises the probate process and people do it to identify and collect the items of a deceased person. The process also includes the payment of the decedent’s debts & distribution of his assets and real estate to his beneficiaries. Courts also make sure that they use the decedent’s leftover assets for the payment of his funeral & any other debt.
The beneficiaries then receive the remaining if his assets and belongings. To find more details about it you can read the Florida Probate Code of the Florida statutes. According to Florida, there are 2 kinds of probate- summary administration and formal administration.
What assets can you probate?
Probate administration is applicable only for probate assets in the case of probates with real estate Florida. So you can only probate those assets which the decedent solely own before death. Or even if there are other co-owners and there is no provision for involuntary succession, then you can probate. You can probate an investment or bank account solely in the name of the decedent.
But if the person owned any account where the amount is payable at death, or is a joint account holder where the other person is alive, then it is not a probate asset. Furthermore, you can probate for a life insurance policy, / individual retirement account where the amount goes to the decedent’s estate. You can even probate in case of an annuity contract.
When should and shouldn’t your probate?
You must probate if the property solely belongs to the decedent / if he is the joint holder of any property. In these cases, you must do probate administration to take the charge of the property(s). There are also instances where the title automatically passes and you don’t need to probates with real estate Florida.
This happens if the decedent’s wife was the joint owner of some property or there are other partners of a property with the right to survivorship. Also if the decedent transferred the ownership to a trust, probate administration will not help.
Why is probate important?
Probates with real estate Florida is obligatory for the beneficiaries to take ownership of the assets decedent left before dying. If the decedent had a will, the court will proceed according to the will and will process the transfer accordingly. But if there is no will then probate administration is the only way for the beneficiaries to transfer the ownership of any estate.
Also, there are some properties and assets that don’t need a probate administration. Take the help of an attorney for the required advice. At times, you might need to probate if the decedent’s had any debts to you need to settle financial affairs.
Types of Probate
There are 5 different types of probates with real estate Florida.
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Formal Administration- You need to follow this if the decedent’s assets value outdoes $75000 or if he mentions in his will for a formal administration.
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Summary Administration- This is necessary if the estate values at less than $75000 or if the person has died more than 2 years ago.
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Ancillary Administration- This administration is for those decedents who were not citizens of Florida but had real estate in Florida.
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Admission of Will from Foreign Probate to Record in Florida- In this case, the decedent must have citizenship of another state other than Florida. But to start this proceeding, the probate case of the other state needs to be reopened.
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Determination of Homestead- It is a unique procedure under the formal administration in the case of homestead properties.
If you have more questions about probating an estate, contact an estate attorney or experienced firms.
Formal Administration- You need to follow this if the decedent’s assets value outdoes $75000 or if he mentions in his will for a formal administration.
Summary Administration- This is necessary if the estate values at less than $75000 or if the person has died more than 2 years ago.
Ancillary Administration- This administration is for those decedents who were not citizens of Florida but had real estate in Florida.
Admission of Will from Foreign Probate to Record in Florida- In this case, the decedent must have citizenship of another state other than Florida. But to start this proceeding, the probate case of the other state needs to be reopened.
Determination of Homestead- It is a unique procedure under the formal administration in the case of homestead properties.
