How Difficult Is it To Probate an Estate in Florida?

Full question:

if you have a will from father to son. how hard is it to change into son,s name on your own? after his death

• Category: Wills and Estates
• Subcategory: Probate
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Florida

Answer:

When a person dies, their assets are distributed in the probate process. If a person dies without a valid will, an administrator is named to handle the distribution of the estate after a petition to probate the estate is filed with the court in the county where the deceased resided. The court will issue letters testamentary of letters of administration, giving the administrator authority to collect the assets and pay the debts of the decedent. The executor will be responsible for sending notices to creditors, collecting the property of the deceased, filing inventories of the estate, and distributing the estate assets in accordance with the will. The complexity will vary according to the circumstances in each case, such as the assets of the estate and potential claims involved.

In cases where the decedent didn't own property valued at more than a certain amount, which varies by state, the estate may go through a small estate administration process, rather than the formal probate process. The amount is $75,000 in Florida to collect property by affidavit. To dispose of the real property interests of the decedent, the executor or administrator executes an executor's deed or fiduciary deed.

Often when someone dies, companies often tell family members that they need "Letters of Administration" to distribute the funds. While this may be true in some cases, most Florida Probate Courts will only issue Letters of Administration for Formal Probate Cases. If the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years or the assets subject to probate are less than $75,000 then you qualify under the Florida Probate code for a summary probate process. This small estate administration is called Florida Summary Administration. Once the court enters an order of summary administration, the court order can be used to collect and distribute the money in a bank account or other assets of the decedent.

Certain assets are not included as part of a person's estate and may pass outside of probate, such as trust assets and transfer on death accounts or property owned by joint tenants which passes under a right of survivorship when one tenant dies.

Joint tenancy is a form of ownership by two or more individuals together. It differs from other types of co-ownership in that the surviving joint tenant immediately becomes the owner of the whole property upon the death of the other joint tenant. State law, which varies by state, controls the creation of a joint tenancy in both real and personal property. Joint tenancy property passes outside of probate, however, it may be severed so that the property becomes part of one person's estate and passes to that person's heirs. A joint tenancy between a husband and wife is sometimes known as a tenancy by the entirety. Tenancy by the entirety has some characteristics different than other joint tenancies, such as the inability of one joint tenant to sever the ownership and differences in tax treatment. In some jurisdictions, to create a tenancy by the entirety the parties must specify in the deed that the property is being conveyed to the couple "as tenants by the entirety," while in others, a conveyance to a married couple is presumed to create a tenancy by the entirety unless the deed specifies otherwise. Each joint tenant has an equal, undivided interest in the whole property. All joint tenants, and their spouses, must sign deeds and contracts to transfer or sell real estate. A joint tenant may convey his or her interest to a third party, depending on applicable state law. This conversion would in effect terminate the joint tenancy and create a tenancy in common.

Tenants in common hold title to real or personal property so that each has an "undivided interest" in the property and all have an equal right to use the property. Tenants in common each own a portion of the property, which may be unequal, but have the right to possess the entire property. There is no "right of survivorship" if one of the tenants in common dies, and each interest may be separately sold, mortgaged or willed to another. A tenancy in common interest is distinguished from a joint tenancy interest, which passes automatically to the survivor. Upon the death of a tenant in common there must be a court supervised administration of the estate of the deceased to transfer the interest in the tenancy in common.

In the case of a life tenant who holds a life estate, when the life tenant dies, their interest may pass to the remaindermen. Title may also return to the person giving or deeding the property or to his/her surviving children or descendants upon the death of the life tenant--this is called "reversion."

Please see the following Florida statutes:

http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0733/part02.htm&StatuteYear=2009&Title=%2D%3E2009%2D%3EChapter%20733%2D%3EPart%20II
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0733/part06.htm&StatuteYear=2009&Title=%2D%3E2009%2D%3EChapter%20733%2D%3EPart%20VI