Charlotte County Probate - Probate in Florida
Many people question whether they should hire a probate lawyer to help them with their loved ones estate. The answer is yes. You should hire a probate lawyer as soon as possible.
Florida probate law requires that all probates that need administration be handled by an attorney. The only way to avoid hiring a probate lawyer is to do disposition without administration; however, this only applies to small estates or estates where the Personal Representative is also the sole beneficiary to the estate. Otherwise, you will need to hire a probate lawyer to do the administration on the estate probate. Administration of an estate is governed by Florida's probate law and a probate lawyer specializes in that law. A simple estate, or what seems to be one, can actually be quite complex, and even if you think the estate is small and simple, it's likely still in your benefit to hire a probate lawyer to help you through the administration. An estate probate can be quite daunting if you are not a qualified probate lawyer.
If it is your spouse that has passed away, and all of his or her assets were co-owned by both of you, you may not need to hire a probate lawyer. Florida law states that survivorship assets (co-owned by both spouses) are immediately transferred to the spouse. However if the deceased owned any property or assets in which the spouse was not named as a co-owner, you will need a probate lawyer to help probate that part of your spouses estate.
There is no geographical limit to where you need to hire a probate lawyer from - you can hire any Florida probate attorney that is convenient to you - they need not be a Charlotte County probate attorney. It is recommended that you hire a Charlotte Probate Lawyer if there is contested litigation that needs to be held in the Charlotte County courthouse because you will have an attorney familiar with the local rules, judges, etc.
Florida Statutes Section 733.6171, which states:
733.6171 Compensation of attorney for the personal representative -
(1) Attorneys for personal representatives shall be entitled to reasonable compensation payable from the estate assets without court order.
(2) The attorney, the personal representative, and persona bearing the impact of the compensation may agree to compensation determined in a different manner than provided in this section if the manner is disclosed to the parties bearing the impact of the compensation and if no objection is made as provided for in the Florida Probate Rules.
(3) Compensation for ordinary services of attorneys in formal estate administration is presumed to be reasonable if based on the compensable value of the estate, which is the inventory value of the probate estate assets and the income earned by the estate during the administration as provided in the following schedule:
(a) One thousand five hundred dollars for estates having a value of $40,000 or less
(b) An additional $750 for estates having a value of more than $40,000, but not exceeding $70,000.
(c) An additional $750 for estates having a value of more than $70,000 and not exceeding $100,000.
(d) For estates having a value in excess of $100,000, at the rate of 3 percent on the next $900,000.
(e) At the rate of 2.5 percent for all above $1 million and not exceeding $3 million.
(f) At the rate of 2 percent for all above $3 million and not exceeding $5 million.
(g) At the rate of 1.5 percent for all above $5 million and not exceeding $10 million
(h) At a rate of 1 percent for all above $10 million.
Each estate varies widely in complexity, which impacts how much time it takes the probate lawyer to complete the probate, the steps involved and the services you will require. The time to close on an estate varies as much as the cost does - it can take anywhere from four to five weeks for a non-taxable estate with summary administration, six to twelve months for a non-taxable estate with full administration and approximately two years for a taxable estate to be completed.
During this difficult time, hiring a probate attorney to assist you can be the best decision you can make to ensure your loved one's estate is handled properly.
