Citrus County Probate - Probate in Florida
Christopher Q. Wintter Florida Probate Lawyer of Wintter & Associates, P.A.
Contact information: 2239 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, FL 33020 - Hollywood: 954-920-7014
Miami-Dade: 305-948-6788 - Boca Raton: 561-470-3448 - Fax: 954-920-7080
Wintter & Associates, P.A. is a Florida trust and estate law firm focusing its practice in the areas of probate administration, trust administration, guardianship administration, probate litigation, trust litigation, guardianship litigation, and estate planning. The firm's professionals are devoted to the representation of clients in estate, trust, probate, and guardianship proceedings. The firm is well known and is well respected by its colleagues, competitors, adversaries, and judges.
Christopher Q. Wintter has over 23 years of experience as a practicing attorney and is a recognized expert in Trust and Estate matters by the Florida Bar. Mr. Wintter earned his Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law (1987) and earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting with High Honors from the University of Florida (1982).
Our attorneys have a thorough understanding of the legal, tax and financial issues that come into play with complex Trusts and Estates. Mr. Wintter holds the prestigious Board Certification by the Florida Bar in Wills, Trusts, and Estates, a credential held by fewer than 350 attorneys out of the more than 90,000 attorneys licensed to practice law in Florida. Mr. Wintter has been Board Certified since 1999. Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Wintter was a CPA and maintained his license as a Certified Public Accountant from 1984-2002.
To learn more about Wintter and Associates, P.A., please visit our web-site www.WintterLaw.com.
When someone dies, sometimes the furthest thing from our minds is when we should hire a probate lawyer, while for others, they want to know that in the midst of all else that they are dealing with. The sooner you do it, the better and the faster it will likely be handled.
Florida probate law requires that all administered probates be handled by a Florida probate lawyer. There are only a few instances in which you will not need a probate lawyer to do the administration on your probate - if it is your spouse that passed away and all his or her assets are jointly owned with you, Florida law states that all survivorship/joint assets are immediately transferred to the spouse. Another instance is when you do disposition without administration for small estates or estates where the Personal Representative is the sole beneficiary of the estate. However, even small estates sometimes require administration done by a probate lawyer, and if your spouse owned anything on their own, you will need to have the probate administered. The process of probate and even disposition without administration can be quite difficult to understand, hiring a probate lawyer is the best way to ensure that the whole estate is handled efficiently, correctly and quickly. This will protect the estate and the beneficiaries.
You can hire any Florida probate lawyer of your choosing as well - you do not need to hire a Citrus County Probate Lawyer . It is recommended that you hire a Citrus County probate lawyer if there is contested litigation that needs to be held in the Citrus County courthouse because you will have an attorney familiar with the local rules, judges, etc. Most of the probate process is handled electronically by phone, fax and email or by postal mail.
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.
Not all estates are created equal and there are many aspects that impact the way an estate is handled and the time it takes to complete it. Speak to your probate lawyer to find out how long it will take, approximately, to complete your probate.
During this difficult time, hiring a probate attorney to assist you can be the best decision you can make to endure your loved one's estate is handled properly.
