Florida Probate Court - Bay County Probate Court
Bay County was founded in 1913 and is located in the North West portion of Florida. Its county seat is Panama City, which is also the biggest city in Bay County Florida. Panama City is best known as a tourist vacation spot because of its white sandy beaches and crystal blue water that attracts large dolphin pods to swim there year round.
The Bay County Clerk of Court has been Mr. Harold Bazzel since 1980. His office is located at 300 East Fourth Street, Panama City, Florida 32402. You can reach the probate department directly at 850-763-9061 or by email at probate@baycoclerk.com. For specific case information you can also make a Request for Public Records by downloading the request form at the Clerk's website at baycoclerk.com.
The Bay County probate department is responsible for administration of a decedent's assets to the rightful heirs either by the terms of a Last Will & Testament or in the case of no Will, the Florida Probate Code.
The State of Florida Probate Code requires, in the majority of cases, that the Personal Representative, or Executor, be represented by an attorney when filing for probate in Bay County. It is only in rare instances of probating very small estates can the process be completed without the assistance of an attorney. This process is called Disposition Without Administration and you can see Florida Statute Section 735.301 for more information in this regard. Even if an attorney is not required to complete the probate process, it may be in your best interest to consult an experienced estate attorney to ensure that the estate is handled in a timely and legally efficient manner. The probate process is a technical and complicated process that would quickly become frustrating for someone not versed in that area.
The Florida Probate Code also requires that if a decedent left a Will, the original of that document must be filed with the Clerk of Bay County within 10 days from the decedents date of death. Estates that hold jointly held assets do not have to go through probate but the original Will still needs to be filed with the Clerk. Call 1-800-PROBATE ext 5 to learn more about the Bay County Probate Court.
For estates that the decedent did not leave a Will, and the assets are not jointly owned, the Florida Probate Code requires the Probate Judge to select a Personal Representative through a hierarch process. Basically the sequence is that the surviving Spouse of the decedent is the first to be considered and then the person who is the nearest heir and/or selected by the majority of interest among the heirs. You can read more about this process in Florida Statues 732.102.
The entire probate process usually takes 6 to 12 months to complete. It is important that you obtain the services of an attorney whose practice concentrates on probate as this will ensure the process runs as quickly and smoothly as possible. If an attorney is not familiar with the probate process, it could take several years to complete the probate process. In cases of very large estates, it can take approximately 2 years to complete the probate process as the IRS has to sign off on the case before it can be closed with the Court.
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