Florida Probate Court - Broward County Probate Court
Broward County Florida is one of three counties that comprise the South Florida metropolitan area. Broward County was created in 1915 and named for Napoleon Bonaparte Broward who served as governor from 1905 to 1909. Broward County is the second most populated county in Florida and is also the fifteenth most populated county in the United States. Broward County has its county seat as Fort Lauderdale.
The current Clerk of the Court for Broward County is Howard Forman. Mr. Forman was elected to the Clerk's office in November 2000. Broward County has offices located in Ft. Lauderdale, Hollywood, Deerfield Beach, and Plantation Florida. Hours of operation are 8:00 a.m to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can obtain answers to frequently asked questions and detailed case information via the Automated Telephone System, which is referred to as the Courthouse Information and Payment System (CHIPS) at (954) 712-7899. Using this service you can also order case files to be viewed at the Broward County Courthouse. The Public Information Telephone Line is (954) 831-6565, or for matters dealing directly with probate, you can reach a Probate Clerk at (954) 831-7154.
If you are the custodian of a Will, Florida State law states that you must file the original Will with the Clerk's Office, in the county where the decedent resided, within ten days after the date of death of the decedent. The custodian must also supply the testator's date of death and social security number upon request from the Clerk. This information is contained on the death certificate that you may obtain from the Funeral Home.
Once the Will is filed, it will need to be determined if you will require the services of a probate attorney. For very small estates it may be possible to proceed with a process called Disposition of Assets without Administration. You do not need an attorney to represent you in this type of proceeding and you can find out more information about this process with the Broward County Probate Clerk. Most estates, however, fall under the Formal Administration proceedings. If all assets owned by the decedent were jointly owned with a spouse, there probably is no need for probate as jointly held assets between husband and wife are usually survivorship assets which means the surviving spouse takes them automatically upon the decedent's death. Florida Law requires an attorney to represent the Personal Representative, or Executor named in the Will in most cases. Only in rare cases do you not need the services of a probate attorney.
If the decedent did not possess a Will, Florida Probate Laws set forth rules for distribution of the assets according to a hierarch. This type of estate is referred to as intestate and basically, if there is a surviving spouse and no lineal children, then the entire estate is distributed to the spouse. If there is a surviving spouse and lineal descendants, the surviving spouse is entitled to the first $60,000 plus one-half of the remaining assets. The lineal descendants equally share the remaining portion of the estate. Call 1-800-PROBATE ext 5 to learn more about the Broward County Probate Court.
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