Escambia 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 that you love passes away, there are more than just the immediate arrangements to think about. If you are named in the Will as the personal representative of the estate, then you have a long, hard job ahead of you. As the personal representative of the estate, you are required to begin the probate process for the estate, and will see the process through no matter how long it takes.
The probate process is different for each state, and can be quite confusing, time consuming, and even very expensive for the people who must place estates in probate and work through the process. The time involved can be as little as several months, but in many cases takes up years of time and effort on behalf of the estate. If your loved one from Escambia County has so named you, then your duty is to step forward and begin this difficult process.
In Escambia County, which is a part of the state of Florida, you are bound by Florida state law to hire a probate lawyer to see you through the probate process and to help you to understand and navigate the tricky steps of probate for your loved one's estate. This requirement is to ease the amount of time that probate takes in the state of Florida, and to help grieving families to deal with the probate process more smoothly and easily than they would be able to do without help. You do not need to hire an Escambia County probate attorney, it is recommended that you hire an Escambia County probate lawyer if there is contested litigation that needs to be held in the Escambia County courthouse because you will have an attorney familiar with the local rules, judges, etc.
Your probate lawyer will be able to help you through the probate process without requiring you to learn every detail of probate law, explaining each step to you and telling you what is required of you at each step along the way instead. Your Escambia probate lawyer will also help you to fill out any forms that need to be filled out, and will help you determine the taxability of your loved one's estate and let you know how to pay the taxes required and how to handle debts against the estate as well.
Working with a probate lawyer can be a great boon because your probate lawyer will know the court system as well as the relevant local laws and regulations that apply to your loved one's estate, and they will be able to help you to get through the probate process quickly and easily so that the probate can be closed and you can go on with your life, your obligations met and the beneficiaries of the estate receiving their assets as quickly as possible.
The Florida Statutes Section 733.6171 sets forth fees 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.
During this difficult time, hiring a probate attorney can be the best decision you can make to ensure your loved one's estate is handled properly. Contact a Escambia County Probate Lawyer today!
