Gulf 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.
If you are probating an estate in the state of Florida, then you have likely already come across the law that requires you to retain the services and advice of a probate lawyer to get you through the process. This can actually be a wonderful thing, since your probate lawyer will be able to help you with every step of the process and every detail of probate without your having to look any of it up yourself.
Your probate lawyer will help you to navigate the tricky waters of the probate system without every needing to read a legal text or look up an obscure facet of the probate law yourself, and will explain things to you should you ever become confused about the process itself or the course that you are taking to get through probate.
In the state of Florida, probate can take anywhere from six months to several years depending on the speed at which you and you attorney work, the taxability of the estate, and the number of complications involved in your case. With a little bit of luck and a great probate lawyer, you will be able to get through the probate process quickly and easily.
If there are contested issues, you will need to hire a Gulf probate lawyer who knows all that there is to know about state probate law in Florida, and will also understand local laws and regulations that might confuse a lawyer from out of area. This will help them and you move quickly through probate, closing your case as quickly as possible.
It might seem like a cumbersome law to follow if you think that you can navigate probate by yourself, but keep in mind that probate law varies not just from state to state but also from county to county within each state. A probate lawyer will save you money just by virtue of saving you time and energy on the search for the correct laws and regulations that must be followed to avoid penalty.
The fees for a Florida probate attorney are usually based on 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.
You will not regret hiring a local lawyer to help you probate your loved one's estate, as your probate lawyer will help you get through the ordeal quickly and as painlessly as can be. Speak to a Gulf County Probate Lawyer today!
