Miami Dade County Probate - Probate in Florida
One of the questions on the minds of families who have lost someone they love is whether or not they need the assistance of a probate lawyer to help them with the estate their loved one left behind and how soon they should be contacting a probate lawyer to get the probate underway.
Nearly all estates in Florida require that you have a probate lawyer to do the administration. Only a few select types of estates can be done without a probate lawyer - very small estates and estates where the executor is also the sole beneficiary to the estate. These estates can be done with disposition without administration and therefore do not require a probate lawyer. Another type of estate is for spouses where one has passed away - if the spouses both owned everything jointly, then all the assets are immediately transferred to the surviving spouse, however if the deceased spouse owns anything on their own, the estate will require probate.
There is no time limit to hiring a probate lawyer to administer an estate - you can do so whenever you like, although it's not advisable that you wait too very long. You also do not have to hire a probate lawyer from your area, or from the area where the estate is held, you can hire any licensed Florida probate lawyer to do your estate probate. Probate is largely handled though electronics such as phone, fax and email as well as postal mail. However, if there are contested issues that may require court appearances, you should hire a Miami Dade probate lawyer, because a Miami Dade probate attorney will be most familiar with the local judges and the Court system, which will prove helpful.
Each individual estate is different from another, but regarding the fees for a probate attorney, they are usually charged according to 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.
For time, you can expect that a non-taxable estate will take between four and five weeks if only a summary administration is required and six to ten months for full administration. A taxable estate takes approximately two years to close because you must wait for the IRS to sign off on the estate tax return before your probate lawyer can close off the probate.
Your individual Miaim Dade County Probate Lawyer can help you by answering your questions regarding your own estate case the best and give you a more solid idea of how much your estate could cost you and how long it should take to complete.
