Florida Probate Legal Questions

I am sorry for your loss. Situations involving access to a deceased person’s phone or digital accounts have become increasingly common in probate matters, and I have assisted families dealing with similar issues involving Apple devices and locked digital accounts. Under Florida law, once a person passes away, their assets including digital assets such as phones, online accounts, and stored data become part of their estate. Companies like Apple typically require proof that the person requesting access has legal authority to act for the estate. A death certificate alone often is not enough because it does not establish who is legally authorized to manage the deceased person’s property. In many cases I have handled, Apple requires documentation showing that someone has been legally authorized by the probate court. This usually means either Letters of Administration from a formal probate case or a court order from a summary administration confirming who the beneficiaries or authorized persons are. Whether you should file Summary Administration or Formal Administration depends mostly on the value of the probate estate. In Florida, Summary Administration may be available if the probate assets are $75,000 or less, or if the person has been deceased for more than two years. Summary administration is a simplified probate process and often used when there are few assets or when heirs simply need a court order confirming their rights. However, some companies specifically require Letters of Administration, which are issued only in a formal administration where a personal representative is appointed. I have seen situations where families file a small probate case primarily to obtain this legal authority so institutions will cooperate. It is also important to understand that Apple’s internal policies sometimes create an additional challenge. Even with a court order, Apple may only remove the activation lock and could require wiping the device before restoring access. I have seen this happen with clients who already had the phone passcode but were locked out due to Apple ID security restrictions. Florida probate exists specifically to determine who has authority to manage a deceased person’s property and assets. Jurado & Associates explains that probate is the legal process used to identify heirs and authorize someone to act on behalf of the estate:https://juradolawfirm.com/probate-in-florida/ You can also learn more about how the Florida probate process works here:https://yourfloridaprobatelawyer.com/florida-probate-process/ A probate attorney can review the estate assets and determine whether a summary administration will satisfy Apple’s requirements or whether a short formal administration would be the better path to obtain the authority they are requesting.... Read More

You cannot do anything until you find her.   Then you have to file a lawsuit for breach of contract, serve her, and perhaps reopen the probate proceeding.  If there were no will, then, apart from the house, she would only get 50%.   If you do all of the above, then you may still have to spend a great deal of money and effort to enforce any judgment that you get.  ... Read More

Life insurance proceeds do not pass through the probate court. However, since your father was the beneficiary of mom's life insurance policy, and he is now deceased, you have to open up a probate case for your father and collect the proceeds of the policy, and then the court would distribute them to wit: to the heirs under Dad's will, or if Dad died without a will, then they would pass to the closest blood relatives under Florida's intestacy statute. Of course, keep in mind this is just the general rule. You would need to discuss all the facts and review all the documents with an attorney here in Florida for more specific advice.... Read More

A client has an unconditional right to discharge his lawyer at any time. The only financial responsibility the client would have would be a lien for costs expended by the lawyer, and a charging Lien for work he completed. If it's only been a couple of days, obviously no costs have been expended, and  no work product has been completed.    ... Read More

No.  It merely delivers the check, payable to the estate, to your care.  You must open an estate through the court in a formal or informal proceeding and then, with an EIN number for the estate, open a bank account for the estate.  The court-appointed personal representative can then pay the estate's debts out of that account and write checks for the remainder to the heirs.... Read More

No.  Trusts are only recognized in common law (English speaking) countries.  If she has real estate in other countries, her best approach may be to have separate arrangements in those countries, such as Wills which specify (as should her US Will) that the Will only governs property in that country.  She could have only a US Will with a special international certificate signed by an attorney but that could well be more expensive and harder to administer when she passes.... Read More

To obtain letters of administration in Florida, it is necessary to open a probate proceeding in the county where your mother was a resident at the time of her death. The letters of administration are entered by the probate judge after he or she determines that the person petitioning for the letters of administration is legally entitled to have the letters of administration issued. There are various steps necessary to establish the legal entitlement for the issuance of letters of administration. You will need to retain a probate lawyer to assist you. The probate laws require that you have a member of The Florida Bar represent the personal representative in the probate court unless the person petitioning for letters of administration is the only beneficiary. In this case you have indicated that there are other beneficiaries, so it will be necessary for you to retain a probate lawyer to file the petition for administration of the probate estate. There are many issues that must be addressed in the petition for administration, which is why it is a good idea to have experienced probate counsel even if you are the only beneficiary.... Read More

There is no single bright line deadline to probate a will in Florida, but time limitations can be triggered, if for instance, someone else is trying to probate a different will or is proceeding intestate. Otherwise, it usually depends on the circumstances, such as if there are assets that need to be retitled, or otherwise administered. The timing can also be influenced by the need to handle creditor claims. If the estate requires a formal probate, the person seeking administration will need to hire an attorney. If formal probate is not needed (such as administration without probate or summary administration) the person might be able to handle without an attorney, although there are many potential pitfalls to proceeding without a lawyer.   The above commentary is a general discussion about the law, does not constitute specific legal advice about your case, and no attorney-client relationship has been formed. Time limitations could apply to your matter and you should consider hiring an attorney to advise you on any such time limitations.... Read More