River Ranch, FL Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

No. Moving to Florida will not affect your transfer on death designations. Transfer on death designations will allow the accounts to pass directly to the individuals designated without going through the probate process.

The information presented is incomplete. Were the accounts owned solely in your father's name? Were they joint accounts? Did any of the accounts have payable on death or designated beneficiary directions? Who are the legatees under your father's will? Your father's will must be filed with the County Clerk. As the named executor you would seek to open a probate estate and be appointed the representative. As the appointed representative you would collect the probate assets existing at the time of his death, pay all claims against the estate, and distribute the assets in accord with the terms of the will. This may mean that you must recover estate assets improperly converted by your mother, if any. This can be done through the probate estate. If at the time of his death your father had assets in excess of $100,000 or real estate then a probate estate should be opened to administer and deal with the assets. The appointed representative would have the duty to collect the assets of the estate as of the date of death.

In Florida, a Personal Representative of a probate estate is appointed by a circuit court judge, upon the filing of  a Petition for Administration with the probate court.  The Petition for Administration must include information about the decedent, who are the parties who are interested in the estate, and the approximate value and the nature of the assets owned by the decedent that are subject to the probate proceeding.  All of the interested persons must receive notice of the filing of the Petition for Administration, and unless those interested persons have signed a waiver they must be notified by way of certified mail of the date of the hearing scheduled by the probate court to consider the Petition for Administration. Typically, the Petition for Administration must be prepared and filed by a Florida lawyer unless the proposed personal representative is also a Florida lawyer.  If a beneficiary is the sole interested person in an estate (no other heirs nor creditors), then the beneficiary may serve as the personal representative without the need to hire a Florida lawyer to represent the personal representative. If you need to file a petition for administration so you can be appointed personal representative of an estate, you should consult with a Florida lawyer who is experienced in handling probate matters.