Probate

Probate is the process by which a deceased person’s assets are administered by the court. It involves gathering the deceased person’s assets, paying the deceased person’s debts and taxes, and distributing the deceased person’s assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with the deceased person’s will and/or state law.

Probate is not always necessary. Whether probate is required depends on factors such as how the deceased person’s assets are titled at the time of death, whether there are beneficiary designations on file for the assets with the asset custodians, whether there are debts to be discharged, and whether the deceased person’s estate plan left family members, in particular surviving spouses, the share of the deceased person’s assets to which they are entitled under state law.

The Archbold Law Firm, P.A. represents personal representatives (known as “executors” in some other states), beneficiaries, and creditors in formal administration, summary administration, and ancillary administration (when a resident of another state dies owning real estate, including timeshares, in Florida) in the probate courts of Sarasota County, Manatee County, and other counties in Florida.