Duval County, FL Probate Law

What Florida Residents Need to Know About Probate and Inheritance Law

Many "snowbirds" who reside in northern states own property in Florida whether or not it is their main residence. If you inherit property from a snowbird, you may need to learn about Florida inheritance law whether you live there or not. Here you can learn how to use Florida's summary probate procedures for estates worth less than $75,000, and how so-called Ladybird Deeds are commonly used in Florida (as they are in Michigan and Texas) as an inexpensive way to pass real estate at death while avoiding probate, without the need of a living trust..

What Brings You Here?

• a beneficiary of a pay-on-death financial account, or a Transfer on Death Deed for a vehicle or real estate, looking to claim the property,
• an inheritor named as an executor or trustee in a loved one’s will or living trust and you need to know how the probate process works, or
• you’re planning ahead now, to make it easy on your loved ones later to get access to your property after you die,

This site will provide you with tips, tools, and checklists that you can use in Florida to transfer property at death as quickly and affordably as possible.

Six Things to Keep In Mind About Florida Inheritance Law

Here are six things to keep in mind about probate and transferring property at death:

1. Much of your property never goes through probate or your will

You may not realize that, if your bank accounts or other accounts have a named beneficiary on file with the financial institution, that account will never pass through your will and will bypass the probate process.

Many estates can avoid probate altogether, because assets will go to named beneficiaries because they are held as pay-on-death or joint tenancy accounts, or in retirement accounts with a named beneficiary or life insurance, or the assets were held in a living trust, and whatever is left is small enough to fall under a state's small estates limit.

Property That Avoids Probate in Florida

If you are a beneficiary or a joint owner "with right of survivorship" (WROS), you can typically claim the asset by dealing with the financial institution directly, and provide them with a death certificate and proof of your identity as a beneficiary.

• Retirement Accounts: How to inherit an IRAs and other retirement accounts in Florida.
• Life Insurance: How to inherit life insurance.
• Joint Tenancy w/Right of Survivorship (JTWROS): How to inherit joint tenancy property.
• Pay on Death and Transfer-on-Death Financial Accounts (POD) & (TOD): How to inherit payable-on-death or transfer on accounts in Florida.
• Transfer-on-Death Deeds (TODDs): TODDs are a low cost alternative to a living trust as a simple way to transfer real estate at death without probate, the same way you would a financial account. Learn if transfer-on-death deeds are avaialble in Florida.
• Living Trusts: Property held by a living trust does not pass through probate, but only if property ownership was correctly transferred to the living trust once it was set up.

2. Probate is governed by state law and is handled by the county court where the deceased person resided or owned property

• How Probate Works in Florida: Get an overview of how probate works, and whether your estate may be able to bypass the procedure entirely.

If you haven't done so already, make sure you enter the zip code or at least select the state and county of residence for the person who died, to learn about the probate law and probate court procedure for that state and county.

Helpful Links

• Florida Probate Court Website
• Florida Probate Forms
• Florida Probate Self-Help Materials

PROBATE COURT

Duval County, FL Probate Court Finder: Get details about Duval County probate court.

(You are currently looking at information for Duval County, FL. Click here for information about Probate Court for Duval County.)

If the Deceased Owned Property In More Than One State

If the deceased person owned property in more than one state, "ancillary probate" proceedings may be required in those other states, depending on how the property was owned. These extra hurdles can be avoided by some simple planning ahead.

3. Simplified Florida Probate Procedures May Be Available to Transfer Property Quickly

For property that did not have a beneficiary designation or was not in a living trust, there may be "simplified probate" procedures or "small estate affidavit" procedures in Florida for transferring certain kinds of property at death, which can avoid the cost and time of a full-blown court-supervised probate proceeding.

SHORTCUTS:

Small Estate Procedures in Florida: Many states allow simplified procedures for small estates and certain kinds of property which can be transferred by a simple affidavit procedure if the value of the estate falls under a certain limit.

Property Transfer Affidavits: Most states have quick procedures for transferring property valued less than a certain amount, if all the heirs agree.

In Florida, there's no Affidavit procedure available for small estates. There is a summary probate procedure available for estates that have no real estate and in which all property is exempt from creditor's claims, except the amounts needed to pay funeral and the last two months of illness expenses.

There's another summary probate procedure available for estates that don't exceed $75,000 or in which the decedent has been dead for mor than two years. (This excludes the value of all joint tenancy property and other assets that pass by beneficiary designation, such as life insurance and transfer on death accounts.)

Need Professional Help? Talk to a Probate Attorney

Want help handling your duties as an executor of a Florida estate? Connect with a Florida probate lawyer from the Nolo/Martindale network.

4. Even if there's no will, someone needs to start the probate process when someone dies

Regardless of the size of the estate, someone needs to start the probate process within a certain period after someone dies. If you were named the executor in the will, you are that person. If there is no will, or no executor was named in the will, the court will appoint someone to be responsible for filing the necessary documents to complete the process of paying debts and taxes and funeral expenses from the estate and distributing property to beneficiaries. If you are a beneficiary of a small estate, you may be able to claim your inheritance with a simple affidavit. (If there is no will, ;beneficiaries are determined by the "intestate succession" laws in the state where the person is a resident.)

Wills & Intestacy

• Wills: What are they? Do I need one? What if someone dies without one?
  • Naming an executor.
  • Appointing guardians and property managers for minor children
  • Specifying how debts should be paid

  5. Death & Taxes: Most estates do not need to file an estate tax return, but there are other kinds of year-end taxes to be paid when someone dies

  Unless an estate is worth more than $13,610,000, it will not need to file a Federal estate tax return.

  • What taxes need to paid when someone dies?
  • Florida Estate Tax: Whether or not Florida has an inheritance or estate tax
    • Florida, like most states, does not impose an estate or inheritance tax. Only a few states do.

    6. Creditors and taxes must be paid before you can inherit assets

    • The estate always must pay taxes before any other creditors can get paid.
    • Debts that are secured by property, like mortages, are called secured debts, because if someone doesn't pay the loan, the lender can take the property. If you inherit a house, you also inherit the mortgage.
    • Unsecured debts, like credit cards, don't work that way -- as a beneficiary you are not responsible for that debt,
    • But the estate needs to pay all known creditors before distributing property to beneficiaries and heirs. Otherwise, a creditor can come calling to get paid back from estate assets, even after they've been distributed.
    • Most states have some sort of protection from creditors in the form of a “family allowance” and/or a homestead exemption.
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