How Strategic Titling Can Help Bypass the Need for Florida Probate

Florida probate law and processes exist for an important reason: they help ensure that estates are legally settled, and that beneficiaries receive their intended inheritances. The importance underlying these goals is why probate is required in Florida under a great many circumstances. However, if you understand the purposes behind Florida probate, you can manage and build your estate plan to address the issues that probate is meant to address. With certain tools, you can pre-resolve certain issues which probate is called upon to address. If there is no issue, that item will not be subject to probate. An experienced wills & estate attorney can help you assess your own estate and needs as well as the applicable law, and help you build an estate plan that maximizes your ability to settle your estate outside of the probate process. Read on for some general information, for experienced, official legal counsel contact one of our esteemed attorneys at Suncoast Civil Law.

Some Assets Do Not Go Through Florida Probate

As mentioned above, probate is not a random hurdle that the state decided to impose on grieving friends and family. Probate serves an important purpose. One of probate’s primary purposes is making sure that assets are received by the correct beneficiary after a testator passes away. There are ways that you can transfer this interest prior to passing away. If there is no inheritance issue to settle, there is no need for probate.

The way assets are titled will majorly impact how the asset must be processed after an owner passes away.

• Probate Assets: Assets that are in the decedent’s own, individual name when the person passes away must go through the probate process. The assets will be distributed according to the decedent’s last will and testament if they had one, and by Florida’s intestacy laws if no valid last will and testament is found and recorded.
• Joint tenancy property: A property that is owned jointly by the deceased and somebody else may be passed directly to the other surviving owner under the law of the right of survivorship. This might, for example, be a home jointly owned by a married couple, or a joint bank account with two named owners on the account. To avoid probate, the surviving owner must have their name listed on the property with no other beneficiaries on the title.
• Beneficiary-designated accounts: Florida will allow you to make a payable-on-death designation to several accounts, including savings, checking, retirement, and life insurance policies. If carried out appropriately, money in these accounts may be transferred to the designated party without passing through probate.
• Revocable Living Trusts: Assets held in a living trust can pass to beneficiaries without the need for probate. Often, the decedent remains the trustee until their passing. At that time, the successor named in the trust will gain control of the assets. Careful planning of your estate can help you to strategize what assets need to go through probate upon your death, and what actions you can take now to minimize the need for probate elsewhere. Our experienced team can help.

Contact Suncoast Civil Law

Good legal advice can help you to protect your legacy and ease the complications of estate planning and probate for yourself and your family. Contact the experienced Sarasota wills & probate attorneys at Suncoast Civil law to begin speaking with our legal team.

Sources:

floridabar.org/public/consumer/pamphlet026/

help.flcourts.gov/Other-Resources/Probate