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Jason Edward Havens's Answers

Jason Edward Havens
Brentwood Estate Planning Attorney.
Contributor Level 6

2

Attorney answers:

  1. Jason Edward Havens
  2. Amy J Fanzlaw

Does an estate have to go through Probate?

Asked by a user in Fort Lauderdale, FL - about 2 years ago.

That is unfortunately not a simple question, even though it might seem so. As you might be aware, Florida has two types of probate administration: summary (abbreviated) administration and formal administration. Summary administration is generally available if the estate's assets are valued at less than $75,000 or if more than two years have elapsed since the decedent's date of death. See FLA. STAT. section 735.201 et seq. (available here: http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/). There are...

1

Attorney answers:

  1. Jason Edward Havens

How do we execute an estate without putting it into probate.

Asked by a user in Fort Wayne, IN - about 2 years ago.

You should consult a lawyer licensed in Indiana who focuses on -- and ideally is board-certified in -- estate planning and administration. In Florida, our homestead law would potentially protect the trailer, although even our homestead exemption from creditors' claims -- one of the strongest in the country -- generally would not protect against valid claims of the Internal Revenue Service, as those would "trump" the state's creditor exemption laws. I have no idea whether Indiana has a similar...