Ratings. Guidance. The Right Lawyer.
are court costs reimburseable by an estate in addition to funeral expenses?
Clearwater, FL
Viewed 93 times.
Posted 9 months ago in Probate
Flag as objectionable
The Florida clerk website shows a probate option:"Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration:
May be filed to request release of the deceased's solely owned assets to reimburse the person who paid the final expenses; funeral bills... days, etc." My father died & left a small amount in two bank accounts & some monies in a stock account. The funeral home cost is 1300-most of one bank account. We are from out of state and had travel also.To get that back we have to pay filing & court costs. Filing costs seem ~ 400-500 dollars. can we claim those fees back too? Is there any another way if there is no beneficiary named on the bank accounts,no will & we are the only family left? - Is this your question? Add additional information Answers (3)
Thomas Eugene Stindt
This attorney is licensed in California.
Posted 9 months ago.
Flag as objectionable
There is probably an abbreviated, small estate procedure applicable to your facts, which would be separate from the form you refer to on the court's website. You may be able to close out the small estate summarily. Spending 45 minutes with a local probate lawyer would be worth the modest cost to you and you would then know all of the probate shortcuts available to your facts, not just those which happen to be mentioned on the local court website.
As to filing fees, if you have to complete a probate proceeding, you will eventually be reimbursed those in your petition for final distribution. But if there are no other intestate heirs, you may be the sole distributee anyway. So checking out the summary procedures you could use would be your first step. Good luck with this, it is not a complicated project. 
April Denise Hill
This attorney is licensed in Florida.
Posted 9 months ago.
Flag as objectionable
Even though you looked costs up online, you may want to call the clerk's office in the county where your father died. If you were to do a Disposition Without Administration, which is for the payment of death related and final medical expenses only, the court costs should not be that high. For estates worth less than $75,000 but with more distributions than above, you will need to file a summary administration where additional costs will be involved. For that you should seek the help of a probate attorney. In any event, the court costs should be paid for from the estate so long as assets exist.
April Hill Hill Law Group St. Petersburg, FL www.HillLawGroup.com 
David Michael Goldman
This attorney is licensed in Florida.
Posted 9 months ago.
Flag as objectionable
Sounds like you have the right kind of estate for the Disposition of Personal Property Without administration. You should be able to reimburse your expenses with the same priority as a normal claim.
legal, filing fees, and funeral are at the top of the list. David Goldman Apple Law Firm PLLC 331 East Monroe Street Jacksonville, FL 32202 Tel (904) 685-1200 Fax (904) 212-0678 http://www.JacksonvilleLawyer.pro/ http://www.GunTrustLawyer.com/ http://www.FloridaEstatePlanningLawyerBlog.com/ |
