Introduction
If you’re reading this blog post, you are likely dealing with the death, or imminent death of a loved one. To that end, we at St. Augustine Law Group offer our sincere condolences.
In short, this post is designed to be a general guide post to assist you in the aftermath of the death of your loved one. While it is not exhaustive, or specifically tailored to your unique set of circumstances, we hope it provides you some assistance by providing a place to start. The first and most important thing to recognize is that you don’t have to begin doing these thing immediately. Administering the estate of a deceased individual is not something that takes place overnight, and undertaking the steps below can certainly wait for members of the individual’s inner circle to grieve.
In some circumstances, folks have told me that the tasks below were easily assignable to those offering assistance in the days immediately following the death. Provided that the individual or people assisting you are a) at least somewhat gifted in administration, and b) are trustworthy, you would be perfectly fine to seek assistance with the more administrative/gathering tasks.
Step 1: Gather & Secure all important documentation.
Generally speaking, people die leaving behind a lot of documents. These would include tax returns, bank statements, bills, taxes, life insurance, estate plans (Wills, Trusts, etc.) and so much more. Upon death, it is important to locate, organize and secure as many of these documents as possible. They will become exceptionally useful when beginning and working through wrapping up the deceased individual’s affairs later. More importantly, Florida Statute 732.901 requires that the last will and testament of the deceased (if any) be deposited with the Clerk of the Circuit Court having venue over the estate of the deceased within ten (10) days after receiving information that the testator has passed.
Step 2: Begin an Inventory
This step can take a while. It may take at least a couple of months of mail to get a handle on a) The assets of your loved one, where they are located, etc. b) the creditors of your loved one, and c) identify any and all personal property of your loved one, wherever located.
Despite the fact that this step can take a while, it is vitally important. When you eventually select a probate attorney to assist you in winding up your loved one’s estate, they will ask for this information as it serves many purposes within the probate process.
Step 3: Select and Contact a Probate Attorney
In Florida, most often, the assistance of an attorney will, at the very least, allow you the opportunity to offload a lot of the heavy lifting as relates to the “legal” elements of wrapping up your loved one’s estate. While attorneys are not legally required in all circumstances, they are certainly helpful, and many will offer flat fees on smaller, simple estates.
Summary
Estate administration can be a long and difficult process. However, it can be mitigated by planning ahead (estate planning). A good estate plan will not only reduce the overall duration and cost of probate, but it may, in limited circumstances, avoid it all together. If you’d like more information on the Probate process, feel free to visit the Florida Bar’s website for the consumer pamphlet found HERE.