While you may treat all your assets with the same care and attention throughout your lifetime, you may be surprised to learn that they are not all handled in the same way after your death. Namely, some will be required to undergo a court-supervised process known as probate, while others may be able to evade this significant step legally. So you know what to fully expect, and to also prepare your loved ones accordingly, please continue reading to discover what it means for assets to go through probate, and how an experienced Broward County probate lawyer at The Probate Lawyers can offer you sound legal advice from this point forward.
What does it mean for assets to go through the Florida probate court?
When an asset “goes through probate,” it essentially means that the Florida probate court supervises its formal transfer. Specifically, in your established Last Will and Testament document, you may have designated an executor and named your beneficiaries. Therefore, the court will monitor how your executor handles the outstanding debts, taxes, and valid claims against your estate. From here, they may ensure that your beneficiaries receive the remaining assets, exactly as they were assigned to them in your will’s instructions.
With that being said, the only assets that must undergo this legal process are the ones that are owned solely in your name without any built-in beneficiary or survivorship mechanisms. For example, your individually owned checking account may be subject to probate, but not your transfer-on-death account with a disclosed beneficiary. Similarly, the real estate property titled solely in your name may need probate, unless you used it to fund a revocable or irrevocable trust set aside for a specific beneficiary.
Does probate still happen for assets not included in a will document?
More common than you may think, an incident occurs where a testator simply forgets to mention a certain asset in their will document. This raises confusion amongst the executor, beneficiaries, and other interested parties concerning how this asset is supposed to be handled from here. Well, the court may still see to it that this asset goes through the probate process, so long as it would normally be considered a probate-eligible asset. However, its distribution may be based on Florida’s intestacy statute or per your will’s general provisions.
For example, within your will document, you may have included a “catch-all” clause that controls the inheritance of any assets not specifically mentioned (i.e., “all forgotten assets will be left to my spouse”). Otherwise, the state’s intestate succession will have this asset go to your spouse first, or have them split it with your surviving children; then your children if there is no surviving spouse; then your parents or further relatives if there are no surviving spouse or children.
To conclude, if you wish to explore your legal options moving forward, please allow a skilled Broward County probate lawyer from The Probate Lawyers to be your guiding force. Please schedule your initial consultation with our firm at the first chance you get.
