The Nussbickel Law Firm, P.A. Legal Blog

Florida probate creditor claims are paid by the estate, not the family, and only in the eight-class order set by Section 733.707. A Fort Myers probate attorney explains the three deadlines that govern every claim (three months from the published notice, 30 days from direct service, and the two-year bar of Section 733.710), what a creditor must file, how the personal representative objects, which assets creditors cannot reach (homestead, $20,000 of furnishings, two vehicles, the $18,000 family allowance), how Medicaid estate recovery ranks, and why children and spouses in Florida do not inherit debt.

For most Florida families the revocable trust is the right default and the irrevocable trust is a deliberate trade of control for one specific benefit. A Fort Myers estate planning attorney explains the revocable vs irrevocable trust Florida decision under the Florida Trust Code: why Section 736.0602 makes a trust revocable unless it says otherwise, why Section 736.0403(2)(b) requires two witnesses, what Section 736.0505 lets creditors reach, how the 2026 federal exemption and the step-up in basis change the tax math, how each trust handles a Florida homestead, and how the 60-month Medicaid look-back works.

The most common Florida estate planning mistakes are Florida rules, not national ones: devising the homestead to someone Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution will not allow, signing a will without the two attesting witnesses § 732.502 requires, leaving a revocable trust unfunded, and letting an old beneficiary designation override the plan. A Fort Myers estate planning attorney explains what goes wrong in each, the fix, the seven smaller traps that ride along (the power of attorney initials under § 709.2202, divorce, joint ownership, blended families, digital assets), and the life events that should send a Southwest Florida family back for a review.

Florida formal administration is the full court-supervised probate under Chapter 733, required whenever an estate does not qualify for summary administration under § 735.201 (non-exempt estate of $150,000 or less since July 1, 2026, or death more than two years ago) or disposition without administration under § 735.301. A Fort Myers probate attorney walks through the process in order: who may serve as personal representative, the petition and letters of administration, the notice of administration and the three-month creditor window, the 60-day inventory, paying claims in statutory order, distribution, and the petition for discharge, with every deadline tied to its statute or rule.

Letters of administration Florida courts issue are the court’s written grant of authority to a personal representative under Fla. Stat. § 731.201(24), and they are what banks, brokerages, and title companies require before releasing a decedent’s assets. Florida issues them in both testate and intestate estates and does not issue letters testamentary. A Fort Myers probate attorney explains who has priority under § 733.301, the nonresident rule in § 733.304 that lets an out-of-state child serve but not a friend, the petition, oath, resident-agent, and bond steps under Probate Rule 5.235, why summary administration issues no letters, and how ancillary letters work for seasonal residents.

A lost will Florida courts will still admit is one whose terms can be proved under Fla. Stat. § 733.207: two disinterested witnesses, or one disinterested witness plus a correct copy. The family must also rebut the presumption that a will last in the testator’s possession was destroyed with intent to revoke it, a rule the Fifth District Court of Appeal restated in February 2026. A Fort Myers probate attorney explains where to search first, what Florida Probate Rule 5.510 requires of the petition, how hurricane or fire damage rebuts the presumption, and what happens to the estate if the petition fails.

A Florida vehicle title transfer after death often requires no probate. Section 319.28 lets an heir apply by sworn affidavit instead of a court order, and a surviving spouse can usually get a free replacement title with form HSMV 82152. This guide explains which of four routes fits your facts, why the word "or" rather than "and" on a certificate of title can decide the whole question, how the two-vehicle exempt property rule works, and where to go in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties.

Florida homestead probate is the court process that moves title to a deceased owner’s home, and Florida law usually decides who receives it rather than the will. This guide from a Fort Myers probate attorney separates the two things Florida calls homestead, the constitutional creditor protection and the property tax exemption, and explains the devise restrictions, the surviving spouse’s six month election deadline, and how a recorded order clears title for families in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties.

A living will and a living trust sound like variations on the same document. They are not. One is an advance directive under Chapter 765 that speaks only to medical care at the end of life. The other holds title to your property and can keep it out of probate. This guide answers the living will vs living trust Florida question with the Florida signing rules for each, what the notary is actually for, how homestead changes the picture, and why most Southwest Florida families end up needing both.

Florida law decides what happens to Florida property at death, no matter what a will signed abroad says. This guide covers the points where cross-border families get caught here: ancillary administration under Chapter 734 when a nonresident dies owning a Cape Coral or Naples home, why a handwritten will valid in Germany or Quebec can fail under section 732.502(2), who Florida actually allows to serve as personal representative, the $60,000 federal estate tax exposure for owners who are not U.S. citizens or domiciliaries, and qualified domestic trust planning when a surviving spouse holds another passport. Written for Southwest Florida owners with ties in more than one country.

What makes a will valid in Florida comes down to three things the statute will not bend on: the document must be written, signed by the testator at the end, and witnessed by two people who sign in the testator's presence and in each other's presence. Notarization is not one of them, which surprises nearly everyone. Florida rejects unwitnessed handwritten wills and oral wills outright, honors most out-of-state wills signed while the testator was a nonresident, and permits electronic wills only through a supervised online notarization session. This Fort Myers guide covers each requirement and what happens when a will fails.

There is no Florida inheritance tax and no Florida estate tax, so a beneficiary who inherits from a Florida resident owes this state nothing on the receipt itself. What still applies is federal and mostly deferred: a $15,000,000 per person exemption for 2026 deaths, capital gains tax when an inherited asset is sold above its stepped up basis, and ordinary income tax on inherited retirement account distributions. This Fort Myers attorney's guide also covers the five states that still tax beneficiaries, and the portability election Southwest Florida couples most often miss.

Florida sets no deadline for opening probate. The Probate Code contains no filing cutoff and no statute of limitations on admitting a will, so an estate can be opened one month after a death or ten years later. What Florida does impose is a 10-day duty on the custodian of an original will under section 732.901, a two-year bar on creditor claims under section 733.710 that applies whether or not anyone opened an estate, and a set of deadlines that only begin running once a case is filed. This guide explains which clock a Southwest Florida family is actually on.

A Florida house in probate can be sold before the estate closes, and most are. What changes is who signs the deed and whether a judge must approve the deal first. Where the will grants a power of sale, section 733.613(2) lets the personal representative sell without a court order; without one, no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms it. Protected homestead follows separate rules entirely, because it is not an estate asset and the family who inherited it must sign. Written for personal representatives and heirs in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties.

How to avoid probate in Florida comes down to titling, not paperwork. Any asset that already has a legal destination at death, whether through a funded revocable trust, a Lady Bird deed, a payable-on-death registration, or a living named beneficiary, transfers without court involvement. Anything left in a sole name does not, and a will does not change that. Florida raised its summary administration ceiling to $150,000 on July 1, 2026, so more estates now qualify for the short form. This guide covers the six tools that work, how they compare on cost and control, and the five mistakes that still send Florida estates to court.

Life insurance and estate planning solve one shared problem: getting money to the right people at the right time. A death benefit paid to a living named beneficiary skips probate and is exempt from the insured's creditors under Florida law, but naming your estate destroys both protections, and the proceeds still count in your taxable estate if you owned the policy. This guide explains ownership versus beneficiary designation, when an irrevocable trust makes sense, why you should never name a minor directly, and how Southwest Florida families keep the two halves aligned.

Estate planning for married couples in Florida is not one shared document. Each spouse signs a will, a durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate designation, a living will, and a HIPAA release, and the couple's deeds and beneficiary forms are retitled to match. This Fort Myers attorney's guide covers the six documents per spouse, how joint titling and tenancy by the entireties actually control who inherits, the 30 percent elective share, homestead descent under section 732.401, and the $15,000,000 federal exclusion and portability election for 2026.

Estate planning for grandchildren means deciding what each grandchild receives, at what age, and who manages it until then. Florida does not let a minor own an inheritance outright, and a custodial account under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act releases everything at 21. A trust is the only tool that sets staged ages, adds spendthrift and divorce protection, and automatically covers grandchildren born later. Florida charges no estate, inheritance, or state income tax, so the tax questions are federal: a $19,000 annual gift exclusion and a $15,000,000 lifetime exemption in 2026. Written for Southwest Florida grandparents.

Estate planning for business owners is a two-document problem. Your will controls who inherits value, but your operating or shareholder agreement usually controls who gets authority over the company itself. Under Florida law an LLC member is dissociated at death, heirs often receive only an economic interest, and a personal representative may run an unincorporated venture for just four months without a court order. This guide explains what happens to each entity type, which documents close the gap, and how Southwest Florida owners fund the cash their estates will actually need.

The types of trusts for estate planning sort into two families, revocable and irrevocable, and every specialty vehicle is a variation on one of them. This Fort Myers attorney's guide compares revocable living, testamentary, special needs, spendthrift, charitable, ILIT, QPRT and QTIP marital arrangements side by side, explains which Florida assets belong inside and which do not, gives current Florida pricing, and covers the state rules that change the analysis here: no self-settled asset protection under Fla. Stat. 736.0505, homestead devise limits, and no Florida estate or inheritance tax.

An estate planning checklist for seniors comes down to six documents and one annual review: a last will, a revocable trust when one fits, a durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate designation, a living will, and a HIPAA release. This Fort Myers attorney's guide walks all twelve steps in order, with the Florida rules that actually govern them, including the two-witness signing requirement, the ban on springing powers of attorney, and the $15,000,000 federal exemption that keeps taxes off most families' lists.

The most reliable way to find an estate planning attorney in Florida is to combine professional referrals with The Florida Bar's public directory and Lawyer Referral Service, then vet your short list on focus, fees, and fit. This Fort Myers attorney's guide explains what an estate planning lawyer does, when you need one, the questions to ask, what a Florida plan typically costs, and the warning signs that tell you to keep looking — so Southwest Florida families can hire with confidence.

In Florida, a simple will typically costs $450 to $1,000, while a revocable living trust document: $1,000 to $2,500; trust package (individual): $1,500 to $5,000; trust package (couple): $2,500 to $7,500. This guide from a Fort Myers estate planning attorney breaks down the average cost of a will and trust in Florida, explains what each package includes, shows what drives the price, and weighs a trust's upfront cost against the probate expenses it can spare a family in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties.

Not everything a Florida resident owns has to pass through probate. Assets that are exempt from probate in Florida include non-probate assets that transfer by title or beneficiary designation — jointly owned property, payable-on-death accounts, life insurance, retirement funds, and revocable living trust assets — plus statutory exempt property and homestead protected for the family under the Florida Probate Code. This Fort Myers attorney's guide explains which assets skip court, which still require probate, and the common titling mistakes that accidentally pull a protected asset back into the process.

You likely need a revocable living trust rather than a will alone if you own Florida real estate, own property in a second state, have minor children or a beneficiary with special needs, own a business, or have a blended family. A will does not avoid probate — it directs it. A funded trust does, because the trust owns the assets at your death. This guide walks through who actually benefits, what a trust costs against what probate costs, and why an unfunded trust protects no one. Written for Southwest Florida families.