Gainesville Probate Attorney

Probate Lawyer in Gainesville, FL

Navigating probate in Florida can be challenging on your own, especially as you’re dealing with the emotional toll of losing a loved one. When you choose to work with a Gainesville probate attorney at the Law Office of Douglas A. Oberdorfer, P.A., you can have peace of mind knowing you have a skilled professional on your side who understands the Florida probate process.

While you’re not obligated to work with a lawyer to settle an estate in Gainesville, FL, it can make the process much smoother overall. A skilled attorney understands the Florida probate process and can identify strategies to expedite the process as much as possible. In some cases, they may be able to help you avoid probate altogether. At the Law Office of Douglas A. Oberdorfer, we have over 20 years of estate planning experience, including probate.

What Is Probate in Gainesville, FL?

Probate refers to the process of validating the will of a recently deceased individual to divide their property among the entitled parties. A decedent’s assets must go through probate in Florida unless they meet certain requirements to be exempt. The most common types of assets that go through probate in Florida are:

• Bank accounts
• Personal property
• Real estate
• Vehicles

There were 2,313 deaths reported in Alachua County in 2023. This number has been on a slight incline since 2004, when the death count was at 1,557. Alachua County is under the Eighth Judicial Circuit. These courts saw 1,283 probate cases in fiscal year 2023-24. Of those 1,283 cases, 785 were in Alachua County specifically.

A Gainesville, FL, probate attorney helps guide clients through the process of handling the estate of a deceased loved one so they can move forward with life with as little stress as possible.

What Is Summary Administration in Gainesville?

Summary administration is the process of settling small estates in Florida. These estates typically must be $75,000 or less in value or must belong to a decedent who has been dead for two years or longer to be eligible for summary administration. This is a more streamlined probate process for the distribution of simple assets like bank accounts and investment accounts.

When you go through summary administration, you must still provide notice to creditors so they can claim any debts. That said, most creditor claims are no longer viable two years after the date of the decedent’s death. In summary administration, there is no court-appointed executor.

What Is Formal Administration?

When an estate is worth more than $75,000 or a person has been deceased for less than two years, the estate is subject to formal probate administration. In formal administration, the probate court appoints a personal representative (or this person can be named in the decedent’s will) to gather assets, pay creditors, and distribute assets according to the decedent’s will.

As opposed to summary administration, formal administration frequently involves creditor claims. The process also takes much longer because of court oversight and the potential complexity of assets.

What Happens When Someone Dies Without a Will in Florida?

If a person in Florida dies with no will in place, their estate is still subject to probate. After the probate process is complete, whether the estate required summary administration or formal administration, the remaining assets are distributed to the decedent’s surviving family members according to Florida’s intestacy laws.

If you are a family member of someone who died without a will, a probate attorney can help you by filing the initial petition to begin the probate process. Your lawyer can also help identify all legal heirs pursuant to the intestacy laws, help gather assets, and contact creditors. When it is time to distribute the remaining assets, a probate lawyer can provide some oversight to that process and help complete everything fairly and according to the law.

The Probate Process

The legal process of probate can seem complicated, and estates with more assets or questions about legal heirs can indeed make probate more complex. However, all probate processes follow the same general steps, as follows: 

• The first step is to file the petition for probate. This gets the process started.
• After the petition is filed, if formal administration is needed, the probate court appoints a representative for the estate.
• The representative gathers all of the deceased person’s assets, and creditors are notified of the death, which gives them the opportunity to put forward any claims on assets.
• The representative pays outstanding debts and any taxes owed on the estate.
• The remaining assets are distributed to beneficiaries according to the deceased person’s will or, in the absence of a will, the order of inheritance in Florida’s intestacy laws.

If an estate only requires summary administration, probate can be over in a matter of weeks. If formal administration is required, the process is much longer, often taking six months to a year to settle the estate.

Avoiding Probate in Gainesville

It’s possible to avoid going through Florida probate altogether by taking advantage of key estate planning tools. As your trusted Gainesville, FL, probate attorneys, the Law Office of Douglas A. Oberdorfer, P.A., can help you explore these avenues and find the right fit for protecting your assets and securing your financial future.

The three main ways to avoid probate in Florida include:

• Declaring rights of survivorship in a property deed
• “Pay on death” designations on financial accounts
• Placing assets in a trust

Trusts can be an especially useful tool if you have significant assets that you want to pass to your family members as quickly as possible upon your death. When you put assets in a trust, the trust becomes the legal owner of the assets. In a revocable trust, you continue to have control over the included assets, and you can change the beneficiaries at will. In an irrevocable trust, you relinquish control of the assets as soon as they are transferred.

Each type of trust has its own benefits and drawbacks. Revocable trusts are flexible, and it is easy to change them, but the assets can still be subject to some estate taxes, and they can be used to pay creditors. An irrevocable trust is very difficult to modify once enacted, but it puts the included assets out of your reach immediately, and they are made safe from creditors.

Benefits of Working With a Gainesville, FL, Probate Lawyer

While you are more than welcome to navigate a probate case on your own, it can lead you to some challenges down the road. Florida probate can be complex and time-consuming. By working with a Gainesville, FL, probate attorney, you can rely on someone with experience going through the process.

FAQs About Gainesville Probate

Q: Do I Need a Gainesville, FL, Probate Attorney?

A: You may need a Gainesville, FL probate attorney; however, you are not required to work with a probate lawyer to administer an estate in Florida. That said, having a lawyer on your side can make the process much simpler. Your lawyer can help you navigate probate in Florida if you’re ready to handle an estate. Moreover, they can help you protect your assets and avoid the probate process altogether.

Q: How Much Does It Cost to Work With a Gainesville, FL, Probate Attorney?

A: The cost of working with a Florida probate attorney can vary based on the complexity of your estate and case and the services you require. For example, you can expect administering a simple estate with a few accounts to be less costly than handling a complex estate with ongoing legal disputes. Florida estate planning lawyers typically charge a flat fee, an hourly rate, or a retainer fee for their services.

Q: How Long Do I Have to File a Will for Probate in Gainesville?

A: In Florida, you have 10 days from receiving word of the creator’s death to file a will for probate. As the custodian of the will, you must send it to the clerk of the appropriate court. For cases in Gainesville, that court is the Alachua County Family and Civil Justice Center. Once you file a will for probate, the court can validate it and oversee the division and distribution of assets in an estate.

Q: How Can I Protect My Assets From the Florida Probate Process?

A: There are a few different ways you can protect your assets from the Florida probate process. When it comes to your financial accounts, you can apply a “pay on death” designation that transfers your accounts to a recipient directly. You can also write rights of survivorship into any deeds for property and utilize trusts to protect your assets.

Hire a Probate Attorney to Discuss Your Situation Today

Florida probate can feel like a daunting process, but you can navigate it smoothly when you hire a probate attorney from Gainesville. Our goal at the Law Office of Douglas A. Oberdorfer, P.A., is to make the transfer of property as convenient as possible so everyone can move forward with their lives. Reach out to our team to schedule an appointment so we can talk about your case in more detail.