Florida Probate Resources, Guides & Checklists

12 Essential Steps After the Loss of a Loved One

The days immediately following a death can be overwhelming. There are personal matters to address, documents to locate, property to protect and important decisions that may need to be made—often before the family understands whether probate will even be necessary.

12 Essential Steps After the Loss of a Loved One provides an organized starting point. It can help you focus on the things that deserve attention now while avoiding the feeling that everything must be handled at once.

This is an excellent first resource for a surviving spouse, adult child, family member or anyone who expects to have responsibility for settling a loved one's affairs.

A Guide to Finding Assets in a Loved One's Estate

You cannot properly administer an estate if you don't know what the deceased person owned. Families do not always have a complete list of a loved one's bank accounts, investments, insurance, real estate, business interests and other property.

Our Guide to Finding Assets in a Loved One's Estate provides a systematic approach to the search.

This resource may be particularly helpful when financial records are incomplete, the deceased handled the family's finances, family members live outside Florida, or you simply aren't sure where to begin looking.

A Guide for Determining the Value of Assets in a Loved One's Estate

Finding an asset is only part of the job. You may also need to determine what the asset was worth.

Asset values can matter when evaluating an estate, determining the appropriate probate procedure and administering the estate. Different kinds of property may require different approaches to valuation.

Our Guide for Determining the Value of Assets in a Loved One's Estate gives families and Personal Representatives a practical starting point for identifying the information they may need.

Florida Property Ownership Analyzer

How property is titled can be just as important as what the person owned.

A house, bank account or other asset does not necessarily become a probate asset simply because the deceased had an ownership interest in it. Joint ownership, survivorship rights, beneficiary designations, trusts and other arrangements can affect what happens after death.

The Florida Property Ownership Analyzer is designed to help you examine how property was owned and better understand why ownership matters when determining whether an asset may need to pass through Florida probate.

Guide to Determining if a Loved One Was a Florida Resident

Where did your loved one legally reside when they died?

The answer may seem obvious, but it isn't always. A person may own homes in multiple states, spend substantial time in Florida, receive mail somewhere else, or have recently moved.

Our Guide to Determining if a Loved One Was a Florida Resident helps identify information that may be relevant when determining the deceased person's Florida residency and where the primary probate proceeding may belong.

This can be especially useful for families of retirees, seasonal Florida residents and people who owned property in more than one state.

Florida Probate: Myth vs. Fact

Does having a Will avoid probate? Does everything have to go through probate? Is the process always the same?

Florida probate is surrounded by misconceptions, and acting on one of them can create unnecessary confusion.

Florida Probate: Myth vs. Fact addresses common misunderstandings and helps separate things families frequently hear about probate from how the Florida probate process actually works.

Resources for Finding a Last Will and Testament

You believe your loved one had a Will—but no one can find it.

Locating the original Last Will and Testament can be an important early step in a Florida probate. The deceased may have kept it at home, with an attorney, in a safe-deposit box or somewhere family members would never think to look.

Resources for Finding a Last Will and Testament provides practical places and sources to investigate when a Will is believed to exist but has not yet been located.

Florida Personal Representative's Checklist

There can be a lot to keep track of when administering an estate.

The Florida Personal Representative's Checklist provides an organized overview of important steps, documents and issues a Personal Representative may encounter during the Florida probate process.

Use it to organize information, prepare for your probate consultation and better understand the road ahead.

Florida Personal Representative's Survival Guide

Serving as Personal Representative may be unfamiliar territory, and mistakes can complicate an already difficult process.

The Florida Personal Representative's Survival Guide was developed as a practical resource for people responsible for administering a Florida estate. It helps explain the role, highlights issues that deserve attention and provides guidance for navigating the probate process from appointment toward completion.

10 Things a Florida Personal Representative Should NOT Do

Sometimes knowing what not to do is just as valuable as knowing what to do.

A Personal Representative may have access to estate property and money, but that does not mean those assets can immediately be sold, given away or distributed. Acting too quickly or without understanding the probate process can create problems for the estate and the Personal Representative.

10 Things a Florida Personal Representative Should NOT Do identifies common mistakes and potentially problematic actions to avoid while administering a Florida estate.