What are the different types of probate?

Attorney Tom Olsen: People often are aware that there are different types of probates. Tell the listeners what the most common types are.

Attorney Alexis Richards: There are two common types of probates in the state of Florida. There's one that's called a summary administration, but other people sometimes refer to it as a small estate affidavit. That type of probate is where you can probate assets that are under $75,000, but you have to make sure that there's no creditor claims when you're filing those types of probates. That's one of the most important factors with those.

Then, there's the traditional probate, which is a formal administration, which takes typically four to six months, but like we've talked about before, it's taking a little bit longer now. You're looking at six to eight months from start to finish. That one is a little bit longer, but those are the two types we have here in Florida.

Tom: In the formal administration, somebody might call and say, "Tom, can I do my own formal administration probate?" The fact of the matter is the answer is no. Florida statutes recommends that when there's an executor or personal representative appointed is required by law that they represented by an attorney. In a summary administration, the law does not require that you be represented by an attorney, but the probate clerks are not getting give you the forms, they're not going to answer your questions, they're not going to tell you how to do it.

Alexis: No, and the clerks will not tell you, but the big thing is knowing what to file. You can do it yourself, but every situation is different and there are different things that require different things for filing.

Tom: Over the years that I've practiced, occasionally, I've had a client, after the fact, really, tell me they did their own summary and I'd say, good for them because it requires that you go down to the law library and do a bunch of legal research and find the right forms and prepare the right forms and hope you did it right. More than likely, there's been a lot of situations where somebody has come to us and said, "Tom, we tried to do our own probate and we completely screwed it up. Can you fix it for us?"

Alexis: Yes, we hear both of those.

Tom: Going back and trying to fix a screwed-up probate can be harder than if they'd never even started the thing.

Alexis: Exactly.

[00:02:18] [END OF AUDIO]