The Florida Probate Checklist.
A one-page checklist of what a Florida probate case needs: the original will, death certificates, the county clerk the case is filed with, and the assets and creditors to gather before the first conversation. Prepared by Spanski Law in Venice, Florida.
Probate checklist
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A one-page checklist of what a Florida probate case needs: the original will, death certificates, the county clerk the case is filed with, and the assets and creditors to gather before the first conversation.
- The original will, and where Florida requires it filed
- Death certificate copies, and how many you will need
- Which Florida county clerk the case is filed with
- Summary vs. formal administration: which one fits
- Personal representative residency rules
- Homestead property and how it is treated
- Asset inventory: accounts, vehicles, real property
- Beneficiary-designated assets that skip probate
- Known creditors and the three-month claim period
- Final income tax and household bills
- Notice of Trust, when a trust is involved
- Documents to bring to the first conversation
What to gather before the first conversation.
The checklist covers the documents a Florida probate case starts with, the difference between summary administration and formal administration, the personal representative residency rules, the assets that pass outside probate by beneficiary designation, and the three-month creditor claim period in a formal administration. Spanski Law handles uncontested probate in any Florida county, and the case is filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court where the person lived.
It is not legal advice and does not replace a conversation about the estate you are handling, but gathering these items first makes that conversation shorter and more useful.