Greenacres Probate Attorneys
Greenacres, FL Probate Process for Residents & Non-Residents
You shouldn’t have to learn Florida probate law just to settle your mom’s or dad’s house and bank account. Florida Probate Law Firm, PLLC, handles probate and only probate, and our Greenacres probate attorney takes estates from the first court filing to the final distribution. We pick the simplest route the law allows for your family’s estate, and we keep the cost in proportion to what your parent left behind.
Consultations are free, and you can usually speak with one of our attorneys during your first call. Call (561) 210-5500 to find out what your parent’s estate actually needs.
Do You Need a Probate Attorney in Greenacres?
If the estate needs formal administration, Florida requires the personal representative to have a lawyer. The Palm Beach County Clerk states it plainly: formal administration can’t be filed without an attorney, and the clerk has no forms for it.
When the Law Requires a Lawyer
Formal administration is the full court process with an appointed personal representative, published notice to creditors, an inventory, and a closing order. Florida’s probate rules require the personal representative in that process to be represented by counsel, with a narrow exception when that person is the only one interested in the estate.
When Doing It Yourself Gets Risky
Summary administration doesn’t require a lawyer, but it requires a petition signed by the right people, a diligent search for creditors, and a plan to pay them. A missed creditor or a wrong signature can stall the order or leave the people who received assets answerable for estate debts later. Most families decide the risk isn’t worth the savings once they see what the petition involves.
There’s also the question of time. A petition that comes back from the court for corrections can sit for weeks, and every week the house stays in your parent’s name is another month of taxes, insurance, and upkeep. Having a lawyer prepare it correctly the first time is often the cheaper path in the end.
Which Florida Probate Process Fits Your Family's Estate?
Florida offers several routes through probate, and the right one depends on what your parent owned, how it was titled, and when they died. Picking the right route at the start is where an experienced Greenacres probate lawyer saves families the most time and money.
The table below compares the main options.
| Process | When It Can Be Used | Is a Personal Representative Appointed? | Typical Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formal administration | Any estate, and required when the will directs it | Yes | A house that must be sold, debts to resolve, or disagreement among heirs |
| Summary administration | Estate worth $150,000 or less, not counting creditor-exempt property, or a death more than 2 years ago | No | A modest estate where heirs agree and assets can pass by court order |
| Disposition without administration | Only exempt property plus personal property no greater than funeral costs and final medical bills | No | A relative who paid the funeral and needs reimbursement from a small account |
| Small intestate estate by affidavit | No will, personal property up to $20,000 plus funeral and final medical costs, and death more than 1 year ago | No | A small bank balance with no real estate and no pending case |
The rules governing these routes are in sections 735.201 and 735.304 of the Florida Statutes. Because protected homestead is exempt from creditors, a Greenacres estate built around the family home can often still qualify for summary administration.
What Will Probate Cost Your Family?
Probate costs depend mostly on which process the estate needs and how much work the case takes. Florida law states that there’s no mandatory statutory attorney fee for estate administration, and the attorney fee statute says the fee doesn’t have to be based on the size of the estate.
We bill hourly, and the deposit depends on the estate and the county where it’s filed. The attorney’s compensation for the personal representative is normally paid from estate assets, so families aren’t usually paying legal fees out of their own savings.
Beyond attorney fees, an estate typically pays for a few court-related expenses:
- Clerk filing fees to open the case
- Newspaper publication of the notice to creditors in formal administration
- Certified copies of letters of administration and court orders
- A bond premium, if the will doesn’t waive bond and the court requires one
- Recording fees when a deed or court order transfers real estate
We walk through the expected costs during your free consultation, before you commit to anything. Knowing the numbers up front is part of how we keep probate proportional for families in Greenacres. If a shorter process will do the job, we’ll recommend it, even though it means less work for us.
Protecting the Family Home From Creditors
In most Greenacres estates, the house is the largest asset, and Florida’s homestead protection often keeps it out of reach of your parent’s unsecured creditors. When a home was your parent’s permanent residence, it generally passes to the family without being used to pay credit cards, medical bills, or other ordinary debts.
Who Inherits the Homestead
Homestead follows special rules that can override a will. If your parent left a surviving spouse and children, section 732.401 gives the spouse a life estate with the remainder to the descendants, unless the spouse elects within six months of the death to take a one-half interest instead.
What Homestead Doesn’t Erase
Homestead protection doesn’t wipe out a mortgage. The lender’s lien stays on the property, so the family must keep paying, refinance, or sell. You can confirm how the home is titled through the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser before your first consultation.
What Should Your Family Do in the First Few Weeks?
The most useful thing you can do early is protect what your parent left until someone has legal authority to manage it. A few simple steps now prevent the problems we most often have to untangle later.
Find the Original Will
Florida law requires whoever has the original will to deposit it with the clerk within 10 days of learning of the death. Check a home safe, a desk, a safe deposit box, and the files of any attorney who drafted it. A photocopy is a start, but the court strongly prefers the original.
Keep the House Secure and Insured
An empty house can lose its insurance coverage if the carrier isn’t told about the death. Change the locks if needed, keep the utilities on, and call the insurer so the policy stays in force while the estate is open.
Don’t Pay the Bills Yourself
It’s natural to want to pay your parent’s bills right away, but paying them from your own money or emptying an account can cause problems. Collect the mail, keep the statements, and let the estate pay valid debts in the order the law requires.
What Happens After You Hire Us?
Once you hire us, we take over the court work and keep you updated at each milestone. Here is the order most formal administrations follow:
- We review the will, the deed, and the asset list, then confirm the right process.
- We deposit the original will and file the petition with the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit.
- The court appoints the personal representative and issues letters of administration.
- We publish the notice to creditors and serve the notice of administration on the family.
- We gather the assets, file the inventory, and review any claims that arrive.
- We sell or transfer the home, distribute what remains, and ask the court to close the estate.
Summary administration skips several of these steps, which is why it often finishes much faster. Either way, our team handles the estate administration work while you focus on your family.
How Our Firm Works for Greenacres Families
Florida Probate Law Firm was built for one kind of case, and it’s the one your family is facing now. We don’t fit probate in between divorces or injury claims. Thomas R. Walser, Esq. and Michael Bracchi, Esq. lead our practice, and you deal directly with our attorneys.
Here is what working with us looks like:
- A real attorney on the phone during the first call whenever one is available
- Free consultations with no pressure to hire us at the end
- Digital signing and virtual meetings for heirs who work full time or live out of state
- Hourly billing explained before the case starts
- Service in all 67 Florida counties from our Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale offices
Whether your parent’s estate is a house and a checking account or something more involved, we’ll tell you honestly what it needs. Call (561) 210-5500 to set up your free consultation.
Serving Greenacres and Central Palm Beach County
Greenacres estates are opened in Palm Beach County, where the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit hears probate cases. The clerk assigns each case to a courthouse based on the ZIP code of the petitioner’s attorney or the decedent’s last address, and nearly all filing happens electronically.
Nearby Communities
We help families throughout central Palm Beach County, including Lake Worth Beach, Palm Springs, Royal Palm Beach, and Wellington. Greenacres is part of the wider area covered by our Palm Beach County probate services.
Working With Families Who Aren’t Local
Many of the adult children we work with live in another state, and that’s not a problem. A nonresident who is a close relative of the person who died can generally serve as personal representative in Florida, and our process lets them do it from home. Documents go out for electronic signature, updates come by email or phone, and most families never need to fly in for a court date.
Questions Answered by Our Greenacres Probate Attorneys
Probate in Palm Beach County usually takes several months for a formal administration, because most creditor claims can be filed for three months after the notice to creditors is first published. A summary administration with cooperative heirs can finish much sooner. Missing documents, hard-to-find heirs, or a disputed claim can stretch either process.
You can usually sell a parent’s Greenacres house during probate once a personal representative has been appointed and has authority to sell. If the will doesn’t include a power of sale, the court must authorize or confirm the sale before the title passes. Title companies will ask for the letters of administration before closing.
A mortgage remains attached to a Florida home after the owner dies, even when the home qualifies as protected homestead property. The heirs can keep making payments, refinance, or sell the property and pay off the loan at closing. Contact the lender early so missed payments don’t lead to foreclosure while the estate is open.
A sibling who refuses to sign doesn’t automatically stop a Florida summary administration. Beneficiaries who receive their full share under the proposed distribution don’t have to join the petition, but anyone who doesn’t join must receive formal notice of it. If the disagreement runs deeper, formal administration may be the better path.
Florida doesn’t set a deadline to open probate, so a family can open an estate years after a death. Waiting does change things: most creditor claims are barred two years after the death, and a death more than two years old can qualify for summary administration regardless of the estate’s value. Older estates also take more work to reconstruct, because records get harder to find.
Get Help From a Greenacres Probate Attorney
A house that can’t be sold and an account nobody can access won’t sort themselves out. One phone call can tell you which process your family needs and what it will take to finish.
Call Florida Probate Law Firm at (561) 210-5500 for a free consultation. Our Florida probate attorneys will answer your questions about your parent’s Greenacres estate and help you take the next step.
