IMPORTANCE OF AN ESTATE EXECUTOR IN FLORIDA

A person has many responsibilities during his lifetime. He or she has to plan for the future and this includes planning for family members. Even though the person may have a will, appointing someone to take care of property distribution and pension and insurance claims, after the person passes away, can be very helpful.

There may be issues within the family on division of assets and real estate. An estate, in Florida, may also get involved in legal complications, if there is no person appointed for estate administration. The value of property after deducting taxes, adding insurance and pension value may be difficult to determine.

A person may appoint an executor to deal with estate matters only after the person has passed away. The executor should have a list the safe deposit box contents and insurance claim, IRA, pension and other investments from various organizations. The executor shall also be responsible for learning the value of real estate, securities and assets of the person and for filing tax returns and deciding on how to pay state inheritance tax.

The executor's duties include almost everything from the time of the death, including distribution of assets after tax is filed, returns are claimed, family agreements are entered and property distribution is carried out to heirs.

Since this role is very important after the person will no longer be there to sort matters between the family members, a trusted and capable person should be appointed. Florida laws on probate can be complicated. A person in need of estate administration will want to make informed decisions.

Rignanese & Associates is available to work with clients on their legal needs. Please reach out to us at 863.294.1114.

On behalf of Kelly Kennedy of J. Kelly Kennedy, Attorney/CPA, PLLC which has been acquired by Rignanese & Associates, PLLC.

Source: Naples News, "Family business: Choosing your estate executor is important," Oct. 31, 2012. 1.