ESTATE ADMINISTRATION MAY NOT BE AS SIMPLE AS IT SOUNDS
Everything that a person owns is part of his or her estate. This includes tangible assets like a home or car, but it also includes the less obvious property, like an ownership stake in a small business, or a retirement account. When the person who owns these assets dies, all of the assets get distributed according to the deceased person's will or through other instruments that the deceased person may have set up.
The process of distributing the assets from the estate does not happen overnight. Depending on the estate's complexities, it could take many months, or even years. The decedent's personal representative, also sometimes known as the executor of the estate, must oversee the entire estate administration process. This involves accounting for all of the estate's assets, taking care of the estate's tax responsibilities and also paying off any of the estate's creditors.
Under Florida law, the estate's executor must have legal representation during the estate administration process. The reason for this is that the executor has a great deal of responsibility, and if he or she makes mistakes, any claimant to or beneficiary of the estate's assets may be able to hold the executor legally liable.
At Rignanese & Associates, we know how crucial sound legal advice can be during estate administration. Our website contains a variety of information about how we have helped represent executors and advised them to take all of the necessary steps to properly administer a deceased person's estate.
Estate administration can be stressful for everyone involved in the estate including family members of the deceased, the executor and any other parties who might be affected by the disposition of the estate's assets. Our Polk County law firm has strived to relieve some of that stress by helping our clients navigate through all of the minutiae of administering estates.
Please reach out to us at 141 5th Street NW, Suite 300, Winter Haven, Florida 33881 at 863.294.1114.
Established in 1991, Rignanese & Associates is available to work with clients on their legal needs.
On behalf of J. Kelly Kennedy, Attorney/CPA, PLLC, which has been acquired by Rignanese & Associates, PLLC.