Can a person probate a will in the state of florida without an attorney? The estate in this instance is relatively small – around $160K -uncontested

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Can a person probate a will in the state of florida without an attorney? The estate in this instance is relatively small – around $160K -uncontested

My dad passed away recently. I have the original copy of his will with affadavits of witnesses. There is just my brother and myself and we are not contesting any provisions of the will. Does the State of Florida require an attorney to handle all probates? Thanks!

Asked on June 30, 2009 under Estate Planning, Florida

Answers:

M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 14 years ago | Contributor

Although I am not admitted in Florida, I don't believe that any state "requires" you to use an attorney for any proceeding, although sometimes without one you can get in to a lot of complicated issues.  I have always found that the clerks in the Probate Courts are the nicest and most helpful.   Go down tot he Probate Court in the county in which your Father lived and ask for help.  There are also some websites that you can look at:    http://www.flcourts.org (there is a PDF of the Probate rules, etc.)  and http://www.floridabar.org (look under consumer information for a pamphlet on Probate).

Florida has what is known as a Summary Proceeding for states under $75,000but your appears to be greater than that amount. 


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