WHAT IS SUMMARY ADMINISTRATION
and
HOW DO I KNOW IF THIS ESTATE QUALIFIES TO USE IT?
When a person dies, there are a number of matters that
must be tended to. The law is designed
to make sure that any debts or taxes owed by the decedent get paid before the
heirs receive anything. Another concern
of the law is to make sure that the assets remaining after payment of debts and
taxes get to the correct people. If
there is a Will, the beneficiaries are determined by reading that
document. If there is no Will, the laws
of Florida dictate who inherits.
The legal procedure for making sure the above
objectives are accomplished is called probate. Probate can be an expensive process and will
last at least three months. Probate is
a necessary step in getting legal title to assets transferred from the deceased
to the heirs whether or not the decedent left a Will.
The legislature has provided an alternate process for
transferring title in small estates without going through all of the normal
steps of probate. The brief procedure
is called Summary Administration.
Two kinds of estates qualify for Summary
Administration:
1. Estates
where the total value of the assets in the decedent’s name is less than $75,000
and all of the decedent’s debts have been paid or arrangements for their
payment satisfactory to the creditor have been made.
2. Estates where the decedent has been dead for more
than two years, regardless of the value of the assets and regardless of whether
the decedent owed money.
Summary Administration involves the following steps:
1. The
beneficiaries sign a petition prepared by an attorney asking the court to admit
the Last Will (if there is one). In the petition, the beneficiaries swear under oath that they know of no
later Will, that they know of no debts owed by the decedent and that the assets
listed in the petition are the only ones they know of that belonged to the
decedent. Finally, the petition sets forth how the assets should be
divided.
2. The
attorney files the Petition for Summary Administration along with a copy of the
paid funeral bill and an affidavit of a long-time acquaintance that the
decedent did not customarily accumulate significant debt. The documents are filed with the Clerk of
Court where a filing fee is paid.
3. The
attorney asks the Judge to enter an order declaring the will (if there is one)
to
be the decedent’s Last Will and to direct distribution
of the assets as requested in the petition.
4. If the
Clerk and the Judge find everything to be in order, the Judge will sign an
Order of Administration. The document
will direct the distribution of the assets to the beneficiaries as requested in
the petition.
5. The Order
of Summary Administration is the equivalent of a deed. It is recorded and officially transfers
ownership of any of the decedent’s property to the beneficiaries. From that point on, the beneficiaries have
clear title to the assets and may do with them as they wish. Of course, any asset which ends up titled in
the names of more than one person cannot be sold, mortgaged or leased without
the consent of all of the owners.
Copyright
2005 by
Frederick
R. Short, Jr.
Attorney
at Law