ELDER LAW AND ESTATE PLANNING Joseph Karp Jonathan Karp Questions about Florida probate from out-of-state personal representative Question: My mother The Karp Law Firm, P.A. lives in South Florida. Location, phone number: I agreed to act as her ■ Palm Beach Gardens, personal representative 561-625-1100 (executor) but she can’t ■ Boynton Beach, 561-752-4550 really explain just what I’ll ■ Port St. Lucie, 772-343-8411 have to do. I live in Ohio Website: KarpLaw.com and run a retail store, so Email: [email protected] I’m trying to get an idea of the demands on my time. Will I have to keep assets will have to be flying to Florida to handle marshaled, various things personally? If I hire records located, a final tax a lawyer to handle her return filed, beneficiaries estate, will I still need to contacted. Assets may be in Florida in person? have to be liquidated. How long will probate You can handle the tasks take to wrap up? yourself or delegate some Answer: Probate or all of them to the rules are complex, and attorney. numerous specific forms You ask how long must be submitted and probate takes. In our deadlines met. Florida experience, with formal Probate Court generally probate administration, requires that a lawyer it usually takes between represent you. An six months to a year to experienced probate close an estate. It can take attorney will know his/her longer if problems pop way through the system. up, which is common. The attorney need not be Examples of problems the same one who drafted include having to locate a your mother’s will. (There missing heir, finding that is an exception to the the title to a property is lawyer requirement: defective, dealing with a summary administration, large number of creditor which is available for claims, etc. probatable estates under $75,000, when there Joseph Karp and are no creditors of the Jonathan Karp are Florida decedent.) Elder Law and Estate You probably won’t Planning Attorneys. The have to physically appear Karp Law Firm is located in in court, or even meet in Palm Beach and St. Lucie person with the attorney. counties. It assists clients Emails and phone calls with wills, trusts, Medicaid usually suffice. We do this and VA benefits planning, all the time for clients. special needs planning, As a personal asset preservation, probate/ representative, you must trust administration, estate handle many tasks. A litigation, and probate and sampling: Your mother’s elder law mediation..