How Bad Is It To Drag Your Feet Before Opening An Estate For Probate?

Once you open a deceased family member’s estate for probate, you are constantly trying to meet deadlines. You must file the decedent’s final tax return by April 15 or else file for an extension, in which case you must file it by October 15. Once you publish the notice to creditors, they have three months to file a claim against the estate. As for creditors that you notify directly, their deadline to file a claim is 30 days after receiving the notice. If anyone wants to challenge the decedent’s will, the deadline for doing that is 90 days after the personal representative files the Notice of Administration. Of course, none of these deadlines start counting down until the personal representative, or even a family member of the decedent who does not intend to act as personal representative, opens the estate for probate. In other words, once probate starts, things move quickly, but there is no deadline for opening the estate. Probate begins whenever someone gets around to going to court and applying to open the estate. If you are struggling to get started opening a relative’s estate for probate, contact a Tampa probate lawyer.

Maybe Don’t Start a Legal Case While Emotions Are Running High

During your years of caring for a parent or spouse whose health was getting progressively worse, people kept telling you to be kind to yourself, but it is hard to take time for yourself when everyone depends on you and you don’t want to disappoint them. After a family member dies, the rules are less strict about which tasks are most urgent. You can handle matters in which you can cope with them. If, right now, you can stand to declutter the decedent’s house in preparation to sell it or for another family member to move in, but you can’t bear the thought of going to court, then declutter now and save probate for next year. If you got into heated disputes with another family member during the decedent’s final illness, then it might be a good idea to give yourselves a few months, or even a year, to cool off before you face each other in court.

Messy Financial Situations Get Messier the Longer You Ignore Them

Conversely, if you have ever procrastinated filing your tax return, you know that messy financial situations do not resolve themselves unless and until you address them. The estate’s value may decline, and creditors may file lawsuits for unpaid debts. If you know that you will not feel better until the estate settles, but you are still stuck as far as how to begin, remember that every heir and every personal representative of a deceased person’s estate has the right to hire a probate lawyer to represent them.

Contact David Toback About Getting Unstuck With Probate

A Central Florida probate lawyer can help you open an estate for probate if more than a year has passed since the testator died.  Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/Sections/0733.212.html