About Ancillary Administration for Florida Property

About Ancillary Administration for Florida Property

When someone who owns real property in Florida but lives somewhere else passes away, the process of transferring ownership of that property is known as ancillary administration. Ancillary administration is also necessary when a Florida resident dies leaving property in another state.

Ancillary administration starts with the filing of a petition in the Florida circuit court or in the state where the Florida decedent’s property is located.   If no Florida-qualified personal representative has been appointed in the decedent’s will, the court will appoint an ancillary personal representative to administer the estate. If the property owner died without a will, or the will does not authorize the sale of the property, the court must authorize any sale.

Florida law requires that the personal representative named to represent an estate in an ancillary administration proceeding be qualified to act in Florida. If qualified, a foreign personal representative will have Letters of Administration issued in order to represent the estate in Florida.

A personal representative should also hire a qualified Florida attorney to conduct ancillary estate administration. Generally, unless the will is contested or there are controversies regarding the property, the probate administration can be handled by the attorney without out-of-state beneficiaries or representatives having to appear in court.

Short Form Ancillary Administration

Florida has two short forms of ancillary administration:

• For estates worth less than $50,000 and where the decedent had a will; and
• For admission of a foreign will that has already been probated in another venue.

For decedents with a will and assets less than $50,000, the estate executor (foreign personal representative) must file a transcript of the probate proceedings, the will and a list of the beneficiaries. A notice to creditors must also be published, and any claims must be satisfied before ownership of real property can be transferred. If there is a creditor claim filed, then the short form must be converted to a formal ancillary administration and a Florida ancillary personal representative appointed.

When a decedent has been dead for more than two years, or a foreign will has already been probated, title to the decedent’s real property in Florida can be transferred by the filing of an ancillary petition with the court. The petition must include authenticated copies of the will, the foreign petition for probate, and the foreign order admitting the will to probate.

To learn more about avoiding probate in Florida, contact one of the experienced Florida probate attorneys at Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., at (305) 921-0440, or email us at info@jflawfirm.com.

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