Palm Beach Estate Lawyer Helps Out of State Families

Many times, a relative passes away in Florida with a lot of out of state beneficiaries. Do you need a Palm Beach Estate lawyer to get your inheritance? Do you even need to come to Florida? The probate process may be easier than you think to get your inheritance. To learn a lot right away, consider reading the Florida Probate Code.

The Florida Probate Process

Lots of Floridians pass away each year. Often, family members and beneficiaries are located outside of Florida.

“Many of my clients do not live in Florida” says John Pankauski, a Palm Beach estate lawyer who helps clients get their inheritance. “The truth is that you really don’t need your own lawyer if you trust the person running the estate.”

That’s what they call the “personal representative” in Florida. Sometimes called an “executor” in other states.

In truth, you don’t even need to come to Florida to get your inheritance. And you won’t need to if the estate is run correctly. However, if there are objections or “contested” matters, you may need to testify. Whether you can do that from your home via Zoom, or whether you have to come to Florida depends. It all depends on what you want to do, and what the personal representative is doing –or not doing.

Who do you trust?

The personal representative, or “PR” for short, is supposed to be a fiduciary.

She has fiduciary duties to work for the family and beneficiaries.

Part of her duties is to share information with you.

And she is specifically empowered under Florida Probate Law with the right to hire professionals. Like accountants, CPAs, lawyers and financial advisers or realtors (to sell estate property).

And of course the estate pays for all of this. After all, no personal representative is required to dip into their own pocket to finance an estate. Or a probate process.

So, the reasoning goes, if you trust her, why do you need your own lawyer?

Palm Beach estate lawyer

Now, what if you don’t trust the person running the estate?

“Some people want their own advocate” says Pankauski. “They want a powerful voice to fight for them.”

In that case, you, as a beneficiary of the estate, or even a creditor, you can have your own attorney. And she can participate in the probate as long as you are an “interested” person. Her bill, of course, is paid by you. Most of the time.

“Sometimes, if your work, or your lawyer’s work, helped the estate, you can be reimbursed from the estate, or someone’s share” says Pankauski. Typically that turns on whether you “rendered” services, or benefitted, the estate.

But what exactly “benefits” an estate is open to debate and may vary widely from case to case.