Executors for Florida Estates & Probate: understanding what a Florida personal representative is

Are you the beneficiary of a Florida estate?  Are you receiving documents from some Florida probate lawyer regarding a probate administration in Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach County, Florida and trying to figure out who’s who? Consider this:  your rich uncle died in Boca Raton, Florida and his estate is being “probated” in the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach by his Florida estate lawyer.   Your uncle’s will names his attorney as the “personal representative.”  You receive a notice of administration in the mail and a letter from the Florida estate lawyer, saying that he or she is the “personal representative” and that his or her law firm is acting as his or her counsel.  What is a Florida personal representative?   In Florida, courts and our Probate Code don’t distinguish between one who administers an estate with a Florida will, versus a Florida estate which does not have a will.  (An estate where the deceased Florida resident died without a will is often referred to as an “intestate” estate and the Florida laws of “intestacy” apply to leave the estate to heirs.)  Florida probate courts also do not distinguish between an executor who is male or female.  Other states call one who administers an estate an “executor” or “administrator”.  In Florida, we refer to the person who is a fiduciary in charge of administering a Florida estate as the “personal representative”.  A judge will issue or grant “letters of administration” and an order appointing the personal representative.  (There are probate judges in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and West Palm Beach, Florida, in addition to Delray Beach,Florida.  Palm Beach County, Florida has three courthouses and five probate judges.)  So, a personal representative for a Florida estate or a Florida probate is nothing more than an estate executor: an estate administrator.   The personal representative must be a Florida resident or be related to the deceased Florida resident . You do not have to be a lawyer, let alone a Florida probate lawyer or a Florida estate lawyer.     If your uncle’s personal representative has a probate lawyer, who’s representing you, the Florida beneficiary?   Need help with an estate?  michelle@pankauskilawfirm.com.   Advocate hard. Litigate smart.