Real Estate

Why do we even need probate when a landowner dies?

When an owner of real estate (houses or land) dies without having deeded the property over to someone while the owner was alive, probate orders of some kind are always needed. Why? Because there is no way for a buyer of the property, and the company which issues title insurance for the purchase, to know… read more

A Deed Is Not Title

Probate deals with real property a lot – houses, condos, vacant lots, commercial buildings. Our clients often confuse the word “title” with “deed.” They will refer to a deed when they really mean title, as in “When does probate give me my deed?” One reason for the confusion is that, for motor vehicles, there is… read more

Hazard Insurance: Can’t Live With It, Can’t Live Without It

Where real property is being managed by the Personal Representative of a Florida estate, that person is often faced with asking themselves: what do I do about hazard insurance? When is it due for renewal? Will they renew the coverage? Homestead property- the deceased person’s permanent residence- is not necessarily the responsibility of the Personal… read more

Death of a Seller Versus Death of a Buyer

In most cases, there is some lapse of time between the signing of a real estate transaction contract and the actual sale (the “closing”). What happens if, during this period, one of the parties to the contract dies? Surprisingly, the results depend on who dies. If a seller dies, usually the buyer has the right… read more

Don’t Wait to Sell that House

In ancient days, 25 years ago, many title insurance underwriters believed that an executor (personal representative) needed to get past the creditor period (3 months) before he or she could validly sell real property owned by a decedent. Those days are gone and for non-homestead property, all an executor needs is either an order approving… read more

Finally, a Book to Recommend

People often ask us if we can recommend estate administration or estate planning services, software or books, and we’ve been looking, honestly. Sadly, the answer is usually “no.” Florida law has just enough oddities that anything written for a national audience almost always fails to spot all the places where Florida law differs. But we’re… read more

Florida : “Entirety” = Fewer Probates

Rarely is probate needed for Florida property when one spouse dies. The general rule in Florida is that, even if the deed does not identify two owners as husband and wife, if they are indeed legally married most likely the couple owns the property as “tenants by the entirety” (TBE). TBE ownership means that no probate… read more