GCprobatelaw.com - Edward Golden Florida Probate Attorney::
Jul 24, 2008 Dade County Probate and Guardianship Committee - Chairman 1995-1998; Vice Chairman 1989-1990 and 1992-1994; Member 1985-Present Florida Bar
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A relative of mine has died with no heirs and no will. Some unknown
person claiming to be a "cousin" has filed and been approved to act as
the "administrator" of her estate. I know the family tree and am
certain that this person is a total stranger. The death occured in
Jan of 2002 and the administrator was appointed by the court in June
of this year. Besides the advise "hire a lawyer" what kind of issues
am I facing, what could I expect to pay in legal fees both on a time
or on a contingency basis. I've gotten the court papers which
disclose about $20,000 in cash but no other assets. How can I find
out what is in the estate. I also heard from another relative (a real
one) that the estate has been used up in taking care of the old lady.
This reaises another issue as to the legitimacy of the charges of the
caregivers. I have certified copies of the death certificate and the
other documents that have been filed in Dade County (Miami) Florida.
Thanks in advance.
Hello,
I have an email into a lawyer in FL, asking him if I could
forward your ?'s to them and see if I could get you some basic advice.
I gave them the basic jist of your situation in my email. However,
most attorneys won't give out information like that with out a fee.
If, I can not get this information for you for free, would you be
willing to accept a list of attorney's in your county that would be
willing to do a consultation, and their fees, (if any) that they would
charge for doing this? I'm thinking that may be your best bet,
because, as a researcher, and not being in the situation, you know
much more about this than I do.
Let me know your thoughts on this, and I'll let you know once I hear
anything back.
Nenna-GA Estate Planning, Probate, Guardianship, and Tax Law in Miami, Florida::
Florida Bar, Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section Florida Bar, Tax Section Dade County Bar Association, Probate & Guardianship Court Rules Committee
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The list of lawyers wont do. You might be successful since this is
just a preliminary question. If the response is acceptable than
he/she could land a good client. Thanks for trying.
Ok, well then, I'll keep firing off some emails to people over the
week, and make some calls beginning Mon. and see what I can find out
for you, ok
Nenna-GA
Hi John316,
I sent an email off to a lawyer in Florida, who specializes in
probate, and asked him if I sent him your question, could he offer
some information and advice. He had no problem doing this, and I just
got his email back today. I'll post his answer to your question and
his contact information below. To find out his information, I
contacted a friend of mine who's a contract lawyer down in Tampa Fl,
who asked around to her colleuges and this man came very decently
reccomennded thru the grapevine. I believe that without payinf legal
fees, this is the most your going to get, I had also emailed 2 other
lawyers, and neither of them would even consider doing a consultation
like this, I gave Mr. Thomas many thanks for helping me out. Since I
can not be your point of contact,(since it would involve your personal
info and that violates our TOS) if you choose to have him represent
you, you'll have to contact him from here.
Here is what he had to say.....
WHEN A PERSON DIES WITHOUT A WILL IT IS REFERRED TO AS "INTESTATE".
ALMOST EVERYONE HAS "HEIRS". YOU PROBABLY MEAN THE DECEDENT
(deceased) HAD NO
CHILDREN. IN AN "INTESTATE" (NO WILL) ESTATE, FLORIDA LAW LOOKS FOR
THE
CLOSEST RELATIVE AND HE OR SHE IS ENTITLED TO THE ESTATE. ARE YOU
THE CLOSEST BLOOD RELATIVE? ( and I would suggest myself, if you're
not, do you know who is?)
IF A PERSON HAS SUBMITTED COURT PAPERS CLAIMING TO BE A "COUSIN" AND
HE
OR SHE IS NOT A RELATIVE, THEN THE COURT WILL REMOVE HIM OR HER AS
THE
"ADMINISTRATOR" AND WHAT EVER ELSE THE COURT WANTS TO DO INCLUDING
HAVING THE STATE CHARGE THAT PERSON WITH PERJURY. ( Think of a way to
prove they are not a relative, what proof do you have?)
LEGAL FEES ARE $235.OO AN HOUR. A RETAINER ($2,500 - $5,000) IS
GIVEN
AND THE LEGAL WORK BEGINS. THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF THE FEE DEPENDS ON
WHAT
THE "COUSIN" IS GOING TO DO - FIGHT OR GIVE UP. ALSO, IF THE
"COUSIN"
IS REMOVED AND A REAL RELATIVE IS APPOINTED, THEN THE CHARGES OF THE
CAREGIVER CAN BE CONTESTED (AGAIN, I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO MAKE A
BUSINESS
DECISION AS TO HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO DISPUTE THOSE CHARGES - FOR
EXAMPLE,
IT MAKES NO SENSE TO PAY ME $1,000 TO FIGHT A $500.00 BILL). ( I
checked with the other 2 lawyers that would not consult, and they said
this is about average for a hourly rate, which is how most lawyers
run, and the retainer is pretty normal as well)
THE FIRST THING IS TO GET A COPY OF THE PROBATE FILE. I WOULD HIRE A
RUNNER TO TRAVEL TO MIAMI TO PAY FOR A COPY OF THE FILE TO LEARN THE
PLAYERS AND POSSIBLE CLUE TO THE VALUE OF THE ESTATE. ( There is no
way except legally, I believe, to find out this information, i.e. the
value of the estate.)
PLEASE CALL IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
Adrian P. Thomas, LL.M.*, J.D.,
*Masters of Laws - Estate Planning
Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A.
Of Counsel to Angelo, Barry & Boldt, P.A.
SunTrust Center - Suite 850
515 East Las Olas Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
Telephone: (954) 764-7273
Facsimile: (954) 764-7274
E-Mail: apt@athomaslaw.com
So, I hope this answered some of your preliminary questions, and you
have a better idea on what you're facing and how to head from here.
Nenna-GA Legal Links - LawGuru.com::
Florida Probate and Estate Planning Attorney Located in Broward County and also serving Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Parking is never a problem.
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How can I get free Florida background checks?::
FL - Alachua County Background Checks - Probate, Ancient Records, Marriages to FL - Dade County Background Checks - Recording, Judgments, Deeds, Liens
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Dade County Car Accidents Lawyers | Florida Personal Injury ::
Dade County Car Accidenst Lawyers | Florida Personal Injury Attorneys: Automobile Collision, San Antonio, TX law firm of Heard & Smith handles probate,
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The Dade County Bar Association::
03/11/08 A View from the Bench on Probate & Guardianship Matters (DCBA) 1.0 Dade County Bar Association 123 N. W. First Avenue #214 Miami, Florida 33128
http://www.dadecountybar.org/forms/cle.phpHOME |
Also, I would be more than willing to keep in communication with him
for you if you needed some clarification on any of his answers before
you choose to contact him, or another lawyer. I would also be willing,
to get you a list of probate lawyers in your county, and that way you
could have more options, now that you know a bit more about what this
would entail to contest. Legally, though, with this, a lawyer is the
only way to go... but at least now you have a idea of what you'd be
getting into.
Nenna-GA
thanks. The answer is acceptable. Through my own lawyers we will be
locating an attorney in Dade County to handle the case. For your
information I managed to get the documents directly earlier through
another posting here.
Thank you for the rating. I'm glad I could help you out in some way.
Good luck on your legal battle, I hope it all works out ok.
Nenna-GA
I've posted a question related to this file for a further $125. Can you hadle it?
If I can get to it before someone else does...I'll try :) Thank you
for thinking of me.
Sorry, someone answered it already. When I contacted you there was no
one biting. Sorry about not thinking of you first. Take care. Steven
That's alright.
Thanks though. If I can ever help you with anything...
Jennifer.
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