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Questions Answered by Christin Coleman Gallardo
3 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law, Estate Planning and Probate for Florida on
Q: My husband passed without a will and he owned a property that was not our homestead but we used it for rental income.

I, as the surviving spouse want to sell this property (FL) and need to probate it because I am not on the deed, only my husband. He and I had 2 children together who are minors and he had one adult child from a previous relationship as do I. I was advised that upon the sale I am entitled to 50% of... View More

Christin Coleman Gallardo
Christin Coleman Gallardo
answered on Apr 22, 2020

That's not correct.

You are entitled to 50% of the estate per 732.102.

Per 732.103, The remaining 50% of the estate is shared by your husband's three children equally, so they each are entitled to approximately 16.6%

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2 Answers | Asked in Probate for Florida on
Q: My Mom died more than a year ago. I am the heir and trustee of the living trust. I have 2 checks that are made out to

living trust. I can not cash them because the bank closed the living trust account since it had not been used for so long (without my permission). In order to file a petition for summary administration to cash these checks they want the orginal copy of my Mom's will. I made copies of her... View More

Christin Coleman Gallardo
Christin Coleman Gallardo
answered on Jan 4, 2019

If you only have a copy, you would have to Petition the court to accept a copy of the Will in lieu of the original. This requires notice to all who would stand to inherit if the Will were not "admitted" by the Court to Probate. However, if the property is indeed Trust property, then... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Florida on
Q: If a house is left to three people in a will, does it need to go into probate to be sold?
Christin Coleman Gallardo
Christin Coleman Gallardo
answered on Dec 10, 2018

Yes, if the house is in the decedent's name alone and she/he left it to three other individuals in a Will, then a probate will have to be opened and the Will admitted to probate in order to transfer title.

You will need to hire an experienced Florida estate administration attorney to...
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1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Florida on
Q: Hi How long does it takes to from funds as a Trust beneficiary?

My Uncle passed away November 2017 and his attorney informed me of being a beneficiary of a Trust he left me. However she won't communicate with me anymore and say get a lawyer. Please advise me

Christin Coleman Gallardo
Christin Coleman Gallardo
answered on Nov 14, 2018

As a Trust beneficiary in Florida, you are entitled at a minimum to information about the assets of the Trust, a copy of the Trust and annual accountings. The terms of the trust will govern when you are entitled to distributions. In addition, another limiting factor (as to when you receive a... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Florida on
Q: My dads estate was probated and signed by judge 12/30/17 recieved claim from credit card for $1800 am I obligated to pay

Notifications were in paper to creditors judge stated in order that there be immediate distribution of assets on the 12/30/17 order

Christin Coleman Gallardo
Christin Coleman Gallardo
answered on Oct 4, 2018

If you are saying that an Order of Discharge was signed on 12/30/17 and that a Notice to Creditors was published providing that creditors had three months to file a claim, then this is an untimely filed claim for which the Estate is not responsible. The only way you might obligated to pay a... View More

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