Q: Husband died leaving $200 bank acc
Probate Fees are more than what he left in the bank. What happens to the $
A:
The only option I see here is if the heir could possibly qualify for a waiver of the filing fee. This is possible when the petitioner's income and assets meet the requirements for civil indigency status. The application for civil indigency status is available online with a google search or it is available from the clerk of court in your county.
Absent a filing fee waiver, the lowest filing fee for a probate matter is $241.00 which is the filing fee for (1) Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration, which is available to the person who has paid funeral expenses or final medical expenses and is seeking reimbursement up to the amount of the expenses that were paid) AND (2) Petition for Summary Administration (less than $1000 is assets).
You may wish to wait and determine if there will be any other assets requiring probate administration that could be added to this bank account before you abandon the funds. If no other assets are identified, then after 10 years, the bank will had the funds over to State of Florida unclaimed property. You may have seen where people can claim this unclaimed property; however, this only works easily if the property is in your name. If the property is in the name of the deceased, State of Florida unclaimed property requires the same court order that the bank would have required. The result is no better.
Bottom line: these funds may be difficult to recover unless the petitioner qualifies for a waiver of the filing fee.
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