Q: If I wait two years to administer my late husbands estate, will I bypass creditors and his estranged son?
I have enough funds to pay my bills for a few years and would rather not go through probate or contact his son whom he hasn’t seen in 20 years. I am sure he does not even know he died. The estate is worth over the 75k max for simplified probate .
A: If you wait the two years you will avoid the creditors. Questionable about the estranged son, may depend on whether there is a will and what it says about his son.
A:
Very sorry for your loss and the passing of your husband, please accept my condolences.
After two years you can file a summary administration and creditor claims are generally barred. I will note, if there is a Will then it does not matter, the assets will be distributed in accordance with the terms of the Will and an adult child may have no claims if left out of the Will. If there is no Will and Florida Intestate Statutes (without a Will ) apply, then you will still have to deal with son at that point (I have presumed that his son is from a previous marriage). The issue you are presently trying to avoid, you likely will have to deal with in two years still because if a probate is required presently, it likely will be required in two years as well, just the benefit of not having to deal with any creditors will likely be gained by waiting. At some point you will need to review precisely what needs to be done and what will have to go through probate as some things may simply transfer to your outside of probate based on how the assets were titled and or otherwise held. Also, as a surviving spouse, you have substantial rights as it relates to probate no matter what.
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