Q: My dad suddenly passed and stepmom won't file will. Has homestead, 80acres in another county plus all his assets. Can I

A: I am very sorry for your loss on the passing of your dad, please accept my condolences and sympathy for you and your family at this sad and difficult time. Generally, much depends on whether there was a Will/Trust, was there a pre or post-nuptial agreement and furthermore, how were accounts and assets held and titled, joint ownership with rights of survivorship, as husband and wife, pay or transfer on death, you may have some, little or no recourse based on much of the above and the actual circumstances. Keep in mind, a surviving spouse, absent some martial agreement has substantial rights in the estate of a deceased spouse, homestead, spousal rights, exempt property, family allowance and so forth. You stepmom, must file any Will within 10 days of passing in accordance with Florida Statutes, rarely does anyone do this. If she remains slow and unmotivated to respond, you can file a probate and she will file the Will and or respond. You can also check with clerk of court in count of their homestead property to see if any probate or anything has commenced. At some point, you will need to get your own attorney for probate likely to just stay on top of things if you have any rights in accordance with your dad's will or generally based on Florida Intestate Statutes (without a Will), if everything did not pass to your stepmom outside of probate via the manner in which assets were titled and otherwise held.

A: My condolences to you and your family. Under Florida law, the original Will should be filed within 10 days after death. Do you have a copy of the Will? Does your stepmom have the original Will? Without a copy of the Will, you don't know if you are entitled to any of your father's assets. Under Florida law, a parent does not have to leave any of his assets to an adult child. You should check the clerk's docket in the county where your father died to ascertain if a probate case is open and if the Will was deposited.

You should retain a probate attorney to assist you with this matter. Best wishes.