Q: Florida death. Zero assets. Im named Executor, but No plan to file will. How to cash $600 check made to Estate of?

A: I am very sorry for your loss and please accept my condolences. There is no requirement to pursue, file or do a probate whatsoever, no one is obligated to do so and any interested part if so motivated can file for a probate. One obligation that does exist whether you file a probate or not is to submit the Will to the clerk of the court, in accordance with Florida Statute you must file the Will with the clerk within 10 days of passing whether a probate is filed or not (no one holds you to that 10 day rule), but you will need to file the Will. As far as cost, you can check with the clerk of the court while you are there for paperwork on disposition of property without administration, you may or may not want to try to pursue this as an option on your own. You are also correct, for a $600 check you will not be able to get Summary Administration addressed cost effectively if you use legal counsel. You could check in the county where this is taking place with the local bar association/legal aid and see if they can help and or direct you further.

A: Unfortunately, you will need an order from a judge for the check to be reissued to an individual, not the estate. If you or anyone else paid funeral expenses or final medical bills out of pocket, you can file a disposition of personal property without administration for which the clerk of court will provide the forms and the judge will issue an order that the applicant does not have to prepare. However, there is a filing fee of $231 for even this order to reimburse an individual for payment of funeral expenses. If you do go this route, once you get the order signed by the judge, you would get a certified copy of the order and take it with the check back to the issuer of the check, and they would reissue the check to the person named on the judge's order.

If no one paid funeral expenses or final medical bill out of pocket, then the only other option would be to file a petition for summary administration, which as the other attorney has mentioned, would cost more to hire an attorney to assist with than the check is worth. If you opted to file a petition for summary administration on your own, the clerk of court does not provide these forms, but they could be found online. You would have to prepare the proposed order for the judge to sign, and this may be too difficult to do correctly without an attorney. For a summary administration for assets below $1,000, there is also a filing fee of $231.