Settling an estate includes identifying debts, reviewing claims, and paying valid obligations in the proper order. The probate process provides a framework for that work and a court to resolve questions when needed. Family members generally do not become personally responsible for a decedent’s debts simply because they are relatives. Spiro Verras helps the personal representative understand the deadlines, protections, and records needed to administer the estate carefully.
Distinguish estate debts from personal obligations
A survivor may have a separate obligation because of a co-signed loan, joint debt, guarantee, or another applicable rule. Property can also remain subject to a mortgage or lien. An improper distribution may need to be returned. In summary administration, recipients can have statutory responsibility for valid claims up to the applicable value received, with protections for exempt property (§ 735.206). Reviewing a demand before paying it helps distinguish a valid obligation from one that does not belong to the family.
Give the required creditor notices
In formal administration, publication and service of notice help establish the claims process (§ 733.2121). The personal representative must make a diligent effort to identify reasonably ascertainable creditors and serve them as required. The general filing deadline is the later of three months after first publication or 30 days after required service, subject to statutory exceptions and the two-year limitation (§ 733.702). Publication alone does not resolve every known-creditor issue. Required notice to the Agency for Health Care Administration must also be considered.
Understand the two-year limitation
Florida generally bars claims against a decedent two years after death, whether or not probate has been opened (§ 733.710). Important exceptions include timely filed claims that remain unresolved and certain mortgages or security interests. Federal claims and other special rules can require separate analysis. The passage of two years therefore does not mean that every obligation or lien has disappeared.
Pay valid claims in the proper order
Section 733.707 establishes priorities for administration expenses, funeral expenses within statutory limits, certain preferred claims, family protections, and other obligations. If funds are insufficient, lower-priority claims may receive less or nothing, and claims within the same class may share proportionately. That does not necessarily eliminate exempt or separately protected property for the family. The remaining distributable estate passes under the will or the intestacy statute.
Review a claim before paying or objecting
The representative should consider validity, priority, available assets, and deadlines before making payments. Florida provides procedures for objecting to claims and deadlines for the creditor’s response (§ 733.705). Some matters can be resolved through records or agreement; others require additional proceedings. Spiro guides the administration and can coordinate appropriate additional counsel if needed, remaining involved as the client wishes.
Identify the family’s available protections
Qualifying homestead, statutory exempt property, certain retirement and insurance interests, and appropriate survivorship ownership may protect assets from particular claims. Each protection has requirements and exceptions, and some rights must be claimed within deadlines. The family allowance also has its own eligibility and priority rules. Identifying these interests early helps the representative address creditors while preserving the benefits the law provides to the family.
Review Medicaid recovery and its exceptions
Florida’s Medicaid estate-recovery statute permits an estate claim for qualifying benefits paid after the recipient reached age 55 (§ 409.9101). It also provides important protections, including nonenforcement when the recipient is survived by a spouse, a child under 21, or a child meeting the statutory blindness or disability criteria. Exempt property and qualifying hardship circumstances receive additional protection. The actual benefits, ownership, surviving family, and claim should be reviewed before determining what the estate owes.
Contact our office to arrange a consultation with Spiro about estate planning, trusts, or probate. Meet in Palm Harbor, in Tampa or St. Petersburg by appointment, or by Zoom or teleconference.