Legal Question in Elder Law in Florida

Re: open an estate

Because people are still grieving?

It's not at all uncommon for people to wait several months before going to a lawyer to get the probate process started; delay is inherent in human nature. And the lawyer has to get all the i's dotted and t's crossed before filing the Petition. Potentially lots of signature needed from people who may be spread across the country; documents need to be notarized, which can be a pain for some people to get done; affidavits may need to be drafted and reviewed and re-written, and then signed and notarized.

Or, perhaps the decedent's assets were all owned joint with rights of survivorship, and/or had beneficiary or 'transfer on death' designations. In which case maybe the will won't be probated at all. Is this a New York domiciled decedent?

Good luck.

Rick Bryan

New York, NY