Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida

I suffered the loss of my wife in August 2008. She left no Will. I hired a Probate attorney. Everything has been handled by the attorney from the start to include the selling of the house, land and depositing of the money into a trust fund I created. The attorney informed me earlier in the stages of the Probate ofthe amount of money I would be entitled to. I needed some money before the disbursement of funds to the three surviving children of hers, (my step children) which are over 21. Their part of the money is safe in the Trust Fund. The attorneyis furious that I touched my part of the money which is mine anyways. The attorney has already been paid their fees. My question is this.......Cant I go ahead and send them a check from the Trust Fund for their part and be completed with this nightmare or is their some other formality that has to be accomplished by this attorney? I had rather do it on my own. The attorney is threatening to withdraw as my counsel. I am located in Florida where my wife passed away.


Asked on 5/04/10, 6:00 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Labovitz Labovitz Law Firm, P.A.

You can terminate your relationship with the attorney and do it on your own, but before you disburse any funds from the account, you should read through the probate rules and understand them, make sure you are obtaining a release from each beneficiary and make sure all creditor claims have been satisfied and released. If you pay out money that is later needed to satisfy obligations of the estate, you can be held personally liable if estate funds aren't available to pay them.

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Answered on 5/11/10, 8:26 pm


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