Ancillary Probate in Florida

An Ancillary Probate (Ancillary Administration) is a probate proceeding conducted in a state different from the deceased person’s state of resident.

Ancillary Probate is necessary when a deceased person owned property titled in his/her own name (not in Trust) in a state outside of the state in which he/she resided. This is common in vacation home states such as Florida.

When a resident of a state other than Florida dies owning real estate in Florida a Florida Ancillary Probate is needed to pass title to the Florida real estate to the beneficiaries named in a Last Will and Testament or the heirs of the decedent if the deceased died without an Last Will and Testament (died intestate).

For example, if a person dies as a resident of New York owning a second home in his/her own name in Florida a New York probate proceedings would be opened in New York, County Probate Court. In addition, a Florida ancillary probate proceeding will also have to be opened to transfer title to the Florida property accordingly. Certified copies of the “Letters Testamentary” and an “Order Admitting Will to New York County Probate Court” will have to be filed with Florida Ancillary probate documents along with an exemplified copy of the Last Will and Testament of the deceased person.A Florida Ancillary Probate may be handled as a Summary Probate proceeding or a Formal Probate depending on the value of assets located here in Florida and when the decedent passed away.Content goes here

Typical Florida ancillary probate proceedings require a “Formal” proceeding where an “Ancillary Personal Representative” must be be appointed. In Florida Probate proceeding the person appointed Ancillary Personal Representative must be a lineal descendant of the deceased person (i.e., spouse, child, grandchild, sibling, parent, grandparent, uncle/aunt, niece/nephew).

Since 1995, Glenn Law Offices has assisted with Florida Ancillary Probate Administration proceedings for many out-of-state deceased persons, as well as with Trust Estate Administration and other Florida Probate proceedings in Broward County and Palm Beach County Probate Courts.

Gregory G. Glenn, Esq. is a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. He has practiced elder law since 1995. Prior to law school Mr. Glenn worked as a management consultant at the Big Eight accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand, CPA’s and also at Dunn & Roth, CPA’s as a staff accountant. He has his law degree from MSU and completed his legal studies at the University of Miami School of law. His focus in elder law is on estate planning for the over 65, disability planning, probate, and Medicaid eligibility planning. His office is in Boynton Beach, Florida.