dropping off a will for Pinellas clerk (credit card, lawyer)

[trixie11]

So I still haven't found or received a clear answer to this:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/flor...n-i-avoid.html

But I do know that I am supposed to drop off the original will to the county clerk within 10 days of death. I was going to do that today, but was wondering what I should expect when I arrive. Has anyone done this? It is required by law, so I envisioned literally just handing it to someone and walking out in 5 minutes with no fee, charge or anything else. But like everything else I have tried to find in relation to what I am supposed to be doing, how to do it, whether it costs anything, how soon it has to be done, etc.......I cannot find anything helpful online. Anyone know about this process?

[TheofanesKotso]

yes, nothing is free, but I would consult an estate attorney...there are a few nuances to deal with...gotta do it right !

[MortonR]

You're just having the will recorded. You'll need to leave an official/original with the clerk and pay a fee to have it recorded. The fee is based on the number of pages, which you can calculate here:

https://www.mypinellasclerk.org/Home/Recording-Services

Pretty straightforward, just go, get in line if they don't require appointments, and wait your turn.

RM

[trixie11]

I didn't plan on doing anything until I had plenty of time to research and get all the information I needed. Then I kept coming across things that said I must file the will within 10 days of death. There is no probate estate and nothing going into probate, so I can't get a clear answer on whether this requirement for bringing the will to the court is needed only if you are opening probate, or if it is required of everyone who dies and leaves a will. To further confuse me, I called to cancel on of my father's credit cards this morning and they listed a whole bunch of documents I had to mail them - including a letter of administration. Come to find out, this is only provided when formal probate is opened - which, again, I do not anticipate being needed or being done. So the more I try to find out and get cleared-up, the more confused I get. I am not going to hire an attorney if I don't need one and even if I do need one, I am nowhere close to being ready to get involved with that and won't be for weeks or months. And needless to say, you can't ask an attorney if you need an attorney because they will all say yes whether or not that is the case.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by trixie11

I didn't plan on doing anything until I had plenty of time to research and get all the information I needed. Then I kept coming across things that said I must file the will within 10 days of death. There is no probate estate and nothing going into probate, so I can't get a clear answer on whether this requirement for bringing the will to the court is needed only if you are opening probate, or if it is required of everyone who dies and leaves a will. To further confuse me, I called to cancel on of my father's credit cards this morning and they listed a whole bunch of documents I had to mail them - including a letter of administration. Come to find out, this is only provided when formal probate is opened - which, again, I do not anticipate being needed or being done. So the more I try to find out and get cleared-up, the more confused I get. I am not going to hire an attorney if I don't need one and even if I do need one, I am nowhere close to being ready to get involved with that and won't be for weeks or months. And needless to say, you can't ask an attorney if you need an attorney because they will all say yes whether or not that is the case.

Have you looked up any low cost/free legal aid service providers in this county? A quick Google search brought up quite a list. Call and ask for a consultation to get you on the right track with all this. If everything is as simple as you describe, that may only take one consultation and you won't need "weeks or months" to prepare for that. You have the will; hopefully one that meets the requirements of the decedent's state of residence. Even if there isn't probatable property to deal with you may need the court's letter of administration to do a number of other things to settle the decedent's final affairs as you've already found out. Institutions (bank where an account that has a POD or direct beneficiary is held) or agencies (like the DMV) still need to be notified about the fate of pertinent assets by someone, and that someone is you. No time like the present to get a plan in place. No one relishes taking care of this, but your parent is counting on you to act on their behalf.

[trixie11]

I just drove to the funeral home to get the death certificates and thought they might know the answer. They seemed shocked that any sort of legal decisions or action would be required in the upsetting, exhausting and confusing 10 day time period following death. I certainly never expected to need to take any important action for quite some time and knew this process would take up to 2 years.

I was told by my mother that I would need to have the will for many things, and at no time did she say I would need to bring it to the clerk of the court. I am extremely reluctant to lose possession of it since it is the only copy. I have asked about 20 people the question and the answers are split. Half say any will for any person who dies in the state must be brought to the clerk. The other half say they never did that and still have the wills of their deceased parents and they didn't need to do anything with the court because probate wasn't required. I brought the will with me to the funeral home because the clerk's office is close by, but with this much doubt, and no way in the universe I am anywhere close to going to a lawyer - I am not giving up that will until I get some answers. It should not be this hard to get them.

[wizrap]

What law firm prepared the will? I would start there, even if they charge a couple of hundred bucks. Well worth the guidance.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by trixie11

I just drove to the funeral home to get the death certificates and thought they might know the answer. They seemed shocked that any sort of legal decisions or action would be required in the upsetting, exhausting and confusing 10 day time period following death. I certainly never expected to need to take any important action for quite some time and knew this process would take up to 2 years.

I was told by my mother that I would need to have the will for many things, and at no time did she say I would need to bring it to the clerk of the court. I am extremely reluctant to lose possession of it since it is the only copy. I have asked about 20 people the question and the answers are split. Half say any will for any person who dies in the state must be brought to the clerk. The other half say they never did that and still have the wills of their deceased parents and they didn't need to do anything with the court because probate wasn't required. I brought the will with me to the funeral home because the clerk's office is close by, but with this much doubt, and no way in the universe I am anywhere close to going to a lawyer - I am not giving up that will until I get some answers. It should not be this hard to get them.

Probably better to get your answer from the horse's mouth, not 20 random people (who's circumstances may not be the same as your family's) or even your mother (whose memory of what was done may not be perfect). A fairly quick search brought this up:

https://www.mypinellasclerk.org/Home...estates--wills

Lots of information about wills, filings, probate, etc.

[MortonR]

My experience based on having administrated three estates over the years was just a requirement that the will be recorded. That way if someone had a claim against the estate there was something on record they could find and review to determine how the estate was distributed. No need for probate, nada.

You might just go into the clerk's office and ask. I can't speak for Pinellas, but Hillsborough's clerk's people are uber helpful with stuff like this and will walk you through what you need to do.

That and what someone previously suggested - find the attorney that drafted the will and ask them. I know my probate attorney will assist my family in sorting things out when I kick it as a part of the (original) deal.

RM

[trixie11]

I need to have the will with me to transfer the title of the car - this is according to the FL DMV website. So if I need the will for that - and probably several other things, how can I get rid of it before that by giving it to the court? 10 days will pass over the weekend so I hope they mean 10 business days instead. The whole thing is an unexpected nightmare. I knew it was going to be complicated and time consuming but I didn't expect to have to deal with some insane 10 day deadline before I had any time to sort through things and learn what I needed to do, which may very well include eventually seeing an attorney. But not this soon.