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Probate Attorney in Fl?

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Hi All,

I’m looking for a bit of advice . I would hope no one else has had similar circumstances but I know mine is not unique.

My wife was a DVC owner, with the title in her name only, and she passed away suddenly without a will in 2018. She bought it when in a previous marriage but the title is in her name.We spoke about putting together a trust many times and never got around to it. One of the obstacles was the hassle of dealing with out of state real estate.

I am able to modify any existing reservations and have access to her DVC online account. I’ve been able to modify the monthly dues to come out of my account. I reside in CA and there was no probate in CA. I do have an attorney here who set up a trust with my existing assets .
When I called DVC they referred me to the Florida Bar Assoc. and told me a Florida attorney would have to work in conjunction with a CA attorney if I wanted to do anything with the title.

A few days before she passed away she made reservations to take a family with 4 year twins to the timeshare and we’re going at the end of Feb. so I’m going to be in the area.

Rather than trusting the randomness of the Fl. Bar Assoc. website, could anyone provide a referral of an attorney in the area who may have provided a similar service?

Thanks for any help or advice,

Larry
 

Dean

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Hi All,

I’m looking for a bit of advice . I would hope no one else has had similar circumstances but I know mine is not unique.

My wife was a DVC owner, with the title in her name only, and she passed away suddenly without a will in 2018. She bought it when in a previous marriage but the title is in her name.We spoke about putting together a trust many times and never got around to it. One of the obstacles was the hassle of dealing with out of state real estate.

I am able to modify any existing reservations and have access to her DVC online account. I’ve been able to modify the monthly dues to come out of my account. I reside in CA and there was no probate in CA. I do have an attorney here who set up a trust with my existing assets .
When I called DVC they referred me to the Florida Bar Assoc. and told me a Florida attorney would have to work in conjunction with a CA attorney if I wanted to do anything with the title.

A few days before she passed away she made reservations to take a family with 4 year twins to the timeshare and we’re going at the end of Feb. so I’m going to be in the area.

Rather than trusting the randomness of the Fl. Bar Assoc. website, could anyone provide a referral of an attorney in the area who may have provided a similar service?

Thanks for any help or advice,

Larry
I'm sorry for your loss. I don't have a specific attorney but you might look for recommendations from Orlando closing companies the deal with timeshares. There are also a few reports of those who had to do this on DIS, I don't think anyone listed the lawyer but you might find those posts and contact them. You might also contact member admin and see if they'll add your name without going through probate since it sounds like you're listed as an associate using the death certificate but if you want to sell or change further that won't help. If there's an ex, you may or may not have to get them to sign off depending on specifics.
 

bogey21

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Depending on your age, heirs and financial condition why not just keep using it and not screw with probate?

George
 
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I'm sorry for your loss. I don't have a specific attorney but you might look for recommendations from Orlando closing companies the deal with timeshares. There are also a few reports of those who had to do this on DIS, I don't think anyone listed the lawyer but you might find those posts and contact them. You might also contact member admin and see if they'll add your name without going through probate since it sounds like you're listed as an associate using the death certificate but if you want to sell or change further that won't help. If there's an ex, you may or may not have to get them to sign off depending on specifics.
Thanks for the suggestions Dean.
 
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Depending on your age, heirs and financial condition why not just keep using it and not screw with probate?

George
That is an option but there are some children(now adults) who may be entitled to the asset as well . Although I appreciate Disney, I'm not nearly the fan my wife was and I'm basically trying to gather information to see what the options may be.

Thanks
 

Dean

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Depending on your age, heirs and financial condition why not just keep using it and not screw with probate?

George
Depending on the number of points and other situations, this may be a viable option and I had considered suggesting it. But I don't think technically the estate could close until this is taken care of though not having to probate in CA might mitigate some of this.
 

AnnaS

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Sorry for your loss. Good luck.
 

Conan

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In Florida, real estate title work is generally done by a title company, and prices are usually reasonable.
The title company won't do the probate, but I'm hoping they might recommend an attorney for the probate side whom they're accustomed to working with.
You might call Stewart Title Company (or any of their competitors--they're just the name I know).
I googled and here's their Orlando area office: https://www.stewart.com/orlando

Here's the Florida intestate distribution statute: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes...ng=&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.102.html
The Florida rule is,
"If the decedent is survived by one or more descendants, all of whom are also descendants of the surviving spouse, and the surviving spouse has no other descendant," then the timeshare passes 100% to you,
but
"If there are one or more surviving descendants of the decedent who are not lineal descendants of the surviving spouse" or "If there are one or more surviving descendants of the decedent, all of whom are also descendants of the surviving spouse, and the surviving spouse has one or more descendants who are not descendants of the decedent," then title has to be split with you receiving only 50%.

So as you say, there may be some children who are entitled to the asset as well.
 
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In Florida, real estate title work is generally done by a title company, and prices are usually reasonable.
The title company won't do the probate, but I'm hoping they might recommend an attorney for the probate side whom they're accustomed to working with.
You might call Stewart Title Company (or any of their competitors--they're just the name I know).
I googled and here's their Orlando area office: https://www.stewart.com/orlando

Here's the Florida intestate distribution statute: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes...ng=&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.102.html
The Florida rule is,
"If the decedent is survived by one or more descendants, all of whom are also descendants of the surviving spouse, and the surviving spouse has no other descendant," then the timeshare passes 100% to you,
but
"If there are one or more surviving descendants of the decedent who are not lineal descendants of the surviving spouse" or "If there are one or more surviving descendants of the decedent, all of whom are also descendants of the surviving spouse, and the surviving spouse has one or more descendants who are not descendants of the decedent," then title has to be split with you receiving only 50%.

So as you say, there may be some children who are entitled to the asset as well.

Conan,
Thanks for the reply.

There are 2 children (now adults) involved . They live in another state and are not in a financial situation which would allow them to pay maintenance fees, or attorneys fees, should they be substantial.

I'm trying to gather information regarding costs and time involved, to get to them so they can decide whether they can pursue this or not. If the legal costs are not substantial , I would consider paying them but they are not going to show any initiative in pursuing the matter.

Thanks again,
Larry
 

DeniseM

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There are good timeshare title companies that are far less expensive than Stewart Title.

This is who I use - they are Tuggers, they get high marks on TUG, and they are efficient and inexpensive - usually less than $200. LLT has years of experience and I would call them and ask for advice on the whole situation - they can point you in the right direction:

L.T. Transfers
www.lttransfers.com
readylegal@gmail.com
706.219.2709
 

Conan

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There are good timeshare title companies that are far less expensive than Stewart Title.

This is who I use - they are Tuggers, they get high marks on TUG, and they are efficient and inexpensive - usually less than $200. LLT has years of experience and I would call them and ask for advice on the whole situation - they can point you in the right direction:

L.T. Transfers
www.lttransfers.com
readylegal@gmail.com
706.219.2709

Worth a call, if there's a chance LLT can help out on the probate issue.
If I were only looking for an agency to help transfer a timeshare, I wouldn't even think of Stewart Title. I suggest them as a pointer to help with OP's estate problem.
 

DeniseM

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I'm not sure if Stewart Title does timeshares (maybe they do?) so I'd go with a company that specializes in timeshares. LT Transfers also has an attorney.
 
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I'm not sure if Stewart Title does timeshares (maybe they do?) so I'd go with a company that specializes in timeshares. LT Transfers also has an attorney.
Thanks, LT transfers was suggested earlier and I did contact them. They responded that they did not have an attorney on staff to handle matters in Florida.
 
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