Ancillary Administration to Deal with Florida Assets
Many people have created estate plans in foreign states, and then later moved to Florida. If the decedent has property in multiple states then your probate may to go through ancillary administration. The phrase ancillary administration is the settlement and distribution of a decedent’s estate of an out of state resident. Or in other words, an estate other than the state in which the decedent was domiciled and where a resident leaves real or personal property in Florida, has credits due to him from Florida residents, or has liens on property in the state of Florida.
Florida’s Ancillary Administration Procedure
The procedure is similar to a formal probate proceeding. In this scenario, the out-of-state probate is referred to as the domiciliary administration and the Florida proceeding is called an ancillary administration. There are a few alternatives to an ancillary administration that may allow you to forgo a formal administration. For instance, if the decedent has already had a probate proceeding in another jurisdiction and leaves real property in Florida, then that real property can be distributed without administration. What is required is for any person to file a petition to admit the foreign will to record. This time sensitive proceeding must be done after the discharge of the domiciliary personal representative or after two years from the death of the decedent. Normally, after the petition is admitted, the will passes titles or interest to the real property in Florida as if it were by probate. Likewise, ancillary probate does not require a formal proceeding if the decedent has property in Florida worth $50,000 or less. Once the domiciliary probate has finalized, the personal executor or representative can file an authenticated transcript of the domiciliary. This exemption is codified in Fla. Stat. 734.1023
In many ways, an ancillary administration will proceed in the same fashion as typical Florida Probate and can be dealt with through a Summary or Formal Administration procedure. Florida Statute 734.102 sets out some of the substance law surrounding Florida’s Ancillary Administration process and provides: (1) A specific Personal Representative can be designated to administer Florida Assets (2) Ancillary Administration is governed by the Florida Rules of Probate (3) A non-Florida Will can be admitted to probate if it meets Florida’s requirements (4) creditor notification requirements are the same as a Florida Probate.
