Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida

Help! This is one huge (probate) mess...

Long story short...I've lived at my current residence for over twenty years, yet by law-it's not my house-it's in the estate of two deceased people-my great great aunt and uncle. Both of them have been deceased for more than ten years and neither of these owners had a will. I've down some research to try to get the ball rolling, but I keep running into a deadend. My great great uncle died in 1978 and my great great aunt passed away in 1989-he had kids, but she never had any children. My mom took care of the both of them-until the end, so there was some sort of verbal agreement that she would inherit the house in turn for taking care of them. For the same reason as now, my mom never had the house changed into her name. I took care of my mom with who died from cancer in 2002 and it was implied that this is now my house. I've been paying the taxes and upkeep, so can I do to move this house into my name? I'm interested in relocating, but I won't be able to confidently make this move-without putting a stop to this huge mess-once and for all. I need to do as much as I can possibly do on my own, before contacting another attorney-I can't afford thousands of dollars in legal fees. Any advice, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


Asked on 7/12/07, 2:18 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Ronald Jones Ronald A. Jones, PA

Re: Help! This is one huge (probate) mess...

Basically, there isn't much you can do on your own. From what you describe, you are going to have to bring at least 2, maybe 3, probates. And you are going to have to hire a lawyer to do the probates. The good news is, everyone has been dead more than 2 years; so you ought to be able to do this via 'summary' administration. You are going to have to contact a probate attorney, sit down and give them the details, and get an estimate.

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Answered on 7/12/07, 8:21 am


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