Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida

Re: mother deceased but trust document is missing

Call the law firm. They may have a copy of the trust agreement. Without it, you cannot administer the trust since you do not know what it says. You may need to probate the will. Without more information, no definitive answer can be given.

Re: mother deceased but trust document is missing

Unless the terms of the trust can be established, I see no way to avoid probate. Without at least a copy of the signed document, you would probably have to have a judicial determination of the terms of the trust. Most law firms keep copies of wills and trusts they have prepared, so that is the place to begin. You might also check the public records in the county where she resided to see if it may have been recorded. As for the brokerage account, it sounds like it was not in the trust, but merely had the children as beneficiaries. If so, the children should be able to access that account with a certified copy of the death certificate. If so, and thus the home is the only asset we are concerned with, or if the brokerage account is valued at less than $75,000, a simplified type of probate (Summary Probate) along with a Determination Of Homestead could take care of things. That would be considerably cheaper than full probate - probably no more than $1000. Then you would not have to worry about the trust document.

Frank Pyle - (407) 872-1965