lineal descendant

In trying to create a family tree, started my search for my father whom I had not seen for many yrs. I learned of his death in Florida through the internet. Through Florida records I also found that he has a home in Miami-Dade. He died in 1998, but records still show him and my step-mother (who passed away in 1996) as owners and occupying the property. As an only child of my father, how would I go about claiming the estate. Would I need to file a lien or file a petition with probate court? What are my first steps and where could I obtain such forms. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mauri

OCT 3, 2001

DEAR FLDA:

If you know the city and county where your father died, you should first check at the county courthouse to look at the probate court index to find out if your father had a last will & testament or not (if you can't visit the courthouse in person, then you could order copies of his probate file by mail). If he has a probate file, you can examine it to find out who his estate executor was and other financial information about his assets, properties, etc. It is up to you as to whether or not you would want to contact the executor to ask his opinion about how things were handled or to get more information about the house.

There is also the possibility that there is no probate file available for him if no one took responsibility.

Then you may want to consider hiring an attorney to guide you through the process of filing a claim through probate court to become personal administrator of his estate, if no one else took care of handling his affairs or claiming title to his home. If there are other siblings involved, the court may have to decide who his legal heirs are.

SINCERELY,

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