When a Palm Beach estate is loaded with hospital bills, credit card balances, mortgages, and disputed claims, probate stops being paperwork and becomes a financial defense. Our firm concentrates on the part of Florida probate most families dread: the creditors. We guide personal representatives through the claims process under the Florida Probate Code (Chapters 731-735) so that legitimate debts are paid in the correct legal order and improper or untimely claims are challenged and barred.
Why Creditor Claims Dominate Many Palm Beach Estates
Palm Beach is home to retirees, second-home owners, and estates with significant medical and long-term-care expenses. These factors produce estates where the volume and value of creditor claims rival the value of the assets. A surviving spouse may inherit a homestead but face a wall of unsecured claims. An out-of-state child may be appointed personal representative and have no idea that Florida sets strict deadlines for paying and objecting to debts. We exist to manage exactly that pressure.
How Florida’s Claims Process Works
In a formal administration, the personal representative must publish a Notice to Creditors and serve known or reasonably ascertainable creditors directly. Under Florida law, most creditors must file claims within three months of first publication, or within 30 days of being served, whichever is later. Section 733.710 also imposes a two-year absolute bar measured from the date of death. Once a claim is filed, the personal representative may file an objection, which forces the creditor to file an independent lawsuit within a limited window or lose the claim. Missing these deadlines, on either side, can be catastrophic.
Order of Payment and Protected Assets
Florida does not pay creditors first-come, first-served. Section 733.707 sets a priority order: administration costs, funeral expenses, certain taxes and debts with federal preference, medical expenses of the last 60 days, family allowance, and finally general creditors. We also protect assets that creditors cannot reach. Florida’s constitutional homestead generally passes free of most creditor claims, and assets with beneficiary designations or proper survivorship often bypass probate entirely. Identifying what is exempt is frequently the difference between a solvent and an insolvent estate.
Our Palm Beach Probate Services
We handle formal administration, summary administration, ancillary administration for out-of-state decedents who owned Palm Beach property, creditor claim objections and litigation, and estate planning tools that reduce future probate exposure such as Lady Bird deeds and revocable trusts under Chapter 736. Whether you are a personal representative trying to close an estate without personal liability or a beneficiary worried that debts will consume your inheritance, we map the claims landscape before you make a costly mistake.
Talk to a Palm Beach Probate Attorney
Every estate is different, and the strategy for a debt-heavy estate depends on its specific assets, claims, and family structure. This page is general information, not legal advice. Before acting as a personal representative or responding to any creditor, consult a licensed Florida attorney who can review your situation and protect you from personal exposure. Contact our Palm Beach office to schedule a consultation.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of probate in Palm Beach. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles special needs planning in New York.