What Is An Estate?

What is an Estate? Florida attorney L. Reed Bloodworth said that an estate can be defined in legal terms and in several other different ways.

An estate is the property and the financial assets owned by a person. In other words, whatever you own and whatever it’s worth is your estate. It can include investments, savings, real estate and items holding monetary and personal value.

In Legal Terms: Probate Estate

But an estate has another definition and meaning in legal terms where an estate is what you own when you die which is also known as a probate estate.

Assets that pass through a will, or assets that pass via intestate succession — where there is no will — is referred to as a probate estate.

What Is A Probate Estate?

A probate estate includes assets that have to go through Florida probate in order to be retitled and given to someone else. When someone dies, everything they own enters their probate estate.

The Florida probate process is a court process in which it is necessary to retitle your estate assets into the names of your beneficiaries as you designated in your will.

What Is Probate?

Probate is the formal legal process by which your will is submitted to the Florida court and authenticated.

In this process, the court accepts your will (if it is properly executed and legal) and says, “yes, this is a will, and, yes, it’s properly executed.”

What Is A Trust Estate?

There is also a trust estate. A trust estate refers to all of the assets that are inside a trust and that are going to pass on to the trust’s beneficiaries.

Estate Tax

Then the estate is subject to estate tax. The IRS has to know the amount of a decedent’s gross estate which includes all that was owned by a decedent: a trust, a will, or, otherwise.

The total amount of your estate is used to determine what your estate tax will total and which must be paid from the estate.

As you’re learning about your own estate and deciding how you will handle it, you’ll hear the word “estate” used in several different ways.

If you are 18 years of age, you should have an estate plan. You should have your estate plan updated every three to five years, or when there is a major life or financial change.

If you don’t have an estate plan, you won’t have a say in what happens to your estate or to you if you are deemed medically or mentally incapable, or if you die intestate – without a will.

The Bloodworth Law Estate Planning Team

Talk with Reed and the Bloodworth Law Estate Planning team about making plans that will protect you, your family, your business, and your legacy.

Reed is a 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Lawyer® in Trusts & Estates Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Real Estate Litigation.

Reed is Founder and CEO of Bloodworth Law, PLLC, a 2022 U.S. News & World Report “Best Law Firm,” with offices in Orlando and Winter Haven.

Bloodworth Law attorneys represent Florida clients in legal issues including estate and probate litigation, and estate planning.