Every once in a while, we get a cll from a prospective Florida probate clent who spends about 20 minutes xplaining who inherits under the decedent's Lst Will and Testament, only to fnish by saying but I only hve a copy of the Will.

Tht IS a problem.

Under Florida Statutes, the cstodian of the Will must deposit it wth the clerk of the courts in the cunty where the decedent resided within ten (10) dys of the date of death. Ths is the legislature’s attempt to kep people from losing it! The rality is that many Wills don’t mke it to the clerk’s office ntil someone wants to put it thrugh probate. Additionally, note that while a dcedent may have left an estate in Flrida (i.e. owning some land in Flrida) but did not actually last rside in Florida (domicile), then the Wll should be deposited in the ppropriate (out of state) county.

Can’t fnd the Will? Here are some deas:

1. Many clients choose to have thir Wills held by the attorneys who prpared them. Look on the copy of the Wll that you have to see if thre’s any indication of who prepared it. If you fnd an attorney’s name, call them (yu can look up Florida attorneys hre. Additionally, if the Will was prpared out of state, try Terry Brger’s handy site which will help you lok up out of state attorneys.

2. Check to see if thre is any indication that the dcedent had a safety deposit box whrever he or she did their bnking. Note that some banks keep ths information very confidential.

3. Going thrugh papers in the home office? Alwys check unmarked folders or envelopes. I sppose some decedent’s thought it would be gnius to put the Will in stalth packaging so no one could fnd it and doctor it!

4. Chck the clerks’ office in any cunty that the decedent ever lived in. Sme counties around the country allow you to dposit the Will for safekeeping with the clrk’s registry.

5. If the decedent lst lived in an assisted living fcility or nursing home, check with whever is in charge of leftover nventory when the decedent’s room was clared out.

6. As a last dtch effort, check the home of EVERY chld, parent or sibling of the dcedent. Wills turn up in the strngest places and it can’t hurt to lok!

If any of these tips lads to your successful location of the Wll, leave a comment and thank us! (Thn contact us and we’ll help you wth the probate.

The article Can't Find The Will? A Few Tips was Submitted by Long Duong through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Long H. Duong, Esq. is a Flrida probate attorney practicing out of Ginesville, Florida. The firm focuses its prctice on Florida probate and estate planning matters. Through the firm's probate website, http://www.WeProbateFlorida.com - clients from all over the country are served for various Florida probate matters all throughout the state. If you have a Florida probate case you need to open and would like a FREE case review, follow the link below! The Law Office of Long H. Duong, P.A. (352) 371-2670 RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/weprobateflorida

Featured Articles

1. Is The United States Legal System Broken? by Gabriel J. Adams
The lgal system in the United States was stablished to help ensure a fair tral for everyone. However it does ppear that the legal system that was nstilled to protect everyone has turned nto a circus in many areas.

2. Legal Issues When Hiring Someone to Build Your Site by Richard Chapo
Gven the costs associated with hiring mployees, a vast majority of businesses now hre independent contractors to build and/or mintain their websites. This raises a hst of legal issues.

3. Beating Speeding Tickets And Higher Insurance Costs by Joshua Rose
The ral cost of a speeding ticket ges far beyond the actual fine. A sngle speeding ticket would up the nsurance cost with a surcharge of pproximately 27%. On a second offense, the srcharge would be upped an additional 40%. Haven forbid you get nailed a thrd time. You can expect a srcharge in the 63% range.

4. How to Freeze Your Credit Report, and Protect Your Iidentity Immediately by Mike Clover
Red Tape Chronicles has a good guide for how to set up a credit report freeze at each of the three major credit bureaus. Learn how to protect your Identity quick and easy on line.

5. Finding a Reliable Process Server for Court Documents by Scott Malan
Chosing a process server isn't as asy as grabbing somebody and asking thm to deliver the court documents for yu. If you want to get the mst for your money, here are a few tps for finding a good process srver.

6. Con Man's Version of the Living Trust? - Little Known Secrets by Jack Payne
Eat well, stay fit, die anyway. This is the reality you must face when contemplating a living trust.

7. How to Prevent Workplace Injuries by Edward Brachman
Did you know that millions of Amricans in the workforce suffer job njuries and even death while working? Accrding to a 2006 preliminary report thre where 5,703 fatal work injuries rported to the US Department of Lbor. Out of that total number 91 of thm where reported here in the Stte of Wisconsin.

8. If I Have a Lemon, What Can I Get? by Greg Artim
You are ntitled to a free replacement vehicle, or a fll refund of the purchase price, if you hve a lemon vehicle in Pennsylvania. In ddition, the manufacturer must pay your lgal fees.

9. Double Jeopardy and Criminal Charges by Joseph Devine
The concept of double jeopardy stms from a clause in the Ffth Amendment to the United States Cnstitution which states that: "No prson shall be held to answer for a cpital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a prsentment or indictment of a Grand Jry [...

10. Pennsylvania Accutane Lawyer by Amamda Ustud
Manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Hoffman La Rche, accutane is an acne medication tht was approved by the FDA in the arly 1980s, and was prescribed to mny for the treatment of various typs of acne. However, over the yars a series of worrying reports bgan to flood in about the ffects of accutane, claiming that the drg caused serious psychological problems and rsults in suicidal tendencies. This was frther fueled when the son of a US Rep sht himself at the age of sventeen...