I am often contacted by family members of a deceased party who is due either Florida Tax Deed Surplus Funds from a Tax Deed sale or Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds from a foreclosure sale of the deceased party’s home. Many people don’t realize that there may be very specific things they have to do in order to receive these funds, especially if there is a Will that designates an Executor or Personal Representative and there are beneficiaries of the Will.
If there is a Will that states a personal representative or executor must distribute property to beneficiaries, it may be necessary for this person to set up a bank account in the name of the estate of the deceased party. In this instance, once I have convinced the court to release the Florida Foreclosure Sale or Tax Deed Sale Surplus Funds, they must be deposited into that account for distribution to the beneficiaries by the designate representative of the estate. This means that the court cannot release the money directly to the beneficiaries and it must go through the proper process.
In some instances, this makes things a bit easier for me to do my job in helping you to receive these funds. If there is a probate that has been completed or a Will that specifically designates a personal representative or executor, I can request the entire amount of the Florida Foreclosure or Tax Deed Surplus funds on behalf of that one person or estate. However, if there is no Will or in some cases it has not been properly probated, then there could be a number of heirs that would be due some of the funds and it tends to complicate things.
For instance, I represent a sibling of a deceased party who had no Will. He also had no spouse or children, and his parents are also deceased. This means that any Surplus Funds from the Foreclosure sale or Tax Deed Sale would go to his siblings. If any of his siblings are also deceased, then their portion goes to their children (if any). Sometimes this is also due to other assets needing to be distributed to the family members. This complicates things as now I am in the process of going through the Probate court to designate a personal representative for the family who can then distribute the funds to the proper family members. This takes time because there are a large number of heirs to the estate that are due some of those surplus funds.
In addition to that, there are three third-party recovery companies who have made claims to the Florida Foreclosure Surplus Funds. Two of these claims appear to baseless (not on behalf of an actual heir) and the third one is on behalf of a possible heir (one of about a dozen heirs). That third one is asking for all of the surplus funds when there are many more heirs who are also due some of the funds. This is also why you should always contact a qualified Foreclosure Sale Surplus and Tax Deed Sale Surplus Attorney. You need someone who actually knows the law and will help you fight off these false claims from fraudulent third-party surplus recovery companies.
Of course, probate isn’t always necessary either and if all of the heirs are on board with the case, I am able to ask the court for the Florida Foreclosure Sale Surplus or Tax Deed Sale Surplus Funds on behalf of all of the heirs. Sometimes only a few of the heirs are willing to sign up and sometimes only some of them can be located. If that is the case, I am only able to ask for the funds to be released on behalf of the heirs who sign up for representation. The others are simply left out of the requests and their portion will remain with the Clerk of Court.
If you have Florida Foreclosure Sale Surplus or Tax Deed Sale Surplus funds coming to you due to the death of a family member and need help navigating the system, please give me a call. I can let you know if a probate will be necessary or not. I can help fight off fraudulent claims and I will give you a free consultation and assessment of your case. Sometimes these cases can be quick, other times they can take much more time. It is always best to have a qualified attorney on your side. I handle Foreclosure Sale Surplus Funds and Tax Deed Sale Surplus funds in every County in the State of Florida, and I don’t get paid unless you do.