Probate Lists in Florida

[Matthew B.]

What is the best source of probate leads in Florida?

I've talked with the county court, and they directed me to their website which allows for online records searches. I can find the probate cases and the names of the personal representatives of the estates, but there's no contact information for them.

Also, is there an easier way to see if the deceased person owned real estate than manually punching their names into the county property appraiser website?

[Buddy LaRue]

@ I search probates constantly (well, not constantly but I'm at the courthouse at least once a week gathering information). It sounds to me like you didn't ask the clerk the right questions or give her the proper information she needed for her to give you the right answer. Often when you go to the courts, the clerks are under the belief that you need to see only one file, not a whole bunch of them.

Try going back to the courthouse and ask the clerk to see all probates filed within the last month. Explain to her that you're an investor and need to go through the files to see which ones have real estate involved and that you will need the personal representatives contact information. If your county is anything like Palm Beach County, the information is all online now, BUT if you search through the computers AT THE COURTHOUSE you can get all the information you need.

When searching through the records, look at the petitions for administration of the estate, or petitions for summary administration. These will tell you if there's real estate in the estate, and usually on the first page will give you the names and addresses of all personal representatives of the estate. If the information is not on the first page, it will state where in the document the information is (if it's not on the first page, it's usually on the last).

I fell behind on my probate research a few months ago and just recently started back up. When I went to the courthouse and explained what I was doing, the clerks were more than helpful and even set me up at a computer station with some privacy. I searched back to the beginning of October and ended up spending about 7 hours at the courthouse searching through records, but it also got me a couple hundred leads.

Let me know if I can help in any other way.

To your success!