How to Avoid Florida Probate If You Own a Mobile Home

Creating an estate plan? You may have questions about your assets, especially if you own a mobile home. Owning a mobile home in Florida does not automatically mean that it will have to go through probate when you pass away. With the right planning, you can pass your mobile home to your loved ones without court involvement, saving time, expense, and stress for your family.

In Florida, whether your mobile home goes through probate often depends on how it is classified and titled:

• Personal property: If your mobile home is not permanently attached to land you own, it’s usually treated like a vehicle and titled through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
• Real property: If the mobile home is permanently affixed to land you own and the title has been retired, it is generally treated like real estate.

Knowing how your home is classified helps you choose the best probate-avoidance strategy.

Probate-Avoidance Options in Florida

Here are the most common ways to pass a mobile home outside of probate in Florida:

• Put the mobile home in a revocable living trust. Transferring the mobile home into a trust while you are still alive means it will not be part of your probate estate when you die. Your successor trustee can transfer the home directly to your beneficiaries according to the trust’s instructions.
• Use a Lady Bird deed. Florida allows a special deed called a Lady Bird deed, or enhanced life estate deed, for real property. With this tool, you retain full ownership and control while alive, and the property automatically passes to your named beneficiaries upon your death, avoiding probate.
• Own the mobile home with rights of survivorship. If you hold title with another person as joint tenants with right of survivorship, or as tenants by the entirety (for married couples), the surviving owner automatically becomes sole owner upon your death, bypassing probate entirely.
• Add beneficiaries or use transfer-on-death (TOD) designations. For mobile homes classified as personal property (titled like a vehicle), you may be able to use beneficiary or transfer-on-death designations so the title passes directly to a beneficiary after death without probate. Florida allows certain transfer-on-death mechanisms for assets.

What Happens Without a Plan?

If your mobile home is titled solely in your name and you have not used any probate-avoidance tools, it typically becomes part of your probate estate and must go through court supervision after your death. That means a personal representative must be appointed, forms must be filed, and distributions can be delayed and costly.

Seek Legal Help

Florida’s probate process can be time-consuming. Planning ahead gives your family a smoother transition and preserves more of your estate’s value for your loved ones.

An experienced legal professional can help you handle filings and court requirements. Get the help you need from Fort Lauderdale probate litigation lawyer Edward J. Jennings, P.A. Fill out the online form or call 954-764-4330 to schedule a consultation today.

Source:

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