can you please tell me the process, ie which forms would be needed to
posthumously designate an estate executor in florida.  thank you in
advance

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Clarification of Question by mdpa173-ga on 15 Aug 2004 17:01 PDT

a person with no significant estate dies without any type of will. 
the person wins a small law settlement after passing way.  how can a
child designate himself to a status so as to claim the settlement
money (from a large corporation).  this is in FLORIDA   thank you

It's a bit unclear as to what you mean by "posthumously".  Normally
the estate executor you want is named in the will, which is then
probated after you die.  If you want to you can also name a successor
executor in the will.

Did this person have a surviving spouse?  If not, then are you an
ADULT child and are there other siblings?  Any adult-aged surviving
relative can go to the county courthouse probate court to file to
become administrator of this estate, soon afterwards receiving from
the court a legal document called "letters testamentary" giving the
administrator the legal authority to claim any and all assets, and
then the company would make the check payable to the administrator, or
TO THE ESTATE OF DECEDENT, and administrator could then take that
check to any bank and set up an account to cash it.  If decedent's
wife is still living and is not an ex-wife, then she has first rights
to this money but she or a probate attorney she hired would have to
first file to be administrator.

If the child had his own attorneys to fight for and get this money on
his behalf, it might be easier to ask the company to issue the check
to the lawyer who would then deduct his fee and then give the rest to
the child.

Best of luck to you, and hopefully it won't take too long to get this money!

4KEITH (I'm NOT a GOOGLE Researcher)
Accountant