Phillip William Gunthert

Phillip Gunthert is an experienced Estate Planning & Probate attorney based in Central Florida who handles matters throughout the state of Florida.

After working for another firm, he founded his practice in 2011, with the guiding principles of wanting to provide accessible counsel to those seeking guidance & direction regarding both advance planning of estate matters and probate matters, in a down-to-earth and understandable manner. His testimonials endorse his commitment to his clients and his area of expertise.

When Phillip is not practicing law, he can be found spending time with his wife & 2 young children, catching up with rugby or watching Sci Fi.

• General Practice

• Free Consultation
  Free general consultations; if documents submitted for review, hourly billing will apply at a reduced rate to take into account the preparation time and consultation time.
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  Hourly and Flat-fee $0-$350 per hour

Florida

Since 2011

Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law

(2004)

The Florida Bar  # 0087575

Member

Current

Q. My father died 1/21. Starting 4/1-I have legal services as a benefit from my co. Can I wait until then to begin probate?

January 29, 2025

A: I am very sorry for your loss on the passing of your father, please accept my condolences for you and your family at this difficult time.

While Florida Statute require the Will to be submitted to the clerk of the court within 10 days, nobody holds you to this standard and hardly anyone ever does it. It may be useful to submit so that it is on file and make a copy, but that is up to you. It has to go to the clerk of the court in the county where your dad was a resident and had his homestead, etc.

I will note, company legal programs tend to be relatively basic and usually limited with what they will do, provide and cover and what they can help with, I doubt that many company legal programs will cover the specialized are of probate based on my experience via their prepaid legal services as probate is far more complicated than that and probate in Florida falls under very specialized rules, so be aware of this issue and possibility as well.

If the Trust was properly drafted, executed and funded, then the vast majority of your assets should be in the name of the Trust and the Trustee should just be able to take over and handle the assets in the Trust.

Any assets not put into the name of the Trust or that are in your father's name alone may need to be probated if if there is no pay on death or transfer on death designation, or a jointly owned account or transfers via the terms of the deed or similar. ... Read More

Q. Can I keep homestead status (not exemption) on a property that was specifically given to me in a Will if I am a friend?

January 25, 2025

A: Since you are not an heir in accordance with Florida Statute, Homestead protection will not apply to you, see below:

Fla. Stat. 732.103 includes as “heirs” the following persons: descendants of the decedent, decedent’s father or mother, decedent’s brothers or sisters and their descendants, paternal and maternal kindred of the decedent (this includes grandfathers and grandmothers, uncles and aunts and their descendants), and the kindred of the last deceased spouse of the decedent and his or her kindred.

This means the property is not protected from estate creditors and claims, the property will subject to the attorney fees as well as PR fees.

The real issue is why this matter has been dragging on for 5 years already, that sounds like and feels like a very long time. You hopefully have your own attorney for probate and are not relying on the estate probate attorney and the PR, as they do not represent your interests, they represent the estate and the PR and your interest can diverge at some point or ongoing. You likely need your own attorney for probate to review these matters at this point. ... Read More

Q. Does Florida have a law concerning Homestead that if you are a divorced widow you cannot claim this exemption?

January 24, 2025

A: If you were divorced before his death, you are not deemed a widow. I am sorry to report that if you do not meet the below, you do not qualify.

You must have been married to the deceased at the time of his/her death. If you were divorced prior to the death, you are considered an ex-spouse, not a widow.

You must not have remarried.