Probate Creditor Claim Lawyer St. Petersburg
Creditor claims against a Florida estate move fast. We can help.
Speak Directly With Matt Weidner Today for a free same-day case evaluation of the claim and your deadlines
- Talk through the claim with Matt Weidner, a 25+ year Florida lawyer
- We'll map the claim and objection deadlines that apply to you
- We'll check whether a claim was filed in time
- We'll go over the paperwork behind the debt with you
- We'll explain your options, whether that's paying, negotiating or objecting
- The evaluation is 100% free, with no pressure to hire us
Free reviews are offered at our discretion and are not guaranteed, and a personal review by Matt Weidner, including same-day timing, is subject to case type and availability.
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Why Choose Us?
If you are the personal representative of a St. Petersburg estate, or an heir watching claims arrive, you are working against Florida’s short creditor deadlines. A claim that should have been challenged can stand simply because no one objected in time, and paying a claim before checking it can cost the estate money it may not have owed. Getting the claims in front of a lawyer early gives you time to check each one and decide what to pay and what to contest.
Matt Weidner has practiced law in Florida for over 25 years, and his practice includes probate, consumer law, debt relief and foreclosure defense. That mix fits this problem, because a creditor claim is a debt question inside a probate case. Matt often works with clients directly, so you deal with an experienced lawyer rather than a junior staffer, and he can help you see where the claim stands and what to do before the next deadline.
Ask Matt for a free case evaluation while there is still time to respond to the claim.
How It Works
1
get your free same-day evaluation and action plan
Submit the form above or give us a call to get started. People find our free evaluations and action plans extremely valuable.
2
discuss your options With Matt so you know exactly how to proceed
Matt will go over all of your options with you so that you know exactly what to do. No more confusion!
3
Get More Creditor Claim Help If Needed
Need more after your evaluation, like a formal objection, a negotiated payoff or a defense against a lawsuit on the claim? Matt and our experienced team can help.
Free evaluations and action plans are offered at our discretion, depend on case type and availability, and are not guaranteed, including a personal review by Matt Weidner. Submitting a form or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship or guarantee any outcome.
Meet Matt Weidner and the Weidner Law Team
Matt Weidner has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1999 and practices from Weidner Law’s St. Petersburg office. His practice includes consumer law and debt relief, work that turns on testing a debt: who is owed, what the records show and what a creditor can actually collect. After the 2008 financial crisis he represented hundreds of Florida homeowners facing foreclosure, work the Tampa Bay Times covered. He brings that same approach to the claims filed against an estate.
When a disputed claim heads toward a lawsuit or involves a lien on estate real estate, associate attorney Jason M. Kral brings his background in complex civil litigation, real estate litigation and estate planning. Matt and Jason work to keep personal representatives and families informed about filings, objections and deadlines in the case.
Our Probate Creditor Claim Services
Creditor claims touch every stage of a Florida estate, from the first published notice to the final payments. Weidner Law helps personal representatives and families find, review and answer each claim so the estate can sort valid debts from claims worth contesting.
- Notice to creditors guidance
- Diligent search for estate creditors
- Reviewing claims for timeliness
- Objections to creditor claims
- Defending lawsuits on objected claims
- Negotiating claim payoffs
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Who we Help
Creditor claims affect people at every point in a Pinellas County estate, from the personal representative opening the mail to the heirs waiting on what is left. Each of them needs to know which claims are valid, which can be questioned and who has to respond.
- Personal representatives receiving claims
- Heirs worried about estate debts
- Relatives getting collector calls
- Beneficiaries questioning paid claims
- Families with a mortgaged estate home
- Out-of-town personal representatives
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually three months from the first publication of the notice to creditors, or 30 days after being served with a copy of it if that is later. Florida also bars most claims two years after the date of death. Call us for a free evaluation to check the dates in your estate.
Yes. The personal representative or another interested person can file a written objection, generally within four months of first publication or 30 days after the claim is filed, whichever is later. The creditor then generally has 30 days from service of the objection to sue on the claim. Matt can review whether an objection makes sense.
Bring what you have: the statement of claim, the notice to creditors, the probate case number, letters from collectors and any loan or account paperwork. If you do not have everything yet, call us anyway. We can start with what you have and tell you what else would help.
No. The case evaluation is free, and there is no obligation to hire Weidner Law afterward. If the claim needs more work, we can talk through what that help would involve and what it would cost before you decide.
Reviews
A Probate Creditor Claim Lawyer for St. Petersburg Personal Representatives
Weidner Law guides St. Petersburg personal representatives through the creditor duties Florida law places on them: publishing the notice to creditors once a week for two consecutive weeks, serving a copy on each creditor a diligent search can reasonably find, and checking every statement of claim filed in the estate against the estate’s own records. Publication and service start the claim deadlines running, and getting them right helps the estate rely on those deadlines when a late claim arrives.
When a statement of claim does not match the estate’s records, Matt can prepare the written objection before the objection deadline runs and explain to the personal representative what the creditor can do in response. Where paying part of a claim makes more sense than contesting all of it, he can negotiate the payoff with the creditor instead.
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How Weidner Law Handles Late, Secured and Disputed Claims Against an Estate
Not every claim filed against an estate has to be paid. In Florida, a claim that is not filed in time is generally barred even if nobody objects, and the court can extend the period only for fraud, estoppel or insufficient notice. Weidner Law checks each statement of claim against those limits and against what a claim has to state, so the personal representative knows which claims the estate can contest and which it should plan to pay.
Secured debts follow different rules, because Florida’s claim deadlines do not stop the enforcement of a mortgage, security interest or other lien on the decedent’s property. When the estate home carries a mortgage, Matt’s years of foreclosure defense give him a close view of how lenders enforce mortgages in Florida. He can explain to the personal representative and the family what the lender can and cannot do, and what that means for keeping or selling the property.
Local Probate Creditor Claim Help From Our St. Petersburg Office
Weidner Law works from 856 2nd Ave N in St. Petersburg, and St. Petersburg estates are typically administered in Pinellas County, in Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit. Matt Weidner is admitted in all Florida state courts, so he can handle creditor claims and objections in the Pinellas probate case and a lawsuit on a claim that follows.
Being close by helps when deadlines are counted in days. Families in St. Petersburg, Gulfport, Seminole and the rest of Pinellas can reach the office Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Whether a claim has just arrived or the estate is close to closing, Weidner Law offers a free case evaluation to look at the claim, the dates and your next step.
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