Probate Lawyer Clearwater
Handling a loved one's estate in Clearwater? Start with clear answers.
Speak Directly With Matt Weidner Today for a free same-day evaluation and action plan for the estate
- Have Matt himself review the estate, drawing on 25+ years in practice
- Learn which probate deadlines may already be running
- Understand what a personal representative is responsible for
- Learn what to do with the original will
- Talk through a Clearwater home or condo in the estate
- It's 100% free, and you're under 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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Highly Rated
Why Choose Us?
When someone who lived in Clearwater dies, the estate is usually probated in Pinellas County, and some duties start right away. Whoever holds the original will must deposit it with the Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death, and a personal representative generally needs a Florida lawyer to handle the case. Matt Weidner, a St. Petersburg probate lawyer licensed in Florida since 1999, often works directly with the people he helps, so you can talk the estate through with an experienced lawyer from the start.
We help you see where the estate stands and what comes next: whether it needs formal administration or a shorter process, which deadlines are already running, how a Clearwater home or beach condo may be treated, and what the heirs can expect. Knowing that early helps you avoid missteps that slow an estate down and cause friction in the family.
Tell Matt about the estate today and get your free action plan.
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 Probate Help If Needed
Matt has practiced law in Florida for 25+ years. If the estate needs more after your evaluation, we can guide the Pinellas probate case from opening to closing.
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 practiced law in Florida since 1999, and probate is one of the areas his practice focuses on. He is admitted to all Florida state courts, including the Pinellas County probate court, where Clearwater estates are opened, and he explains the process in plain terms: what the court will ask for, what the personal representative has to do, and where an estate could get held up.
Associate attorney Jason M. Kral, whose work includes estate planning and complex civil litigation, works alongside Matt at the firm’s St. Petersburg office. Together they serve families across Clearwater, from downtown to Clearwater Beach and Sand Key, who need help sorting out an estate and moving it forward.
Our Clearwater Probate Services
From the first call after a death to the day the estate closes, we help Clearwater families and personal representatives with each part of Florida probate, along with the planning and dispute work that can come up around it.
- Formal probate administration
- Summary administration
- Ancillary probate for out-of-state owners
- Personal representative guidance
- Will and trust disputes
- Estate planning
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Who we Help
You may be grieving a parent, spouse or relative while facing a court process you have never been through. You may live in Clearwater, or you may be handling a Clearwater estate from another city or state.
- Named personal representatives
- Surviving spouses and children
- Heirs when there is no will
- Out-of-state relatives of Clearwater residents
- Families of part-year Clearwater owners
- Beneficiaries with concerns about the estate
Frequently Asked Questions
In most cases, yes. Florida’s probate rules generally require a personal representative to be represented by a Florida lawyer, with narrow exceptions, such as when that person is the only one interested in the estate. Matt can tell you in a free evaluation what your situation calls for.
Usually in Pinellas County, because Florida opens probate in the county where the person lived. That is true even when the personal representative or the heirs live somewhere else. If you hire us, we prepare and file the paperwork.
Deposit it with the Pinellas County Clerk. Florida law requires whoever has the original will to file it with the Clerk in the county where the person lived within 10 days of learning of the death. Call us if you are unsure what else needs to happen first.
No. Our case evaluation and action plan are free, and there is no obligation to hire us afterward. Call the firm or use the form on this page to tell us about the estate you are handling.
Reviews
A St. Petersburg Probate Lawyer Serving Clearwater Families
Weidner Law is based at 856 2nd Ave N in St. Petersburg, and Matt Weidner serves as a probate lawyer for families throughout Pinellas County, Clearwater included. Clearwater is the Pinellas County seat, and the Pinellas County Clerk lists the Clearwater Courthouse at 315 Court Street among its probate filing locations. A Clearwater estate goes through the same Pinellas County court system as estates in St. Petersburg, so you can work with a probate lawyer based in your own county.
A Clearwater estate can include property that needs careful handling: a family home in a neighborhood like Harbor Oaks, a condo on Clearwater Beach or Sand Key, or a house owned by someone who split the year between Clearwater and another state. When the owner lived outside Florida, the Clearwater property may need a separate ancillary administration here. Matt can walk you through which process fits and what the Pinellas County probate court will expect.
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What Matt Weidner Brings to a Clearwater Probate Case
Matt has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1999 and earned his J.D. at Florida State University College of Law. Beyond the state courts, he is admitted to the federal Middle and Northern Districts of Florida and the 11th Circuit. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Litigation – Real Estate. That litigation and real estate background is useful in probate, where an estate’s main asset may be a house or condo and where disagreements between heirs can end up in court.
Matt often works directly with the people he represents, explaining the steps, the deadlines and the decisions as they come up. For a personal representative handling an estate in Clearwater for the first time, that means talking with an experienced Florida lawyer about the house, the heirs and the court’s requirements, rather than working through the process alone.
How Weidner Law Guides a Clearwater Estate Through Probate
Florida probate follows set steps, and Weidner Law helps personal representatives handle each one: depositing the original will, petitioning the Pinellas County probate court, receiving Letters of Administration, publishing a notice to creditors, and gathering, protecting and distributing the estate’s assets. Florida gives most creditors three months from the first publication of that notice to file claims, and we help personal representatives track that period and respond to the claims that come in.
Some estates qualify for a shorter process called summary administration, and some property passes outside probate altogether. Florida also has its own rules for how a homestead passes when the owner leaves a spouse or children. Matt can review these questions with you in a free evaluation so you know which path the Clearwater estate is likely on before anything is filed.
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