Probate Without a Will Lawyer St. Petersburg
Loved one passed without a will? Let's sort out your next steps.
Speak Directly With Matt Weidner Today and get a free action plan for an estate left without a will
- Talk it through with Matt, who has over 25 years of experience
- Learn who inherits under Florida law when there is no will
- Find out who can ask to serve as personal representative
- See whether a shorter summary administration could fit the estate
- Get first steps for the house, bank accounts, and bills
- This guidance is 100% free, with no pressure or commitment
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 dies without a will, the family is left with questions nobody planned for. Who inherits? Who is allowed to handle the estate? What happens to the house? In probate without a will, Florida law sets the order of who inherits, and the answers can surprise people, especially in blended families, where a surviving spouse may receive half the estate instead of all of it. Matt Weidner has practiced law in Florida for over 25 years, and probate is one of the areas he focuses on. He can look at your family’s situation and explain how those rules apply to you.
Florida’s probate rules require most personal representatives to have a Florida lawyer, so the lawyer you choose shapes the whole process. Matt often works with families directly, so you can talk through the hard parts with an experienced attorney, not a junior staff member.
Call or send the form today for a free action plan for your loved one’s estate.
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 brings over 25 years of experience, and our firm can keep helping with the estate after your evaluation if you want that 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 practiced law in Florida since 1999 and is the founder of Weidner Law in St. Petersburg. He earned his law degree at Florida State University College of Law and is admitted to all Florida state courts. Probate and estate planning are among the areas he focuses on. When a family comes to him after a death with no will, Matt can work through it with them: who survived the person, what they owned, and how Florida’s rules for intestate estates divide it, explained in plain terms.
Associate attorney Jason M. Kral, whose practice includes estate planning and real estate litigation, works alongside Matt with the Weidner Law team. Together they keep the estate organized, from the filings the court requires to questions about property the heirs now own together.
Our Probate Without a Will Services
With no will in place, Florida law decides who inherits and who has priority to manage the estate. We help St. Petersburg families with each part of that process, from choosing the right type of probate to distributing what is left.
- Opening probate with no will
- Personal representative appointments
- Identifying heirs and their shares
- Summary administration for smaller estates
- Inherited homes and real estate
- Disputes between heirs
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Who we Help
Families who call us about an estate without a will are usually in one of a few places. A parent died and the children are sorting things out, or a spouse is learning the house may not pass the way they expected.
- Adult children after a parent's death
- Surviving spouses in blended families
- Siblings settling a sibling's estate
- Families who inherited a home
- Relatives unsure who the heirs are
- Heirs living outside Florida
Frequently Asked Questions
Florida law sets the order, starting with the surviving spouse and descendants, then parents, then brothers and sisters and their descendants. A spouse can receive the whole estate or half of it depending on the family, so call us and we can apply the rules to yours.
The surviving spouse has first preference. Next is a person chosen by the heirs who together inherit most of the estate, then the closest heir by relationship. The court makes the appointment, and we can help the right person petition for it.
Usually, yes. Florida’s probate rules require a personal representative to be represented by a Florida attorney unless that person is the only one interested in the estate or is a Florida attorney. A free evaluation is a good place to start.
Submit the form above or call our office, and we go over who survived your loved one, what they owned, and how it was titled. It costs nothing, and we explain whether probate is needed and what comes next.
Reviews
A St. Petersburg Probate Lawyer for Estates Without a Will
Weidner Law helps St. Petersburg families probate an estate when a loved one died without a will. Matt Weidner works from the firm’s office at 856 2nd Ave N, so you can meet with your lawyer here in the city. Because Florida places a probate case in the county where the person was domiciled, a St. Petersburg resident’s estate is handled in Pinellas County.
The Pinellas County Clerk accepts probate cases and filings at its St. Petersburg branch at 545 First Avenue North, and probate court records can be viewed at any Clerk location, including the Clearwater Courthouse on Court Street. Weidner Law guides families through that Pinellas process step by step: choosing the right kind of administration, preparing the petition, and supporting the personal representative until the estate is distributed to the heirs Florida law names.
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Why Families Choose Weidner Law When There Is No Will
With no will, nobody was chosen ahead of time to manage the estate, and the relative who steps forward takes on duties to the court and to every heir. Weidner Law represents that personal representative from the petition for appointment through notice to creditors and the final distribution, including the questions a will would have settled, such as how a spouse’s share works in a blended family.
Real estate often raises its own questions. When a Florida homestead passes without a will and the owner leaves a spouse and descendants, the spouse takes a life estate, or can elect within six months of the death to take a half interest as a tenant in common. Matt is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Litigation – Real Estate, and he brings that background to inherited homes, deadlines like this one, and property the heirs now share.
How Weidner Law Handles Unclear Heirs and Smaller Estates Without a Will
Some intestate estates come with a family tree nobody has fully mapped: a child from an earlier relationship, a sibling who passed first, relatives in other states. When it is unclear who is entitled to inherit or in what shares, Florida lets an interested person petition the court to determine beneficiaries, and Weidner Law can prepare that petition so the court settles who the heirs are before anything is distributed. Close relatives who live outside Florida may still be able to serve as personal representative, and we can review that with you.
Not every estate without a will needs full administration. When the Florida assets that have to go through probate, not counting exempt property, fall within Florida’s limit for summary administration, or when the death was more than two years ago, summary administration may be an option. Matt can look at what your loved one owned and tell you whether that shorter route fits, so the process matches the size of the estate.
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