The Facts: In his Will my father names me as the executor of his estate. I filed a petition in the surrogate’s court to be appointed executor and have been issued letters testamentary. In addition to his home in New York, my father owned a vacation home in Florida which I need to sell.

The Questions:  Do the letters testamentary issued by the New York surrogate’s court give me the authority to sell the property in Florida? I was told I had to get authority from a court in Florida that deals with estates. Is that true?

The Answer: The quick answers to your questions are “No” and “Yes” respectively. Letters testamentary issued by a surrogate’s court in New York give you the authority to handle real property in New York. They do not give you the authority to sell property outside the state. That is because New York courts do not have jurisdiction over property in other states. In order to sell the Florida property, you will have to obtain authority from a court in Florida that handles matters relating to estates.

In order to obtain authority from the Florida court, you need to file a petition with the probate division of the circuit court in the county in Florida where your father’s property is located. As part of the petition you will need to provide the Florida court with a copy of the petition filed with the New York surrogate’s court and a copy of the letter testamentary issued to you by that court. You will also need to pay the court a fee based upon the value of the Florida property. Once that court reviews and approves the petition, you will be issued ancillary letters testamentary and will be appointed the personal representative of your father’s estate. Based on that appointment, you will be able to dispose of your father’s property in Florida.

The ancillary probate process can be quite costly, especially if you retain Florida counsel to handle the matter for you. Because of the extra time, effort and expense of an ancillary proceeding, some people avoid the process entirely by creating a revocable trust to hold their out of state property. This is especially true when people own property in more than one state in addition to New York. If your father had put the Florida property in a revocable trust and named you as the trustee, you would have been able to dispose of the property without the need for court intervention. An experienced estate planning attorney could have discussed this option with your father and helped him determine how best to proceed.

This article first appeared the Times Beacon Newspapers in July, 2018.

Linda M. Toga provides personalized service and peace of mind to her clients in the areas of estate planning, wills and trusts, Medicaid planning, estate administration, marital agreements, small business services, real estate and litigation. Visit her website at www.lmtogalaw.com or call 631-444-5605 to schedule a free consultation.