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{"id":1042,"date":"2017-02-07T12:04:54","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T17:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parrislaw.org\/?p=183"},"modified":"2023-05-29T16:17:30","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T20:17:30","slug":"probate-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/probate-property\/","title":{"rendered":"TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROBATE PROPERTY- The Car, the Kitsch, the Couch, and the Cat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you are the personal representative of a loved-one\u2019s estate, there are generally three types of property that you\u2019ll encounter during estate administration: real property (homes and land), intellectual (intangible) property, and tangible personal property. This post deals with the last category, tangible personal property, which I will shorten to \u201cTPP\u201d from here on out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TPP can pose some very interesting questions and, as you might imagine, lead to squabbles among family members. As personal representative, you will almost certainly encounter one or more of the following TPP classifications: exempt property<\/u>, property named in a separate writing<\/u>, jointly-owned property<\/u>, allegedly gifted property<\/u>, and items that are not<\/i><\/em> considered \u201cprobate property\u201d for the purpose of administration. Since it will be your responsibility to gather and protect the estate\u2019s TPP (called \u201cmarshaling\u201d the property), you may encounter people who don\u2019t want to give up possession of certain items. You\u2019ll need to figure out the best way to assign value to TPP, since things like tax liability and the estate\u2019s inventory depend on your valuation of the property in the estate. And then, eventually, you\u2019ll need to figure out how to distribute the property to heirs and beneficiaries in a way that respects the decedent’s will and the requirements of Florida law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, you will have an attorney whose responsibility it is to guide you through all of these issues. In fact, having an attorney is required by Florida law (except in very rare instances), since probate administration is a legally complex task even in relatively simply cases. But it certainly helps to understand the basic property-related issues that occur during the process. Hopefully this will provide you with some answers to the questions & difficulties that you have encountered or might face when trying to deal with your loved one\u2019s \u201cstuff.\u201d This article is divided into the following five broad questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What is tangible personal property?<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. How do you determine ownership of TPP?<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. How do you take possession of TPP?<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. How do you assign value to TPP?<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. How do you distribute TPP?<\/b><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    WHAT IS TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There is no technical definition of \u201ctangible personal property\u201d in the Florida Probate Code. \u201cStuff\u201d is probably the best general description of what falls into this classification of property, although there are some surprising things that Florida law deems to be TPP. With some notable exceptions that I will explain below, TPP is all of those things, other than real property, that can be touched – in other words, things that are corporeal. The following are considered TPP for the purpose of estate administration (and equitable distribution during divorce, for that matter):<\/p>\n\n\n\n