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When someone passes away and leaves behind property, bank accounts, or a family trust, the people left behind need clear answers, not more confusion. You might be settling this from a home on Marco Island, or from out of state while coordinating a parent’s or spouse’s affairs long distance.
Either way, you need a steady hand to turn a long list of loose ends into a finished plan. As a Marco Island probate and trust administration lawyer, James R. Nici of Nici Law Firm is board certified in Wills, Trusts & Estates by The Florida Bar, one of fewer than 250 attorneys in Florida with that certification.
That focus helps him turn the technical side of settling an estate or trust into a plan you can follow, from transferring assets to resolving debts and closing the file. A short conversation can tell you what your family’s situation actually requires and what it will take to handle it.
Families on Marco Island and across Southwest Florida come to us at very different stages of settling an estate or running a trust. We help with:
Some of these matters wrap up in a few months. Others take longer because of out-of-state heirs, business interests, or disagreements among beneficiaries, and the right approach depends on which of these applies to your situation.
Delay in probate or trust administration rarely makes a situation easier. Bills still come due, property taxes still accrue, and a vacant home on the water can lose value or draw code violations while a file sits open.
If a personal representative or trustee misses a required accounting or fails to pay valid creditor claims on time, they can face personal liability for the mistake. Family tension tends to grow the longer an estate stays unresolved.
Beneficiaries who feel left in the dark often start asking harder questions. What could have been a straightforward transfer of a family home or investment account can turn into a dispute that costs far more, in both time and money, than handling it correctly from the start. Getting the paperwork right the first time helps protect both the estate and the relationships of the people who inherit it.
James R. Nici was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1994, holds an LL.M. in Taxation, and has been named to Super Lawyers every year from 2009 to 2026. His tax training matters when an estate includes investment property, a closely held business, or tax questions tied to a trust. He is a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts & Estates, one of fewer than 250 attorneys in Florida with that certification. James also applies the 3 Ds of Beneficiary Protection, which address three risks to an inheritance: damages, divorce, and disability.
If you built your plan here under the Strategic Estate Planning System®, stepping into probate or trust administration later means picking up a file our firm already understands.
Florida sets a dollar threshold for which probate process applies. Under Florida’s summary administration law, an estate can use the shorter summary process in two cases. One is when the probate property, after subtracting exempt assets, is worth $150,000 or less for a death on or after July 1, 2026, or $75,000 or less for an earlier death. The other is when the person has been deceased for more than two years.
Estates above that line generally go through formal administration, which takes longer and requires a court-appointed personal representative. Trustees have their own legal duties.
Florida’s Trust Code requires a trustee to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed and to provide an accounting under the Florida Trust Code’s duty to account, generally at least once a year for an irrevocable trust. Marco Island sits in Collier County. Probate and trust matters for Collier County residents are filed with the Collier County probate division of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, at the Collier County Courthouse on Tamiami Trail East in Naples. This reflects Florida law as of October 2026.
Clients who have worked with James Nici describe the experience in their own words.
These reviews reflect individual client experiences, and results in any one matter don’t guarantee the same outcome in another.
A careful review covers the will or trust, the assets and debts involved, and whether the estate qualifies for summary administration or needs the full formal process. From there, the attorney prepares and files the paperwork, handles creditor notices, and guides the personal representative or trustee through each required step until assets are distributed.
Marco Island is part of Collier County. Probate and trust administration cases are filed with the Collier County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division, at the Collier County Courthouse in Naples, within the Twentieth Judicial Circuit.
Often, no, for assets the trust actually owned. Property titled in the trust’s name can usually pass to beneficiaries through trust administration instead of court-supervised probate. Assets left outside the trust, such as a bank account still in the person’s own name, may still require probate.
It depends on the trust’s complexity. A straightforward trust with cooperative beneficiaries and no real estate to sell might wrap up in a few months. A trust with investment property, a business interest, or disagreements among beneficiaries can take considerably longer.
Yes. Where a person was legally domiciled, not just where they owned property, can affect which state’s probate court has authority over the estate and how Florida’s homestead protections apply to a Marco Island home. This is worth sorting out early, since it affects which court handles the case.
Fees vary with the size and complexity of the estate or trust, and whether the matter qualifies for summary administration or requires the longer formal process. A consultation can give you a clearer estimate once your attorney understands what the estate actually involves.
For summary administration of a small estate, it’s sometimes possible to proceed without an attorney. Florida law generally requires a licensed attorney to represent the personal representative in formal administration, except in a few narrow situations, so families often retain counsel once an estate exceeds the summary administration threshold.
A beneficiary who believes a trustee is mismanaging assets or withholding required accountings has the right to request information and, if needed, ask a court to intervene. These disputes are usually easier to resolve early, before positions harden and legal costs climb.
Request your free 30-minute consultation with a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts & Estates serving Marco Island and Southwest Florida, and our team will reach out to schedule it.
Whether You’re Establishing Florida Domicile, Updating An Existing Plan, Or Navigating Probate, Nici Law Firm Gives
Southwest Florida Families A Clear, Board-certified Path Forward. Schedule Your Planning Session Today.
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