Phillip William Gunthert

Phillip Gunthert is an experienced Estate Planning & Probate attorney based in Central Florida who handles matters throughout the state of Florida.

After working for another firm, he founded his practice in 2011, with the guiding principles of wanting to provide accessible counsel to those seeking guidance & direction regarding both advance planning of estate matters and probate matters, in a down-to-earth and understandable manner. His testimonials endorse his commitment to his clients and his area of expertise.

When Phillip is not practicing law, he can be found spending time with his wife & 2 young children, catching up with rugby or watching Sci Fi.

• General Practice

• Free Consultation
  Free general consultations; if documents submitted for review, hourly billing will apply at a reduced rate to take into account the preparation time and consultation time.
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  Hourly and Flat-fee $0-$350 per hour

Florida

Since 2011

Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law

(2004)

The Florida Bar  # 0087575

Member

Current

Q. What to do if sister won't file mother's will or share inheritance info?

March 10, 2025

A: Your sister has an affirmative duty to submit any will to the clerk of the court within 10 days of passing, since this has not been done and 5 years have passed already, you can start a probate yourself, you do not need your sister or the Will. If there is a Will she will bring it forward once you commence probate, if there is no Will and no surviving spouse, then the probate will be done intestate (without a Will), this basically means to you and any siblings in equal shares. Since nothing has been done it is likely that your sister had access to the accounts or was named the beneficiary of any such accounts, if there is a home (Homestead or otherwise), you will need to check the property records on ownership, if it is in your mom's name alone, you could pursue this via probate and or any other assets or accounts still out there in your mom's name alone. You need to work with a Florida Probate Attorney in order to get this accomplished. ... Read More

Q. Can I force the sale of a joint property in Florida during a pending divorce?

March 10, 2025

A: To a certain degree it will surely depend on what you divorce decree states, I would encourage that you reach an amicable resolution and compromise as it relates to the property (buyout, refinance or agree to sell the property0, if none of that can be attained, then you will be stuck with a partition lawsuit, this can take time and be costly to both parties, again, avoiding the forced sale partition will save you both substantial money if you can at all find reasonable common ground still.

Q. Adding name to home deed using Lady Bird Johnson deed for survivorship

March 5, 2025

A: An Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Ladybird Deed) is one option to accomplish your stated goal and will avoid probate, if that person predeceases you, that will be a problem, and you will probably end up right back in probate. While a Trust would cost more, it would also avoid probate and give you say and control post-death if at all of importance. Also, proper estate planning will address a Will, Living Will, Power of Attorney, Florida Healthcare Surrogate, HIPAA Waiver and other things that may be needed or of utmost importance in various circumstances, so those are issues to think about and weigh as well. But yes, you can accomplish your stated goal via a Ladybird Deed per above.