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. Should I pay charge-offs for a credit card and personal loan in Florida?

March 11, 2025

A: Probably not, those are probably uncollectable debts based on how old they are and whether the statute of limitations has expired on them and whether a lawsuit was or will be filed if they are not past the statute of limitations will matter. If you decide to settle them, you need to negotiate how or if they will be reported moving forward, or if they will agree to remove them entirely via the letter you get them to sign for you settling the account. While an uncollectable unpaid debt is worse than a settled account, both will still harm your credit score, so how much, if any help it will give yor score by paying it is questionable. Also, if you don't pay anything and don't get a judgment against you it will fall off in 7 to 7.5 years, so how long has passed so far? Also, if you pay the clock starts all over and it shows an account settled for less than full amount, even if you pay full amount you have damage from being late and it being closed and not having paid it, you see how this goes round and round. So, if you are going to pay it, then they need to agree to sign a letter to remove it entirely I would advise (not possible or even easy always). ... Read More

Q. How can I stay in my deceased mother's house in Florida without a will?

March 11, 2025

A: I am sorry for your loss on the passing of your mom, please accept my condolences for you and your family at this sad time. When there is no Will, the Florida Intestate (without a Will) Statutes are applied. This basically means that assets go to the surviving spouse, if there is no spouse it goes to the children equally, if this is Homestead, additional special rules and protections apply. If you and your brother are only children, the property will go to you equally as far as ownership is concerned. You will need a Florida Probate Attorney in order to pursue probate and get more precise details based on additional information you can provide.

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