Probate Attorney for Panama City, Florida

Probate in Bay County: Where It’s Filed

Panama City is in Bay County, which sits in Florida’s 14th Judicial Circuit. Probate is filed with the Bay County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death. Cases are handled at the Bay County Courthouse at 300 East 4th Street in Panama City. Attorneys e-file every document through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, which is why an out-of-state family can have a Bay County estate handled without anyone traveling to the courthouse.

We serve Panama City and Bay County residents, including Panama City, Panama City Beach, Lynn Haven, Callaway, Parker, Springfield.

Which Kind of Probate You’ll Need

Most Bay County estates pass through one of three doors. The cheapest one may be open.

• Disposition without administration. Tiny estates with only exempt property and final-expense reimbursement; days to weeks.
• Summary administration. Estates of $150,000 or less (raised from $75,000 on July 1, 2026) after exempt property, or when the decedent died more than two years ago; often weeks.
• Formal administration. Everything else; a personal representative is appointed and the case runs about 6 to 12 months.

We confirm which applies at your consultation and quote a flat fee. Estimate the cost and timeline first →

How Long, and What It Costs

Formal administration is paced by the 3-month creditor-claim window; clean distribution waits for it to pass. Florida law sets a presumed-reasonable attorney fee scaled to the estate, but it’s a ceiling, not a mandate. Our flat fees start at $1,500 (disposition), $2,500 (summary), and $3,500 (formal). Government costs, the Bay County filing fee (about $400), newspaper publication, and certified copies, are additional and passed through at cost. See the full Florida probate guide →

Out-of-State Personal Representatives

Under Florida law, you can serve as personal representative of a Bay County estate from another state if you’re related to the decedent by blood, adoption, or marriage; an out-of-state child qualifies. We represent personal representatives across Panama City and Bay County by phone, video, and e-signature.

Local Rules, Judges, and the Clerk’s Probate Office

Every circuit publishes administrative orders and local procedures that control how probate actually runs in Bay County, including which division gets the case, which checklists are required, and how proposed orders reach the judge. One circuit judge carries all of Bay County probate, guardianship, and mental health, so a Bay estate is filed to a standing assignment rather than drawn among divisions. Each checklist ends with the filing attorney certifying that he or she personally reviewed it, and the refusal language sits on the format of the proposed order instead, under a chief judge’s memorandum of December 15, 2020 that rejects a submission over a space before the signature codes, a page or section break, or a comment left in the file. Bay County also runs on Central time, an hour behind Miami, which matters for every hearing and every clerk call. The circuit has no probate-specific administrative order. Probate practice is set instead by the judge assignment plan and by the circuit’s own attorney-certified probate checklists, and every proposed order must be e-filed as a PDF cover letter plus a Word order in the circuit’s placeholder-code format.

• Administrative orders of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit
• Fourteenth Judicial Circuit judges directory
• The clerk’s probate office for Bay County
• Local probate forms and checklists

You do not have to learn any of this yourself. Part of what a flat fee covers is an attorney who already files under these rules, so nothing bounces back for a missing checklist.

Rather handle the filing yourself? Our Bay County Probate Court filing guide is the procedural version of this page, with the courthouse address, where the original will goes, which forms the county wants, the posted filing fee, and an eleven-step checklist for opening the estate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Fla. Stat. ch. 733 to 735 (administration); §733.304 (nonresident PR); §733.702 (creditor claims); Fla. Prob. R. 5.030 (attorney required). Filing via the Bay County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller (14th Judicial Circuit) and the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. (retrieved 2026-06-07)

Updated September 29, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law, not legal advice. We serve Panama City and Bay County residents from Miami; this is not a Panama City office.