Probate Attorney for Quincy, Florida

Probate in Gadsden County: Where It’s Filed

Quincy is in Gadsden County, which sits in Florida’s 2nd Judicial Circuit. Probate is filed with Nicholas Thomas, the Gadsden County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death. Cases are handled at the Gadsden County Courthouse at 10 East Jefferson Street in Quincy, where the Clerk’s Probate Division sits in Room 108 in the northeast corner, with the circuit judges’ chambers a short walk away at the Guy A. Race Judicial Complex, 13 North Monroe Street. Attorneys e-file every document through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, which is why an out-of-state family can have a Gadsden County estate handled without anyone traveling to the courthouse.

Gadsden keeps its Probate Division in Room 108, the northeast corner of the courthouse in Quincy, while the circuit judge who hears probate keeps chambers in a different building a short walk away, and the Clerk has partnered with a volunteer attorney on a free walk-in probate clinic in the courthouse basement. We serve Quincy and Gadsden County residents, including Quincy, Havana, Chattahoochee, Gretna, Midway, Greensboro, Mount Pleasant.

Which Kind of Probate You’ll Need

Most Gadsden 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 consult 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 Gadsden 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 Gadsden 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 Quincy and Gadsden 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 Gadsden County, including which division gets the case, which checklists are required, and how proposed orders reach the judge. Gadsden takes the Second Circuit’s own Affidavit of Heirs, a local circuit form rather than a Florida Probate Rules form, and the circuit checklists say in bold that it must be filed to proceed. The Clerk then adds a paper format rule almost no Florida clerk writes down, namely 8.5 by 11 inch white paper on one side only, blue or black ink, a one inch margin on all four sides, the style of the case and the case number, and consecutively numbered pages. The Probate Division is Room 108, in the northeast corner of the courthouse at 10 East Jefferson Street in Quincy, on extension 7037, and the Clerk publishes no counter hours at all. No administrative order sets general probate practice in the Second Circuit, and no order in the index names Gadsden. What governs a Gadsden estate is the circuit’s four approved checklists and forms, because the circuit judge assigned to Gadsden probate has published no procedures of his own.

• Administrative orders of the Second Judicial Circuit
• Second Judicial Circuit judges directory
• The clerk’s probate office for Gadsden 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 Gadsden 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 Nicholas Thomas, the Gadsden County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller (2nd Judicial Circuit) and the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. (retrieved 2026-06-07)

Updated August 12, 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 Quincy and Gadsden County residents from Miami; this is not a Quincy office.