Florida Probate Attorney

What Is Probate in Florida, and When Is It Required?

Probate is the court-supervised process that transfers property a person owned alone at death. The court appoints a personal representative, sometimes called an executor, who gathers the assets, pays the debts and distributes what remains to the people entitled to it under the will or under Florida law if there is no will.

Property that passes outside probate includes a funded revocable trust, a home held under a lady bird deed, a bank account or retirement account with a named beneficiary, and real estate or financial accounts owned jointly with a right of survivorship. When those arrangements cover everything, there may be nothing left for probate to transfer.

Property that goes through probate is whatever the person owned in their own name alone, without a beneficiary designation, without a surviving co-owner who takes by survivorship and without a trust holding it. A house titled only in the person's name with no deed on record giving it to anyone at death is an example. So is a brokerage account with no beneficiary form on file.

Florida requires the personal representative to have a Florida attorney unless the personal representative is the sole interested person, meaning the only person affected by the estate.

Which Kind of Probate Applies to Your Family?

Florida has three main tracks for settling an estate, and the right one depends on the size of the estate and how long ago the person died.

Disposition without administration is the simplest. Disposition without administration applies when the estate holds no real estate and the remaining personal property does not exceed the preferred funeral expenses and the reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness. The family files a short petition and the court authorizes payment without appointing a personal representative. Disposition without administration is a flat fee from $1,500.

Summary administration is the next step up. Summary administration applies when the value of the estate subject to administration, after subtracting property exempt from creditors, is $150,000 or less. Summary administration also applies to any estate when the person has been dead for more than two years, regardless of value. Summary administration skips the formal appointment of a personal representative and the full creditor process, so it closes faster than a formal case. Summary administration is a flat fee from $2,500.

Formal administration is the full process. Formal administration applies when the estate exceeds the summary threshold, or when the will directs formal administration, or when the family needs the authority that comes with a court-appointed personal representative. The personal representative is appointed, letters are issued, creditors are notified, an inventory is filed and a final accounting closes the estate. Formal administration is a flat fee from $3,500. Larger estates are estimated at the consultation using Florida's statutory fee schedule.

Filing fees, publication of the notice to creditors and certified copies are government and publication costs, passed through at cost and additional to any flat fee.

How Do You Start Probate in Florida?

Any interested person may file a petition to open a probate case. An interested person includes a beneficiary named in the will, an heir who would inherit under Florida law if there is no will, a creditor of the estate or someone already serving as personal representative.

The original will must be deposited with the clerk of the court that has venue over the estate. The custodian of the will, whoever has possession of it, must deposit it within 10 days after learning that the person who wrote it has died. The clerk requires the date of death or the last four digits of the person's Social Security number at the time of deposit.

Venue for probate is in the county where the person was domiciled at death. Domicile means the place the person considered their permanent home, the place they intended to return to. If the person had no domicile in Florida, venue is in any county where the person's property is located. If the person had no domicile and no property in Florida, venue is in the county where a debtor of the estate resides.

Once the petition is filed and the court finds that it is in order, the court issues letters of administration to the personal representative. The letters are the official document that gives the personal representative authority to act on behalf of the estate.

Florida requires the personal representative to have a Florida attorney unless the personal representative is the sole interested person. The attorney prepares and files the pleadings and serves notices on creditors and beneficiaries. A contested probate or trust matter is litigation, quoted per matter at the consultation. The firm serves clients throughout Florida remotely, by phone, Zoom or WhatsApp, including personal representatives who live in another state.

What Happens in a Formal Administration, Step by Step?

A formal administration moves through several stages, each with its own deadline.

The court issues letters once it approves the petition. The letters give the personal representative authority to act for the estate.

The personal representative must serve a notice of administration on the spouse, the beneficiaries named in the will, the persons entitled to exempt property and certain trustees. When the person died with a will, the notice may also be served on heirs at law. When the person died without a will, the heirs are the beneficiaries and must be served. The notice starts a 3-month period for objections. Any interested person who wants to object to the validity of the will, the venue or the jurisdiction of the court must file the objection within 3 months after the date of service of a copy of the notice of administration on the objecting person. Objections filed after that deadline are barred, except in narrow circumstances involving a misstatement by the personal representative regarding the time period within which an objection must be filed.

The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a local newspaper and serves a copy on any creditors the personal representative knows about. The notice starts the creditor period. A creditor with a claim against the estate must file it within 3 months after the first publication of the notice, or within 30 days after service on that creditor, whichever is later.

The personal representative must file an inventory of the estate within 60 days after letters are issued. The inventory lists the assets with reasonable detail and gives the estimated fair market value of each asset at the date of death.

The final accounting and petition for discharge must be filed within 12 months after letters are issued, unless the estate is filing a federal estate tax return or the court extends the time for cause. The accounting shows what came into the estate, what went out and what remains for distribution.

How Long Does Probate Take in Florida?

Florida law does not set a single timeline for probate. The statute and court rules set minimum deadlines, and those deadlines set the floor.

Creditors have 3 months after the first publication of the notice to creditors to file a claim. A known creditor who receives direct service has 30 days from service if that is later.

The personal representative must file an inventory of the estate within 60 days after the court issues letters. The inventory lists each asset and its fair market value at the date of death. Real property that appears to be protected homestead property is listed and so designated.

The final accounting and petition for discharge must be filed within 12 months after letters are issued, for an estate that does not file a federal estate tax return. An estate that files a return has 12 months from the date the return is due. The court may extend either deadline for cause shown after notice to interested persons.

Summary administration applies when the estate subject to administration is $150,000 or less after exempt property, or when the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years. Summary administration does not require a personal representative.

How quickly your family can close depends on the estate's facts, and that is covered at the free consultation.

Can You Be the Personal Representative If You Live Outside Florida?

Florida law limits who may serve as personal representative when the person is not domiciled in Florida. A person who is not domiciled in the state cannot qualify unless the person is a listed relative of the decedent.

The statute lists four categories. First, a legally adopted child or adoptive parent of the decedent. Second, a person related by lineal consanguinity to the decedent (a parent, grandparent, child or grandchild by blood). Third, a spouse or a brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece of the decedent, or someone related by lineal consanguinity to any such person. Fourth, the spouse of a person otherwise qualified under this section.

A friend who lives out of state does not qualify. A business partner or a neighbor in another state does not qualify, even if the will names that person. When the will names someone who cannot serve, the next eligible person is a person selected by a majority in interest of the beneficiaries under the will, or if no one is selected, a beneficiary under the will who is qualified to serve.

The firm serves personal representatives who live in another state, by phone, Zoom or WhatsApp. Whether anyone must appear in court depends on the case and is covered at the free consultation. The question of who qualifies to serve is separate from where the attorney is.

If you live out of state and are named in a parent's will, bring the will and the death certificate to the free consultation. I will tell you whether you qualify and what to expect.

How Is Probate Different With a Will and Without One?

Probate with a will follows the will's terms. The will names a personal representative, and the court appoints that person if qualified to serve. The will states who receives each asset, and the personal representative distributes the estate according to those gifts.

Probate without a will follows Florida's intestacy statute. The court appoints a personal representative from among the people entitled to inherit. Florida law sets an order of priority. The surviving spouse is entitled to preference. If the spouse is not qualified or if there is no surviving spouse, a person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs is next. If no one is selected, the nearest heir qualified to serve is next.

The surviving spouse's share depends on whether the decedent left descendants and whether those descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse. When there is no surviving descendant of the decedent, the surviving spouse takes the entire intestate estate. When there are one or more surviving descendants of the decedent who are not lineal descendants of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse takes one-half of the intestate estate.

The part of the intestate estate that does not pass to the surviving spouse descends to the decedent's descendants. If there is no descendant, it passes to the decedent's father and mother equally, or to the survivor of them. If there is no parent, it passes to the decedent's brothers and sisters and the descendants of deceased brothers and sisters.

The custodian of a will must deposit the will with the clerk within 10 days after receiving information that the testator is dead. The consultation covers whether the estate has a will and what that means for you.

What If the Person Lived in Another State but Owned Florida Property?

Ancillary administration is a Florida probate proceeding for a person who was not a Florida resident but died owning property in Florida. Ancillary administration handles only the Florida property.

The venue for ancillary administration is in any county where the decedent's property is located. The petition may be filed in the county where the Florida condo, house or land sits.

Florida law sets an order of priority for who serves as personal representative in an ancillary administration. A personal representative specifically designated in the decedent's will to administer the Florida property is entitled to have ancillary letters issued, if qualified to act in Florida. Otherwise, the foreign personal representative of the decedent's estate is entitled to have letters issued, if qualified to act in Florida. If the foreign personal representative is not qualified to act in Florida and the will names an alternate or successor who is qualified, the alternate or successor is entitled to have letters issued. If the will names no qualified alternate or successor, those entitled to a majority interest of the Florida property may have letters issued to a personal representative they select who is qualified to act in Florida. When the decedent dies intestate and the foreign personal representative does not qualify, the ordinary preference order for appointment applies.

A nonresident personal representative must satisfy the family-relationship requirements described above. Ancillary administration is a flat fee from $3,500. When the ancillary estate includes real estate, it is ordinarily a formal administration. Filing fees, publication and certified copies are additional, passed through at cost. The free consultation covers what your family's ancillary administration will require.

What Does a Probate Attorney Do, and Do You Need One?

Florida requires the personal representative to have a Florida attorney unless the personal representative is the sole interested person in the estate.

The attorney files the petition that opens the administration and files the will with the court. The attorney prepares the notice of administration and serves it on interested persons. That notice starts a 3-month window for objections to the validity of the will, the venue or the jurisdiction of the court. An objection filed after those 3 months is barred, with only a narrow exception for a misstatement by the personal representative about the deadline.

The attorney prepares and files the notice to creditors, which is published in a local newspaper. That publication starts a separate 3-month clock for creditors to file claims against the estate. Any claim not filed on or before 3 months after the first publication, or 30 days after service on a known creditor if later, is barred.

The attorney prepares the inventory, which must be filed within 60 days after letters are issued. The inventory lists the estate with reasonable detail and includes an estimated fair market value for each item as of the date of death. Homestead property is listed and marked as such.

The attorney prepares the final accounting and petition for discharge. In an estate not filing a federal estate tax return, the final accounting and petition for discharge must be filed and served within 12 months after letters are issued. The court may extend that period for cause shown after notice to interested persons.

The attorney answers questions along the way, explains the deadlines and keeps the administration moving.

What Does Probate Cost in Florida?

Disposition without administration is a flat fee from $1,500. Disposition without administration applies only where the estate holds no real estate and the remaining assets do not exceed the funeral expenses and medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness.

Summary administration is a flat fee from $2,500. Summary administration applies to estates of $150,000 or less after exempt property or any death more than two years ago.

Formal administration is a flat fee from $3,500. Larger estates are estimated at the consultation using Florida's statutory fee schedule. Ancillary administration for a person who lived in another state and owned Florida property is a flat fee from $3,500 and, with real estate, ordinarily prices with formal administration.

Filing fees, publication of the notice to creditors and certified copies are government and publication costs, additional to the flat fee and passed through at cost.

Florida law provides a schedule of attorney compensation that is presumed to be reasonable for ordinary services in a formal estate administration. The schedule is based on the compensable value of the estate, which is the inventory value of the probate estate assets and the income earned by the estate during the administration. The schedule starts at $1,500 for estates having a value of $40,000 or less, plus $750 for the next $30,000, plus $750 for the next $30,000, then 3 percent on the next $900,000, 2.5 percent from $1 million to $3 million, 2 percent from $3 million to $5 million, 1.5 percent from $5 million to $10 million, and 1 percent above $10 million.

A contested probate or trust matter is litigation and is quoted per matter at the consultation.

The firm offers a free 30-minute consultation to review your situation and quote the flat fee before any work begins.

Is the Florida Probate Attorney Fee Schedule Mandatory?

The schedule is presumed reasonable. The schedule is not mandatory. The attorney, the personal representative and the persons bearing the impact of the compensation may agree to compensation determined in a different manner.

Florida law requires the attorney to make several disclosures in writing to the personal representative before charging a fee based on the schedule. The disclosures state that there is not a mandatory statutory attorney fee for estate administration, that the attorney fee is not required to be based on the size of the estate, that the presumed reasonable fee may not be appropriate in all estate administrations, that the fee is subject to negotiation between the personal representative and the attorney, that the personal representative is not required to select the attorney who prepared the will, and that the personal representative is entitled to a summary of ordinary and extraordinary services at the conclusion of the representation.

The attorney must obtain the personal representative's signature acknowledging those disclosures. If the attorney does not make the required disclosures, the attorney may not be paid for legal services without prior court approval of the fees or the written consent of all interested persons.

The firm's flat fees are agreed in writing at the start. Formal administration for larger estates is estimated at the consultation based on the statutory schedule.

What Happens to the Decedent's Debts?

Florida law gives creditors a limited window to file claims against the estate, and probate is how that window opens and closes.

The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a local newspaper. Creditors then have 3 months from the date of first publication to file their claims. A creditor who receives a copy of the notice directly has 30 days from service to file, if that date is later than the 3-month deadline. A claim filed after the deadline is barred except where the court extends the time for fraud, estoppel or insufficient notice. A mortgage or lien on estate property may still be enforced against that property even after the deadline.

Florida law also imposes an outer limit. Two years after a person dies, the estate, the personal representative and the beneficiaries are no longer liable for any claim against the person who died, whether or not anyone opened probate. Exceptions apply when a claim was timely filed within 2 years and remains unpaid, or when a recorded mortgage or lien secures the claim. The 2-year bar runs from the date of death, not from the filing of probate.

Opening probate starts the clock on creditor claims. Delaying probate leaves the timeline open longer than it needs to be. A creditor who files within 3 months of publication (or 30 days of service) preserves the claim. A creditor who files after the deadline loses the right to collect from the estate, unless the creditor can show fraud, estoppel or insufficient notice, or holds a lien against the property.

Debts paid by the estate come from estate assets before distributions to beneficiaries. What beneficiaries inherit is what remains after allowed claims are satisfied. That calculation, and whether a particular claim should be paid or objected to, depends on your family's facts and is covered at the free consultation.

Where Is Probate Filed in Florida?

Florida law sets the venue for probate based on where the person lived and, if they did not live in Florida, where their property is located.

Probate is filed in the county where the person was domiciled at death. Domicile means the place the person intended to be their permanent home, not just a vacation address or a second residence. The court in that county handles the will, appoints the personal representative and oversees the administration.

A person who was not domiciled in Florida but owned property here presents a different situation. Probate for that person's Florida property may be filed in any county where the property is located. Summary administration is available to a nonresident decedent's estate, and ancillary administration handles the Florida assets when a full administration is needed.

A situation arises when a nonresident had no property in Florida but was owed money by someone who lives here. Florida law allows probate to be filed in the county where the debtor resides, so the personal representative can collect the debt.

The practical question is whether the person lived in Florida or somewhere else. A Florida resident's probate is handled in one Florida county. A nonresident with Florida property may need a Florida proceeding, though certain small bank accounts may be paid directly to a family member without any court action. Assets passing outside probate, such as property held in a trust or accounts with a named beneficiary, do not require a Florida proceeding. Which counties apply, and what each proceeding requires, depends on your family's facts and is covered at the free consultation.

How Do You Keep Your Own Family Out of Probate?

Probate is required only for property that has no other way to pass at death. Property held in the person's name alone, with no beneficiary designation and no surviving co-owner with a right of survivorship, goes through probate. Property with a built-in transfer at death does not.

A funded revocable trust holds property while you are alive, and the trustee distributes it according to the trust terms at your death. Because the trust, not you personally, holds title, the property never enters probate. The trust must actually hold the property. A trust that exists on paper but owns nothing at your death does not avoid probate.

A lady bird deed on your Florida home keeps the home out of probate without a trust. The deed names a beneficiary who receives the property automatically at your death, while you keep full control during your life. You can sell, refinance or change the beneficiary at any time. The property passes outside probate.

Beneficiary designations on bank accounts, retirement accounts and life insurance work the same way. The account or policy passes directly to the named beneficiary at death, outside probate, as long as the beneficiary is alive and the designation is on file.

The combination that works for your family depends on what you own and who you want to receive it. Which tools fit, and whether you need a trust, a deed, updated designations or some combination, is covered at the free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common Situations

A daughter in New Jersey called after her mother died owning a condominium in Florida. The daughter was named personal representative in the will, but she had never lived in Florida and worried she could not serve. Florida law allows a child of the person who died to qualify as personal representative regardless of where the child lives. She served from New Jersey. Whether anyone must appear in court depends on the case and is covered at the free consultation.

A son in California discovered his father had a brokerage account with no beneficiary named. The account was titled in his father's name alone. Every other asset, including the house and the retirement accounts, passed to named beneficiaries or through a trust. Only the brokerage account required probate. The estate qualified for summary administration because the value was under $150,000 after exempt property. Filing fees and publication were passed through at cost.

Sources of Law

• Fla. Stat. ch. 733 (formal administration): §733.101 (venue), §733.202 (petition), §733.2121/§733.701 (creditor notice), §733.301 to §733.304 (who serves), §733.6171/§733.617 (fees), §733.702/§733.710 (creditor claims). flsenate.gov
• The fee schedule is a presumption rather than a price: Kushner v. Engelberg, Cantor & Leone, P.A., 750 So. 2d 33, 36 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (on an estate over $8,000,000 the parties contracted for $150,000 plus $30,000, while "the percentage of the estate calculation which the statute allows as a reasonable fee would be in excess of $240,000"; "in this case the parties did not contract for the statutory fee. Their contract called for a fee substantially less"; "the statute sets forth only 'presumed' reasonable compensation" and "authorizes a trial court to consider the totality of circumstances"), citing Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart & Shipley, P.A. v. Poletz, 652 So. 2d 366 (Fla. 1995) and In Re Estate of Platt, 586 So. 2d 328 (Fla. 1991) (hours and a reasonable hourly rate are "an appropriate starting point"); an attorney discharged for cause recovers the quantum meruit value less damages, Kushner v. Engelberg, Cantor & Leone, P.A., 699 So. 2d 850, 851 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). (Opinion read 2026-09-08.)
• Starting probate and the attorney’s role, Fla. Stat. §732.901(1) (will deposited within 10 days after the custodian learns of the death); §733.202 (any interested person may petition); §733.208 and §733.301(5) (a later will revokes the earlier probate and the letters); §733.402 (bond unless waived); §733.212 (notice of administration, the 3-month objection period and the fiduciary lawyer-client privilege statement); Fla. Prob. R. 5.200 (contents of the petition for administration), 5.320 (oath), 5.340(a) (inventory within 60 days after letters), 5.400(c) (final accounting and petition for discharge within 12 months after letters). Read from the 2026 Florida Statutes and the Florida Probate Rules as of July 16, 2026 (retrieved 2026-10-01).
• Ch. 735 (summary administration §735.201; disposition without administration §735.301); ch. 732 (intestate succession); ch. 734 (ancillary §734.102); Fla. Prob. R. 5.030 (attorney required). Filing via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. (retrieved 2026-06-06)

What I Have Learned About What Probate Actually Costs

In 14 years of law practice, families ask me what probate costs before they ask me anything else, and the honest answer is that the statute's number is a ceiling rather than a price.

A common question I hear is, "Is that fee schedule the law?" It is not, and the families who ask it are usually holding a quote built from it.

I have a few take-home points.

The first is that a written fee, agreed before anything is filed, is worth more than any argument about it later. In one case I have reviewed, the personal representatives of an estate worth more than $8,000,000 negotiated a flat $150,000, with another $30,000 payable when the tax audit closed. The statute's percentage on an estate that size would have exceeded $240,000. Those families saved over $60,000 by signing a piece of paper before the work started.

The second is what happened when the relationship broke down, because that is the part I find people never plan for. The firm was discharged for cause before the tax letter arrived, and it then pointed at the statute's much larger figure to justify what it was owed. The appellate court was unmoved. The parties had not contracted for the statutory fee, their contract called for substantially less, and the statute sets out only presumed compensation. I open files where the family found the will three months too late, and the fee agreement is the one document in this whole area that reliably does what the client thought it would.

The third is smaller and it tells you how these fights actually go. The trial court in that case had found the firm spent 1,671 hours on the estate, and the record could not support anything close to it. I have seen hours reconstructed years later by people with every reason to remember them generously.

Practice pointer. Get the fee in writing before the petition is filed, and make the agreement say what happens if the engagement ends early. A firm discharged for cause is entitled to the value of what it actually did, less any damage it caused, so the sentence covering an early exit is the one that caps a family's exposure. I would ask for the number in dollars rather than as a percentage, because a percentage is not a quote.

Avoid treating the fee chart as the going rate. A family that never signs a written agreement leaves the percentage standing as the only reference point in the file, which is exactly the position the firm in that case tried to argue from.

An honest limit belongs here. A contested fee is decided on the totality of the circumstances, with the hours worked and a reasonable rate as the starting point rather than the whole test, so nobody can tell you in advance what a judge will approve on a fee fight. What I can tell you is the number I will charge, which is why it is posted above.

Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., admitted in Florida since 2012. General information rather than advice on your situation.

Updated November 9, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Whether and how an estate must be probated depends on the specific facts.