Florida probate is the court-supervised process of identifying a deceased person’s assets, paying their valid debts and taxes, and transferring whatever remains to the rightful heirs or beneficiaries. It plays out in the circuit court of the county where the decedent lived, and in most estates it runs through six predictable stages. The single feature that surprises families most is how much of the timeline is built around creditors rather than heirs.
I practice probate here in Palm Beach County, and the questions I field on day one are almost always the same: How long will this take? Who gets paid first? And what happens if a credit card company or a hospital comes after the estate? This guide walks through the Florida probate process in the order it actually unfolds, with the statutes that govern each step.
What Triggers Probate in Florida and What Doesn’t
Probate is necessary only for assets the decedent owned in their own name alone, with no built-in mechanism to pass title automatically. A solo bank account, a brokerage account with no beneficiary, or a homestead titled to one person typically requires probate. A surprising amount of property never touches the court at all.
Assets that usually skip probate include:
- Life insurance and retirement accounts with a named, living beneficiary
- Bank or brokerage accounts with a payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) designation
- Real estate held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenancy by the entirety between spouses
- Property titled in a properly funded revocable living trust
If everything a person owned at death falls into one of those categories, the family may need no probate at all. When even one significant asset is stuck in the decedent’s sole name, probate becomes the only way to clear title.
Which Type of Florida Probate Applies
Florida offers two main paths, and choosing correctly at the outset saves months and thousands of dollars.
Summary Administration
Summary administration is the streamlined route. Under Chapter 735 of the Florida Statutes, it is available when either the decedent has been dead for more than two years, or the value of the non-exempt probate estate falls under a dollar threshold. That threshold matters in 2026 because it is changing: for deaths before July 1, 2026, the cap is $75,000; for deaths on or after July 1, 2026, CS/SB 1500 raises it to $150,000. Homestead property is excluded from that calculation, so the value of a protected Florida home does not push an estate out of eligibility.
Summary administration requires no personal representative and no formal creditor period in the same way formal administration does, but it is not risk-free. Beneficiaries who receive assets can remain personally liable to creditors, which is exactly why estates with meaningful debt are often safer in formal administration even when they technically qualify for the summary track.
Formal Administration
Formal administration, governed by Chapter 733, is the standard process for larger estates, recent deaths over the threshold, and any estate where creditor exposure needs to be cut off cleanly. A personal representative is appointed, given legal authority through Letters of Administration, and tasked with running the estate to conclusion. The rest of this overview follows the formal path, because that is where the step-by-step structure truly lives.
Step 1: Filing the Petition and Depositing the Will
Probate opens when an interested party files a petition for administration in the circuit court for the county of the decedent’s residence. Florida law also requires that anyone holding the original will deposit it with the clerk within ten days of learning of the death (Fla. Stat. § 732.901). The petition names the proposed personal representative, identifies the heirs or beneficiaries, and estimates the estate’s value.
In Florida, a non-corporate personal representative must be either a Florida resident or, regardless of residence, a close relative such as a spouse, child, parent, or sibling. An out-of-state friend generally cannot serve. Getting this wrong is one of the most common reasons a petition stalls.
Step 2: Appointment of the Personal Representative
If the will is valid and the proposed representative qualifies, the judge issues Letters of Administration. These letters are the legal key to the estate: banks, title companies, and brokerages will not release anything without them. Florida almost always requires the personal representative to be represented by an attorney, because the representative acts in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of beneficiaries and creditors alike.
Once appointed, the personal representative has real duties and real exposure. They must safeguard assets, keep estate funds separate, and act in the estate’s best interest. Mistakes here, such as paying a lower-priority creditor before a higher-priority one, can become the representative’s personal liability.
Step 3: Inventory and Marshaling the Assets
Within 60 days of appointment, the personal representative must file a verified inventory listing the estate’s assets and their date-of-death values. This is also the marshaling stage: opening an estate bank account, securing real property, obtaining date-of-death account statements, and ordering appraisals where needed. The inventory is confidential and shared with interested persons, not posted publicly.
Step 4: The Creditor Claims Period (Where Most Estates Live or Die)
This is the heart of Florida probate, and the stage I spend the most time on with clients. The personal representative must publish a Notice to Creditors in a local newspaper and serve that notice directly on any creditor who is known or “reasonably ascertainable.” That diligent-search requirement is not a formality; the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Tulsa Professional Collection Services v. Pope makes clear that known creditors are entitled to actual notice, not just publication.
The deadlines, set by Fla. Stat. § 733.702, are unforgiving:
- Creditors who are not known or reasonably ascertainable must file their claims within 3 months of the first publication of the Notice to Creditors, or be forever barred.
- A creditor who was actually served with notice has the later of that 3-month window or 30 days from the date of service to file.
- Overarching everything, Fla. Stat. § 733.710 imposes an absolute 2-year bar measured from the date of death. After two years, with narrow exceptions, no creditor claim is valid no matter what.
When a claim is filed, the personal representative can pay it or file a written objection. An objection forces the creditor to file an independent lawsuit, generally within 30 days, or lose the claim. Florida law also sets a strict order of priority for payment under § 733.707, beginning with administration costs and funeral expenses and ending with general unsecured debts like credit cards. For estates where claims are heavy, working this process correctly is the difference between heirs receiving a meaningful inheritance and watching the estate get consumed by debt. Many of the same pressure points appear in other states; Morgan Legal’s overview of the is a useful companion read on how these disputes tend to escalate.
Step 5: Paying Taxes, Debts, and Resolving Disputes
With the claims picture clear, the representative pays valid claims in statutory order, files any required final income tax returns for the decedent and the estate, and addresses any federal estate tax exposure (most Florida estates owe none, and Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax). This stage also captures litigation: a will contest, an objection to the representative’s accounting, or a dispute over a creditor’s claim can extend the timeline considerably. Will contests follow their own rules around grounds like undue influence and lack of capacity; for a sense of how that fight unfolds, see Morgan Legal’s explainer on . Florida law differs in the particulars, but the strategic shape is similar.
Step 6: Final Accounting and Distribution
Once debts and taxes are settled, the personal representative prepares a final accounting showing every dollar that came in and went out, serves it on the beneficiaries, and files a petition for discharge with a proposed plan of distribution. After the assets are distributed and receipts are obtained, the court discharges the representative and closes the estate. A clean, uncontested formal administration in Palm Beach County often takes six to twelve months; a contested estate or one with aggressive creditors can run well beyond that.
How Long Florida Probate Takes
The creditor claims period sets the floor. Because the 3-month publication window cannot be compressed, even a simple, fully cooperative formal administration rarely closes in under five to six months. Add a real estate sale, an out-of-state heir, a disputed claim, or a missing will, and the calendar stretches. Summary administration, by contrast, can sometimes wrap in a couple of months when the facts are clean.
Why Local Counsel Matters in Palm Beach
Probate is procedural by nature, and Florida’s rules reward precision: the right administration type, a defensible creditor diligent search, correct payment priority, and clean accountings. Our firm focuses on estates where creditors and claims drive the outcome, and we coordinate with Morgan Legal’s broader estate network, including their Florida probate practice, on matters that cross state lines. If you are weighing your options, our pages on Florida probate and wills and estate documents go deeper, or you can contact our Palm Beach office directly.
This article is general information about Florida probate law as of June 2026 and is not legal advice. Statutes change, and the right path depends on the specific facts of your estate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does probate take in Florida?
A clean, uncontested formal administration in Florida typically takes six to twelve months. The minimum floor is driven by the mandatory creditor claims period, which requires a three-month window after the first publication of the Notice to Creditors. Summary administration for small estates can sometimes conclude in just a couple of months.
What is the dollar limit for summary administration in Florida?
For deaths before July 1, 2026, summary administration is available when the non-exempt probate estate is $75,000 or less (homestead excluded), or when the decedent has been dead more than two years. Under CS/SB 1500, that threshold rises to $150,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026.
What is the deadline for creditors to file a claim against a Florida estate?
Under Florida Statute 733.702, unknown creditors generally must file within three months of the first publication of the Notice to Creditors, while creditors served directly have the later of that window or 30 days from service. Florida Statute 733.710 also imposes an absolute two-year bar measured from the date of death.
Do all assets have to go through probate in Florida?
No. Assets with a named beneficiary (life insurance, retirement accounts), payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts, jointly titled property with right of survivorship, and assets held in a funded revocable trust pass outside probate. Probate is required only for assets held in the decedent’s sole name with no automatic transfer mechanism.
Can the personal representative be held personally liable in Florida probate?
Yes. The personal representative is a fiduciary and can be held personally liable for mistakes such as paying creditors out of statutory priority order, distributing assets before valid claims are resolved, or mismanaging estate funds. This is a key reason Florida generally requires the representative to be represented by an attorney.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of probate and estate administration in Florida. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .