The Florida Probate Process, Step by Step (2026)

Probate in Florida works as a sequence of six court-supervised stages: the will is deposited and a petition is filed in the county where the person lived, the court appoints a personal representative and issues letters of administration, the personal representative notifies beneficiaries and creditors, collects and inventories the assets, pays valid claims and expenses in the order the statutes set, and then distributes what is left and asks the court for a discharge. The Florida Bar describes probate as “a court-supervised process for identifying and gathering the assets of a deceased person (decedent), paying the decedent’s debts, and distributing the decedent’s assets to his or her beneficiaries.”

This guide walks through each stage in the order it actually happens, names the statute or rule that sets each deadline, and shows where the path changes for smaller estates. Where another MTM guide already covers a stage in depth, this page links to it rather than repeating it.

How Probate Works in Florida, in Plain Terms

Florida probate is governed by the Florida Probate Code, chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes, and by the Florida Probate Rules adopted by the Florida Supreme Court. The case is heard in the probate division of the circuit court. The court does not run the estate day to day. It appoints a personal representative (Florida’s term for what other states call an executor or administrator), gives that person legal authority through letters of administration, and then supervises through required filings, deadlines and, when someone objects, hearings.

Four groups of people have a stake in a Florida probate. The personal representative carries the fiduciary duty to administer the estate. The beneficiaries named in the will, or the heirs set by Florida’s intestacy statutes when there is no will, receive what remains at the end. Creditors are entitled to be paid from estate property before the beneficiaries are, in a priority order the statutes fix. And the court, through the clerk, keeps the record and rules on disputes.

Probate only reaches probate assets: property the decedent owned in their own name alone, with no surviving joint owner, no living named beneficiary and no trust title. A house held as tenants by the entirety, a payable-on-death bank account, or a life insurance policy with a living beneficiary passes outside the court process. Our guide to which assets are exempt from probate in Florida sorts these categories in detail. A will does not avoid probate on its own. It tells the court who should serve and who should inherit, but a court order is still what transfers title to probate assets.

The process described below is formal administration, the full version of Florida probate and the one used for most estates above the summary administration ceiling. Smaller estates, and estates of people who died more than two years ago, can often use a shorter path, covered near the end of this guide. Whichever path applies, the order of the work is the same: establish authority, give notice, find and protect the assets, pay what is owed, and then distribute.

Before You File: Three Questions That Set the Path

Three questions decide which Florida procedure fits an estate, and they are worth answering before anyone drafts a petition. The first is whether there is any probate property at all. If every asset passed by survivorship, beneficiary designation or trust, there may be nothing for a probate court to do. Our separate guide on when probate is required in Florida covers that threshold question, and our guide to avoiding Florida probate covers the planning side.

The second question is the size of the estate that must be administered in Florida, measured the way the statute measures it: the value of the Florida estate subject to administration, less property that is exempt from creditor claims, such as protected homestead and statutory exempt property. The third question is timing. If the decedent has been dead for more than two years, summary administration is available regardless of value. The chart below shows how those answers route an estate.

Whether there is a valid will changes who serves and who inherits, but it does not change the sequence. With a will, the person the will nominates generally has first claim to serve as personal representative. Without one, the surviving spouse has first preference, and the estate passes under Florida’s intestacy statutes, which our guide to Florida probate without a will explains.

Step 1: Deposit the Will and Open the Case

The first legal deadline in a Florida estate falls on whoever has the original will. Under Fla. Stat. §732.901, the custodian of a will must deposit it with the clerk of the court having venue of the estate within 10 days after receiving information that the testator has died. Depositing the will does not open a probate case, and it does not commit anyone to serve. It simply puts the original, which the court will need, in the court’s hands.

Venue for a Florida resident’s estate lies in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, under Fla. Stat. §733.101. Our guide to where to file probate in Florida covers venue for non-residents and property in more than one county.

The case itself opens when an interested person files a petition for administration with the clerk. The petition identifies the decedent, the domicile, the surviving spouse and beneficiaries, the person proposed as personal representative and their preference to serve, and the approximate value and nature of the assets, as Fla. Prob. R. 5.200 requires, and the original will is filed with it when there is one. A copy of the death certificate must be filed no later than 3 months after the notice to creditors is first published (Fla. Prob. R. 5.205). Our guide to Florida probate forms and the petition for administration goes through the contents line by line. Filing fees are set by statute and charged by the clerk; our guide to Florida probate fees lists them with the other costs of an estate.

One practical point surprises many families. Under Fla. Prob. R. 5.030(a), “every personal representative, unless the personal representative remains the sole interested person, shall be represented by an attorney admitted to practice in Florida.” In formal administration, that means the personal representative works through a Florida attorney from the petition onward. Our article on whether you can do probate yourself in Florida covers the narrow cases where that is not required.

Step 2: Appointment and Letters of Administration

Once the petition is filed, the court decides who will serve as personal representative. Fla. Stat. §733.301 sets the order of preference. In a testate estate, the person nominated by the will comes first, then a person selected by a majority in interest of those entitled to the estate, then a devisee under the will. In an intestate estate, the surviving spouse comes first, followed by the person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs, and then the heir nearest in degree. If the person with preference is not qualified, the court moves down the list.

Qualification has rules of its own. Under Fla. Stat. §733.303, a person cannot serve who is under 18, has been convicted of a felony, has been convicted of abuse, neglect or exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult, or is mentally or physically unable to perform the duties. A person who does not live in Florida can serve only if they fall within the family relationships listed in Fla. Stat. §733.304, such as a child, parent, grandchild, spouse, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew of the decedent, someone related by lineal descent to one of those relatives, or the spouse of a qualified person. Under §733.402, the court may also require the personal representative to post a bond, unless the will or the court waives it; the court can also waive, raise or lower the bond on its own motion or on petition (Fla. Prob. R. 5.235).

When the court is satisfied, it enters an order admitting the will to probate (if there is one) and appointing the personal representative. The appointee files an oath and, unless an exception applies, a designation of a resident agent to accept service (Fla. Prob. R. 5.110), and the clerk then issues letters of administration (Fla. Prob. R. 5.235). Letters are the document banks, brokerages, title companies and government agencies ask to see. Until letters issue, no one has legal authority to act for the estate, which is why the date of letters starts several of the clocks that follow.

Letters give the personal representative wide authority, but not unlimited authority. Under Fla. Stat. §733.607, the personal representative takes possession or control of the decedent’s property “except the protected homestead,” and under §733.602 must use that authority “for the best interests of interested persons, including creditors.” Our article on what to do as a personal representative during probate covers the day-to-day duties, and Florida Probate Rules Part I covers the filing and appointment rules in more depth.

For families, the practical meaning of this step is simple: no one can sign for the decedent’s accounts until letters issue. Bills that come due in the meantime are not ignored, but they generally wait until someone has authority to pay them from estate funds. Keep every bill, statement and piece of mail that arrives, and hand them to the personal representative once letters issue. That stack becomes the starting point for the next two steps.

Step 3: Notice to Beneficiaries and Creditors

Once letters issue, the personal representative starts two separate notice processes, each with its own deadline. The first is the notice of administration to the family. Under Fla. Stat. §733.212, the personal representative must promptly serve it on the surviving spouse, the beneficiaries, certain trust beneficiaries, and anyone who may be entitled to exempt property. The notice tells them the case exists, who is serving, and that an interested person who wants to challenge the validity of the will, the venue or the jurisdiction of the court must file that objection within 3 months after being served.

The second process is the notice to creditors. Under Fla. Stat. §733.2121, the personal representative publishes the notice once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper, and must also make a diligent search for creditors who are reasonably ascertainable and serve a copy on each of them. Publication reaches unknown creditors. Direct service reaches the ones the estate knows about or could find with reasonable effort, such as the credit card companies whose statements keep arriving.

The creditor deadline is what gives Florida probate its structure. Under Fla. Stat. §733.702(1), a claim not filed within the later of 3 months after the first publication of the notice to creditors or, for a creditor who had to be served, 30 days after service, is barred. And under §733.710, every claim is barred 2 years after the date of death, even if no notice was ever published. Once the creditor period closes, the personal representative knows the full list of claims the estate has to deal with, and can plan distributions. Our guide to Florida Probate Rules Part III covers how claims are filed and objected to.

Step 4: Collect, Value and Inventory the Assets

While the notice periods run, the personal representative gathers the probate assets and takes control of them. That usually means opening an estate bank account, retitling or securing accounts held in the decedent’s sole name, securing real property and vehicles, collecting debts owed to the decedent, and finding assets the family did not know about. Mail, tax returns and bank statements are the most reliable map.

The inventory is the formal record of what the estate holds. Under Fla. Prob. R. 5.340(a) and Fla. Stat. §733.604, the personal representative files a verified inventory of the estate property, with each item’s estimated fair market value at the date of death, within 60 days after letters issue, and serves a copy on the surviving spouse, the heirs in an intestate estate, the residuary beneficiaries and any other interested person who asks for one. An inventory filed with the clerk is confidential under §733.604(1)(b), so it is not open to the public the way most court filings are.

Three categories of property need separate attention during this step, because Florida law protects them for the family. Protected homestead, the residence described in Article X, section 4 of the Florida Constitution and defined in Fla. Stat. §731.201(33), is excluded from the property the personal representative takes over. Instead, an interested person can petition the court to determine its homestead status under Fla. Prob. R. 5.405, and that order is what title companies look for. Exempt property under Fla. Stat. §732.402, such as household furnishings and qualifying vehicles, goes to the surviving spouse or children, but the right is waived unless a petition is filed by the later of 4 months after service of the notice of administration or 40 days after any proceeding over the will ends. And a surviving spouse who is not satisfied with the will may choose the elective share instead, but under Fla. Stat. §732.2135 the election must be filed by the earlier of 6 months after the spouse is served with the notice of administration or 2 years after the death. Our article on the spousal elective share explains how it is calculated.

Valuation matters beyond the inventory itself. Date-of-death values show whether the estate falls under the summary administration ceiling, and they feed the statutory compensation schedules for the attorney and the personal representative, which are based on the value of the estate. Real estate, closely held businesses and collectibles often need a professional appraisal. Brokerage and bank accounts can usually be valued from the date-of-death statement.

Step 5: Pay Claims, Expenses and Taxes

Once the creditor period closes, the personal representative reviews every claim that was filed. Valid claims are paid. Under Fla. Stat. §733.705, the personal representative can object to a claim by the later of 4 months after first publication or 30 days after the claim is filed, and a creditor whose claim draws an objection then has 30 days after service of the objection to file an independent lawsuit on it. The same section says the personal representative cannot be compelled to pay debts until 5 months after first publication, and must pay claims within 1 year of it, subject to extensions for litigated, unmatured and contingent claims or for good cause.

If the estate cannot pay everything, Florida law fixes the order of payment. Fla. Stat. §733.707(1) lists eight classes, and a lower class is paid only after every higher class is paid in full. The chart below lists the classes in order; our article on Florida Statute 733.707 and priority of payment explains each one.

Taxes are a separate track. According to the Florida Department of Revenue, a federal change eliminated Florida’s estate tax for people who died after December 31, 2004. Federal filings still apply. The IRS says the decedent’s final Form 1040 reports all income up to the date of death, and an estate that earns income while it is open reports it on Form 1041. A federal estate tax return is required for deaths in 2026 only when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds $15,000,000. The personal representative should settle these filings with a tax professional before making final distributions.

Estate expenses are paid along the way: the costs of administration, including court costs and reasonable attorney and personal representative compensation, sit in the first payment class. Florida sets a presumptively reasonable fee schedule for ordinary attorney services in formal administration in Fla. Stat. §733.6171, and a separate compensation schedule for the personal representative in §733.617. Our Florida probate fees guide works through both schedules with examples.

Step 6: Distribute the Estate and Close the Case

When claims, expenses and taxes are resolved, the personal representative distributes what remains to the beneficiaries under the will, or to the heirs under the intestacy statutes. If the estate is not large enough to pay every gift after claims and expenses, Fla. Stat. §733.805 sets the order in which gifts are reduced: property passing by intestacy first, then the residue, then general gifts, and specific gifts such as a named piece of jewelry last. Real property is usually transferred by a personal representative’s deed or, for protected homestead, by the court’s order determining homestead. Beneficiaries commonly sign receipts, and often waivers, as they receive their shares.

Closing is its own filing. Under Fla. Prob. R. 5.400(a), a personal representative who has completed administration except for distribution files a final accounting and a petition for discharge that includes a plan of distribution. The beneficiaries are served, and under Rule 5.401 an interested person has 30 days after service of the later of the petition or the final accounting to object. Rule 5.400(c) also sets an outside target: the final accounting and petition are due within 12 months after letters issue for an estate that does not file a federal estate tax return, unless the court extends the time. If no one objects, or once objections are resolved, the court enters an order of discharge under Fla. Stat. §733.901, which provides that “after administration has been completed, the personal representative shall be discharged,” and which bars later actions against the personal representative and the surety.

Beneficiaries can speed this step by signing written waivers of the formal accounting and of service of the petition for discharge (Fla. Prob. R. 5.180 sets what a waiver must say), which families often do when the estate is simple and everyone agrees. A waiver is a legal document with real consequences, and a beneficiary who has questions about how the estate was handled should raise them before signing, not after. Our article on resolving disputes among beneficiaries covers what happens when the family does not agree.

The Statutory Clock at a Glance

Much of the length of a Florida probate comes from deadlines the law sets. The creditor period cannot close sooner than 3 months after first publication, and the family’s own objection and election periods run in parallel with it. The chart below lines those clocks up on one timeline, counted from the date of death for a simple estate in which letters issue about a month after death. The exact dates in any real estate depend on when the will is filed, when letters issue and when each notice is actually published and served.

The Florida Bar’s consumer pamphlet on probate puts it this way: “Even the simplest of probate estates must be open for at least the three-month creditor claim period; it is reasonable to expect that a simple probate estate will take about five or six months to properly handle.” Estates that need a house sold, have a contested claim, involve an elective share election or have missing heirs take longer. Our guide to how long probate takes in Florida covers realistic timelines and the most common causes of delay.

One deadline on this chart deserves emphasis because families often miss it: the 2-year bar in §733.710 runs whether or not a probate case is ever opened. It protects the estate from late creditors, but it does not transfer title. Property still in the decedent’s name after 2 years still needs a court order to pass to the heirs, which is one reason summary administration becomes available for estates of any size at that point.

How the Process Changes for Smaller Estates

Everything above describes formal administration. For smaller or older estates, Florida offers shorter procedures, and the thresholds changed recently. Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2026, raised the summary administration ceiling in Fla. Stat. §735.201 from $75,000 to $150,000. Each of the three main paths has a different filing, notice and paperwork profile, and the right one depends on the size of the estate, when the death occurred and whether anyone needs the authority that letters give. The table compares them.

Summary administration skips most of the six steps. There is no personal representative and no letters; instead, a beneficiary or the person nominated in the will files a petition signed by the surviving spouse and beneficiaries (Fla. Stat. §735.203), and the court enters an order distributing the assets. The trade-off is creditor protection: under Fla. Stat. §735.206 the petitioner must search for known creditors, serve them and provide for their payment, and a notice to creditors is optional under §735.2063. Our Florida summary administration guide covers who qualifies and how the petition works, and our guide to the Florida small estate affidavit explains why Florida has no true affidavit procedure for most estates.

If you are working through a Florida estate and are not sure which path applies, the answer usually turns on the three questions near the top of this guide. MTM Law Firm handles formal administration and summary administration for Florida estates from its Lakeland office. You can call 863.250.2990 to schedule a consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

This guide provides general information about Florida probate law and is not legal advice for any particular estate. Statutes and rules cited were reviewed against the official 2026 texts on September 30, 2026. Related reading: Florida Probate Rules Part I, Part II and Part III.