In Florida, a personal representative (the state’s term for an executor or administrator) can be removed or replaced when they are no longer qualified to serve or have breached their duties to the estate. Removal happens through a petition filed in the probate division of the circuit court, and the grounds are set out in Florida Statutes § 733.504. Once removed, the personal representative must surrender estate assets and account for everything they handled, and the court appoints a successor to finish administering the estate.
That is the short answer. The longer answer matters, because removal is one of the more contested fights in Florida probate, and the stakes climb sharply when the estate holds real property — a homestead in Boca Raton, a rental duplex in Fort Lauderdale, a condo in Miami Beach. Carrying costs accrue, tenants need managing, and a sale can stall for months while the fight plays out. If you are a beneficiary watching an estate go sideways, or a personal representative who believes you are being attacked unfairly, here is how the process actually works in South Florida courts.
Who can serve, and why qualification is the first battleground
Before you can talk about removal, it helps to understand who is even allowed to serve. Florida is stricter than most states. Under § 733.302 and § 733.303, a personal representative must generally be a Florida resident, or — if a nonresident — a close relative of the decedent (spouse, child, parent, sibling, or certain others) or the spouse of such a relative. A bank or trust company authorized to act in Florida also qualifies.
Several people are flatly disqualified. A person who has been convicted of a felony cannot serve. Neither can someone who is mentally or physically unable to perform the duties, nor a minor. These disqualifications are not just gatekeeping at the appointment stage; they are also grounds to remove someone after the fact. If a sitting personal representative is convicted of a felony during the administration, that conviction alone supports removal.
Legal grounds for removing a Florida personal representative
Section 733.504 lists the causes for removal. The statute is the spine of any removal petition, and a well-drafted petition tracks its language. The grounds include:
- Adjudication of incapacity — the personal representative has been declared incapacitated.
- Physical or mental incapacity rendering the person incapable of discharging the duties.
- Failure to comply with a court order, unless the order has been superseded on appeal.
- Failure to account, or to give the bond or notice required by law.
- Wasting or maladministration of the estate — the catch-all that captures most real-world disputes.
- Failure to give bond or security for any purpose the court requires.
- Conviction of a felony.
- Insolvency of, or the appointment of a receiver or liquidator for, a corporate personal representative.
- Holding or acquiring conflicting or adverse interests that will or may interfere with proper administration. Notably, this does not include a creditor claim, an interest as a beneficiary, or merely holding joint property with the decedent.
- Revocation of the probate of the will that named the personal representative.
- Removal of domicile from Florida, if the person was qualified only because of residency.
- The disqualifying grounds in § 733.303 applying after appointment.
The phrase that does the heavy lifting in most contested cases is waste or maladministration. It is intentionally broad. Self-dealing, commingling estate funds with personal accounts, ignoring estate debts while paying themselves, refusing to communicate with beneficiaries, and sitting on a salable asset while it loses value all fall under it.
Real-property estates raise the temperature
When the estate’s main asset is land or a building, maladministration tends to look concrete and provable. A personal representative who lets a Broward homestead fall into tax delinquency, lets insurance lapse on a coastal condo exposed to hurricane risk, pockets rent from an inherited triplex without crediting the estate, or refuses a reasonable offer on a property out of personal spite is handing beneficiaries a textbook removal case. Florida judges understand that real property has carrying costs and decay risk, and they are not patient with a fiduciary who lets value bleed away.
Estates with real property also surface unique conflicts. If the personal representative lives in the decedent’s house and won’t market it, or wants to buy it from the estate at a discount, that conflicting interest can itself support removal under the adverse-interest ground. These are common pressure points; for context on how property and competing interests complicate administration generally, this overview of is a useful primer even though it speaks to New York practice.
What is not enough to remove someone
Removal is a serious remedy, and Florida courts do not grant it for friction alone. A few realities catch petitioners off guard:
- Disagreement is not a ground. Beneficiaries who simply dislike a decision — the choice of realtor, the timing of a distribution, the pace of administration — have not shown waste or maladministration.
- Family animosity is not a ground by itself. Hostility between an executor and the heirs is common; courts look for actual harm to the estate, not bad feelings.
- Being a beneficiary or creditor is not a disqualifying conflict. The statute expressly excludes those interests.
- Honest mistakes that are promptly corrected and cause no real loss rarely justify removal, though they may justify a surcharge.
The takeaway: tie your petition to documented harm. Bank records, tax notices, unanswered demands for accounting, lapsed insurance, missed deadlines — that is what moves a Florida probate judge.
The removal process step by step
Removal proceedings run through the probate division of the circuit court in the county where the estate is administered. In South Florida that means the Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach circuit courts most often. The general arc:
- File a verified petition for removal. Any interested person — a beneficiary, an heir, a co-personal representative, sometimes a creditor — may petition. The petition states the statutory grounds and the supporting facts under oath.
- Serve formal notice. The personal representative and other interested persons receive formal notice under the Florida Probate Rules and have an opportunity to respond.
- Discovery and, often, an accounting. The court can compel an accounting under § 733.501 and related rules. Financial records frequently make or break the case.
- Hearing or evidentiary trial. The petitioner bears the burden of proving grounds. Contested removals can involve witness testimony, bank records, and expert valuation of real estate.
- Order of removal and surrender of assets. If removed, the former representative must deliver estate property and records to the successor and file a final accounting. Under § 733.506 and § 733.508, the court can compel that surrender and settle the removed representative’s accounts.
- Appointment of a successor. The court appoints a successor personal representative to complete administration (more on order of preference below).
Interim protection: suspension and curators
Sometimes the estate cannot wait for a full hearing. Florida law lets the court act fast when assets are at risk. The court can restrict a personal representative’s powers, and under § 733.501 it may appoint a curator — a temporary custodian — to preserve and protect estate assets when there is no qualified personal representative serving or when one is suspended. For a real-property estate, a curator can pay the property taxes, keep insurance in force, and stop the financial bleeding while the removal fight proceeds. If you suspect assets are being dissipated, ask about emergency relief early rather than waiting for the merits hearing.
Resignation: the quieter path
Not every exit is a fight. A personal representative who wants out, or who recognizes the writing on the wall, may resign under § 733.502 by filing a petition for discharge and obtaining court approval. Resignation does not erase accountability — the resigning representative still must account for the period they served and surrender assets — but it spares everyone the cost and bitterness of a contested trial. In many family estates, a frank conversation that ends in a voluntary resignation and a smooth handoff serves the beneficiaries far better than a year of litigation that drains the very estate they are fighting over.
Who becomes the successor personal representative?
After removal, resignation, or death of a personal representative, the court appoints a successor. If the will names an alternate, that person generally has the first call, assuming they qualify. If not, Florida follows a statutory order of preference (§ 733.301): in a testate estate, the person selected in the will, then the person selected by a majority in interest of the beneficiaries, then a devisee; in an intestate estate, the surviving spouse, then the heir selected by a majority in interest, then the nearest heir. The court retains discretion, and a successor must meet the same qualification rules as anyone else.
The successor steps into a partially built record — some assets marshaled, some not, some accounting done, some missing. A capable probate attorney helps the new representative pick up the thread, demand a complete handoff, and pursue a surcharge against the removed predecessor for any losses the estate suffered through their misconduct. Removal and surcharge are separate remedies; you can recover money damages even after someone is out of office.
Practical advice for both sides
If you are a beneficiary or heir considering a removal petition: document everything, send written demands for an accounting and keep the responses (or the silence), and quantify the harm in dollars. A petition built on receipts beats one built on grievances. Move quickly when real property is decaying — a hurricane season without insurance, or a tax certificate sold on a delinquent homestead, is hard to undo.
If you are a personal representative under attack: take the duties seriously and the petition will usually fizzle. Keep estate funds segregated, communicate, account on time, insure and maintain the property, and get court guidance before any transaction that even looks self-interested. If you genuinely cannot serve — health, distance, conflict — resigning cleanly is often the wiser move than fighting to keep a job that is costing you and the estate.
Either way, this is not a do-it-yourself area of law. Florida probate has its own rules, deadlines, and statutory traps, and South Florida judges expect petitions and defenses to be precise. If your matter has a New York connection or assets in both states, Morgan Legal Group’s can coordinate cross-state administration, and the firm’s handles removal and successor-appointment matters throughout South Florida. You can also review our overview of Florida probate administration and how estate planning through valid wills and fiduciary appointments can prevent these fights in the first place.
Disputes over who controls an estate — and the family home or rental property inside it — are among the most painful chapters of probate. They are also among the most winnable, when the facts are real and the petition is built right. If you think a Florida personal representative needs to be removed or replaced, or you are defending against a removal petition, speak with a probate attorney before the estate loses more than it has to.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the legal grounds to remove a personal representative in Florida?
Florida Statutes section 733.504 lists the grounds, including adjudication of incapacity, physical or mental inability to serve, failure to comply with a court order, failure to account or post bond, waste or maladministration of the estate, felony conviction, holding conflicting or adverse interests, revocation of the will, and removing one’s domicile from Florida when residency was the only basis to serve.
Who can file a petition to remove a Florida personal representative?
Any interested person may petition. That typically means a beneficiary, an heir, or a co-personal representative, and sometimes a creditor. The petition is filed in the probate division of the circuit court where the estate is administered and must state the statutory grounds with supporting facts under oath.
Can a personal representative be removed just for fighting with the heirs?
No. Family hostility or simple disagreement over decisions is not, by itself, a ground for removal. Florida courts require proof of actual harm to the estate, such as waste, maladministration, self-dealing, failure to account, or failure to follow a court order. Document financial harm rather than relying on bad feelings.
What happens to the estate's real property during a removal dispute?
The court can act to protect assets before the case is decided. Under section 733.501 it may restrict the representative’s powers or appoint a curator to pay property taxes, keep insurance in force, and otherwise preserve real estate while the removal petition proceeds, which is critical for property-heavy estates in South Florida.
Who replaces a personal representative who is removed or resigns?
The court appoints a successor following the order of preference in section 733.301. An alternate named in the will usually has first priority if qualified; otherwise the statute prioritizes the person chosen by a majority in interest of the beneficiaries, then a devisee or, in intestate estates, the surviving spouse and nearest heirs. The successor must meet Florida’s qualification rules.
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