Florida probate is the court-supervised process of identifying a deceased person’s assets, paying their debts and taxes, and distributing what remains to the rightful beneficiaries. It is governed primarily by Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes and is administered through the circuit court in the county where the decedent lived. For most families, probate is less a single event than a sequence of filings, deadlines, and waiting periods that typically runs anywhere from six months to well over a year, depending on the size of the estate and whether anyone contests it.
I’ve handled probate matters across South Florida for years, and the question I hear most often is some version of “Do we even have to do this?” The honest answer is: usually, if the decedent owned assets in their sole name with no beneficiary designation. That category includes the thing Florida estates are famous for — real property. A house in Boca, a condo in Aventura, a duplex in Fort Lauderdale: when title sits in one name and there’s no living trust, the courthouse is the only door to a clean transfer.
When Is Probate Actually Required in Florida?
Not every asset goes through probate, and that’s the first thing to understand before you assume you’re facing a long court process. Probate is only needed for what we call probate assets — property the decedent owned individually with no automatic transfer mechanism attached.
The following typically pass outside of probate:
- Property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenancy by the entirety (common between spouses)
- Bank or brokerage accounts with a valid payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) designation
- Life insurance and retirement accounts with a named, living beneficiary
- Assets titled in a properly funded revocable living trust
- Florida homestead real property passing to a surviving spouse or heirs (this one is nuanced — more below)
Everything else — the solely owned house, the lone checking account with no POD, the car titled in one name, the brokerage account whose beneficiary form was never updated — generally requires probate to clear title and move it to the heirs.
Two Roads: Formal vs. Summary Administration
Florida offers two main probate tracks. Formal administration, under Chapter 733, is the standard process and the one most real-property estates use. A personal representative is appointed, given Letters of Administration, and given legal authority to act for the estate.
The lighter track is summary administration, available under Florida Statutes § 735.201 when either the value of the probate estate (excluding exempt property like protected homestead) is $75,000 or less, or the decedent has been dead for more than two years. Summary administration skips the appointment of a personal representative and can resolve in a matter of weeks. It sounds appealing, but it has a real catch for property-heavy estates: there’s no personal representative to manage, sell, or insure the home while the process plays out. For estates where the main asset is a house that needs to be sold, formal administration is often the safer choice even when summary would technically qualify. There’s also a narrow disposition without administration path for very small estates with no real property, but it rarely applies once a home is in the picture.
The Step-by-Step Florida Probate Process
Here is how a typical formal administration moves from filing to closing. The sequence is consistent statewide, though South Florida’s busier circuit courts — Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach — can run on their own clocks.
- Deposit the will and file the petition. Florida law requires the original will to be deposited with the clerk of the circuit court within 10 days of learning of the death. A petition for administration is then filed in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
- Appointment of the personal representative. The court reviews the petition and, if the will names an executor (called a personal representative in Florida) who qualifies, issues Letters of Administration. These letters are the legal credential that lets the representative deal with banks, title companies, and creditors.
- Notice to creditors. The representative publishes a Notice to Creditors in a local newspaper and serves known creditors directly. This triggers the creditor claim period — generally three months from first publication, or 30 days from service for a known creditor, under § 733.702.
- Inventory and asset marshaling. Within 60 days of the letters being issued, the representative files an inventory listing the estate’s assets and their fair market value as of the date of death. For real property, this usually means an appraisal or a defensible valuation.
- Pay debts, taxes, and expenses. Valid creditor claims, final income taxes, and administration costs get paid in the priority order set by statute. Disputed claims may require objections and, occasionally, separate litigation.
- Distribution to beneficiaries. Once debts and expenses are settled, the remaining assets are distributed under the will, or under Florida’s intestacy rules (Chapter 732) if there’s no valid will.
- Final accounting and discharge. The representative files a final accounting and a petition for discharge. When the court is satisfied, it closes the estate and releases the representative from further duty.
Probate is one of those areas where the law looks similar from state to state but the deadlines and local practice differ in ways that matter. If you’re administering an estate that also touches New York — a snowbird’s apartment, a brokerage account up north — it helps to understand how those procedures compare. Morgan Legal’s overview of is a useful reference for cross-state estates, and their breakdown of the mirrors much of what we see in Florida courts.
Real Property: Where Florida Probate Gets Complicated
Because so many Florida estates are built around a house or condo, real property deserves its own discussion. A solely owned parcel of Florida real estate cannot be sold or refinanced with clean, insurable title until either probate is completed or a court order specifically authorizes the transfer. Title companies will not insure around an open estate, and that single fact drives a lot of probate timelines.
The Homestead Wrinkle
Florida’s constitutional homestead protection is a blessing and a complication. Protected homestead generally passes outside the reach of most creditors and outside the residuary clause of the will, descending instead under specific constitutional and statutory rules (see Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution and § 732.401). What this means in practice: a surviving spouse may receive a life estate with a remainder to the descendants, or, by election, an undivided one-half interest. The homestead can’t simply be left to anyone the decedent chooses if there’s a surviving spouse or minor child.
For families, the practical takeaway is that you usually need a court order — a Petition to Determine Homestead Status of Real Property — to confirm the home’s protected character and clear it for sale or transfer. Skipping that step is one of the most common ways a “simple” estate stalls at the closing table years later.
Out-of-State Owners and Ancillary Probate
South Florida is full of part-time residents who were domiciled elsewhere but owned a condo here. When someone dies domiciled in another state but holding Florida real estate, the estate often needs an ancillary administration under § 734.102 — a Florida proceeding that runs alongside the home-state probate to clear the Florida property. It’s an extra layer, but a predictable one once you know to expect it.
How Long Does Florida Probate Take, and What Does It Cost?
A clean formal administration with cooperative beneficiaries commonly takes six to nine months, largely because the creditor claim period and statutory deadlines impose minimum waiting times no one can shortcut. Estates with real property to sell, tax issues, or disputes routinely run twelve to eighteen months or more.
Costs come in a few buckets: filing fees, publication costs, appraisals, and attorney’s and personal representative’s compensation. Florida Statutes § 733.6171 sets out a presumptively reasonable attorney’s fee schedule tied to the size of the estate, though fees can be set by agreement and vary with complexity. The point isn’t to memorize the schedule — it’s to know that fees are regulated and reviewable, not arbitrary.
If you’re weighing your options or just trying to understand what your family is facing, our Florida probate resources walk through each stage in more detail, and you can always reach us through our contact page for a direct conversation about your specific estate. For estates that also involve a will contest or questions about the underlying document, our wills overview is a good starting point.
Can You Avoid Probate Next Time?
For the family currently in probate, this comes too late — but it’s worth saying for everyone else reading. Most probate is avoidable with a few deliberate steps: funding a revocable living trust, keeping beneficiary designations current, and titling property thoughtfully. A house deeded into a properly drafted trust, for instance, passes to the successor trustee without a courtroom. None of this is exotic; it just has to be done before, not after.
If your matter has both Florida and out-of-state dimensions, coordinating counsel in each state matters. Morgan Legal’s Florida team handles these estates locally — their page outlines how they approach administration here — and their New York office can manage the northern end of a cross-state estate without the two sides working at cross-purposes.
The Bottom Line
Florida probate is methodical, not mysterious. Deposit the will, open the estate, notify creditors, inventory and value the assets, settle debts, distribute, and close — in that order, on the court’s timeline. The wrinkles almost always cluster around real property: homestead status, title clearance, out-of-state owners, and the simple fact that you can’t sell a house the estate hasn’t yet been authorized to convey. Get those issues identified early, and the rest of the process tends to follow the script.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is probate always required when someone dies in Florida?
No. Probate is only required for assets the decedent owned individually with no automatic transfer mechanism. Property held jointly with right of survivorship, accounts with payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations, life insurance and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, and assets in a funded living trust all pass outside probate. A solely owned home or account with no beneficiary, however, typically must go through probate to transfer title.
How long does Florida probate take?
A straightforward formal administration usually takes six to nine months, driven largely by the statutory creditor claim period (generally three months from first publication) and other mandatory deadlines that cannot be shortened. Estates with real property to sell, tax complications, or disputes commonly run twelve to eighteen months or longer.
What is the difference between formal and summary administration?
Formal administration under Chapter 733 is the standard process: a personal representative is appointed and given Letters of Administration to manage the estate. Summary administration under section 735.201 is a faster, lighter process available when the probate estate is $75,000 or less (excluding exempt property) or the person died more than two years ago — but it appoints no personal representative, which can be a problem for estates with a home that needs to be managed or sold.
How does Florida's homestead law affect probate of a house?
Florida’s constitutional homestead protection means a primary residence generally passes outside the will’s residuary clause and is shielded from most creditors, descending under specific rules in Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution and section 732.401. If there is a surviving spouse or minor child, the home cannot simply be left to anyone the decedent chooses. Families usually need a court order determining homestead status to clear the property for sale or transfer.
What happens if the deceased lived out of state but owned Florida property?
When someone domiciled in another state dies owning Florida real estate, the estate typically needs an ancillary administration under section 734.102. This is a Florida proceeding that runs alongside the home-state probate specifically to clear title to the Florida property. It is an extra layer of process but a routine and predictable one.
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