Probate in Florida: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Florida

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

In Florida, whoever has the original will must deposit it with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the person who died lived, within 10 days after learning of the death. When you deposit it, give the clerk the date of death or the last four digits of that person's Social Security number.

Fla. Stat. § 732.901Read the statute · flsenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Florida, probate is handled by the circuit court, through the clerk of court, in the county where the person who died was living (their legal home, or domicile).

Fla. Stat. § 733.101; § 26.012(2)(b)Read the statute · flsenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Florida, the executor or administrator (Florida calls this person the personal representative) publishes a notice to creditors in a local newspaper once a week for 2 weeks and serves it on creditors they can reasonably find. Creditors then have 3 months from the first publication to file a claim (or 30 days from being served, if that is later), and almost all claims are cut off 2 years after the death no matter what.

Fla. Stat. §§ 733.2121, 733.702, 733.710Read the statute · flsenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Estate inventory

In Florida, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) must file a sworn inventory of the estate with the court within 60 days after the court issues letters of administration, listing each item and its estimated value on the date of death. A copy goes to the surviving spouse and the main beneficiaries or heirs.

Fla. Stat. § 733.604; Fla. Prob. R. 5.340(a)Read the statute · flsenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Florida, if the estate cannot pay every bill, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) pays them in a set order: estate administration costs first, then funeral costs up to $6,000, then certain federal and state debts, then medical bills from the last 60 days of the final illness, and so on. If there isn't enough for everyone in a group, that group shares what is left in proportion.

Fla. Stat. § 733.707(1)Read the statute · flsenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

Florida has no estate tax and no inheritance tax when the person who died passed away after December 31, 2004. Since July 1, 2023, the executor or administrator no longer files a Florida 'no estate tax due' affidavit.

Fla. Stat. ch. 198 (§ 198.02); Fla. Const. art. VII, § 5(a)Read the source · floridarevenue.comchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jan 1, 2005

Closing an estate

In Florida, a formal estate is closed when the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) files a final accounting and a petition for discharge with a plan of distribution, gives beneficiaries 30 days to object, hands out the property, and then gets a court order of discharge. This is due within 12 months after the court issues letters, unless the court extends it.

Fla. Stat. § 733.901; Fla. Prob. R. 5.400Read the statute · flsenate.govchecked Oct 5, 2026