Florida probate is the court-supervised process of validating a deceased person’s will, paying their debts and taxes, and distributing what remains to the rightful heirs or beneficiaries. It is governed primarily by Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes and runs through the circuit court in the county where the decedent lived. For most estates that cannot pass automatically by beneficiary designation or joint ownership, probate is the legal mechanism that actually moves assets out of a dead person’s name and into the living.
If you are a beneficiary waiting on a distribution, the honest answer is that probate takes longer than almost anyone expects. A clean, uncontested Florida estate often runs six months to a year. Add a property sale, a tax issue, or a family dispute, and you can be looking at considerably longer. Understanding the steps below will tell you where your estate is in the process and where the real bottlenecks tend to hide.
The two main types of Florida probate
Florida does not have a single, one-size-fits-all probate. The path your estate takes depends mostly on its size and how long the decedent has been deceased.
Summary administration
Summary administration is the faster, lighter track under Chapter 735. An estate qualifies when the value of the property subject to probate (excluding assets exempt from creditors, such as a properly characterized homestead) does not exceed $75,000, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. In summary administration, no personal representative is appointed. Instead, the court enters an order distributing the assets directly to the people entitled to them. There is no ongoing administration, no inventory to manage over months, and no extended creditor period to wait out (though the two-year creditor bar still applies in the background).
Formal administration
Formal administration under Chapter 733 is the standard, full-service process most people picture when they hear “probate.” It applies to estates above the $75,000 threshold where the decedent died within the last two years, and to any estate that needs an appointed representative to handle litigation, sell real property, or untangle complicated assets. Formal administration involves:
- Appointment of a personal representative (Florida’s term for an executor), who receives Letters of Administration;
- A formal notice-to-creditors period;
- A mandatory inventory of estate assets;
- Payment of valid debts, taxes, and administration expenses; and
- Court-supervised accounting before any final distribution.
The rest of this overview walks through formal administration, because that is the process beneficiaries most often find themselves waiting on.
Step 1: Opening the estate and filing the petition
Probate begins when an interested person, usually the named executor or a close family member, files a petition for administration with the circuit court in the county where the decedent was domiciled. The original will, if there is one, must be deposited with the clerk of court (under Florida law, within ten days of learning of the death). If there is no will, the estate is “intestate,” and Florida’s intestacy statutes in Chapter 732 decide who inherits and in what shares.
One detail trips up out-of-state families constantly: Florida requires that probate be handled through a licensed Florida attorney in essentially all formal administrations. So even if the personal representative lives in New York or anywhere else, the case is anchored in Florida court with Florida counsel.
Step 2: Appointing the personal representative
Once the court is satisfied that the petition is in order and the will (if any) is valid, it issues Letters of Administration. This is the document that gives the personal representative legal authority to act, open an estate bank account, deal with banks and brokerages, and sign on the estate’s behalf. Until those Letters issue, nobody has authority to do much of anything, which is why this early phase can feel frustratingly static for beneficiaries.
Florida has specific rules about who can serve. A personal representative must generally be a Florida resident, or, if a non-resident, must be closely related to the decedent (such as a spouse, child, parent, or sibling). A bank or trust company authorized in Florida may also serve.
Step 3: Notifying beneficiaries and creditors
After appointment, the personal representative must formally notify the people with a stake in the estate. Beneficiaries receive a Notice of Administration, which starts a clock on certain objections, including challenges to the validity of the will or the qualifications of the personal representative. If you intend to contest something, those deadlines are short and unforgiving, so act early rather than waiting to “see how it plays out.”
The personal representative also publishes a Notice to Creditors in a local newspaper and serves known creditors directly. This is the step that controls much of the timeline. Under Florida Statute 733.702, a creditor’s claim is timely only if filed within three months after the first publication of the notice, or within 30 days after being served directly, whichever is later. Separately, an absolute two-year bar runs from the date of death: with narrow exceptions, no claim survives past two years no matter what.
For a beneficiary, here is the practical takeaway: the estate generally cannot make final distributions until the creditor period closes. That three-month window is not red tape an attorney can shortcut; it is a statutory protection that, if ignored, can expose the personal representative to personal liability. The dynamics here parallel what we see in , where a comparable creditor-protection period sets the floor on how fast money can move.
Step 4: Inventorying and valuing the assets
Within 60 days of appointment, the personal representative must file an inventory listing the estate’s assets and their date-of-death values. This is more involved than it sounds. Real estate may need an appraisal, closely held business interests may need valuation, and brokerage and retirement accounts must be confirmed as of the date of death.
Only “probate assets” run through this process. Many assets pass outside probate and are not part of the inventory at all, including:
- Life insurance and retirement accounts with a named, living beneficiary;
- Bank or investment accounts titled as “payable on death” or “transfer on death”;
- Property held in a properly funded revocable living trust; and
- Real estate or accounts owned as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety.
If you are a beneficiary of one of these non-probate assets, you may receive your share long before the probate estate distributes anything. Many families are surprised to learn that the life insurance check arrives in weeks while the probate inheritance takes months.
Step 5: Paying debts, taxes, and expenses
With the creditor period running and the inventory complete, the personal representative evaluates each claim. Valid debts get paid in the priority order set by statute; questionable or excessive claims can be objected to, which may trigger a separate proceeding. Florida law also protects certain family rights here, including the homestead, exempt personal property, and a family allowance, which can take priority over general creditors.
Florida has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax, which simplifies things considerably compared to some other states. A federal estate tax return is only required for very large estates above the federal exemption. Most Florida estates owe no death tax at all, though the personal representative still has to address any final income taxes the decedent owed.
Step 6: Accounting and final distribution
Once debts and expenses are settled and the creditor period has closed, the estate moves toward closing. The personal representative typically prepares a final accounting showing every dollar that came in and went out, along with a plan of distribution. Beneficiaries are entitled to review it. If everyone agrees, beneficiaries often sign waivers and receipts that streamline the closing; if someone objects, the court resolves it before any final checks go out.
After distribution is complete and the paperwork is filed, the court discharges the personal representative and closes the estate. That discharge is the moment your inheritance is truly final. Distributions made before this point are sometimes partial or conditional, and a representative who distributes too early, before creditors and taxes are handled, can be forced to claw funds back.
What slows a Florida estate down
If your distribution is taking longer than you hoped, the cause is usually one of a handful of recurring issues:
- Will contests. A challenge to the will’s validity, based on undue influence, lack of capacity, or improper execution, freezes distributions until resolved. These disputes mirror the questions that arise when , and they can add many months to a case.
- Real estate. Selling estate property introduces listing time, closing time, and sometimes court approval.
- Disputed creditor claims. Litigating a single large claim can hold the whole estate open.
- Missing or uncooperative beneficiaries. The estate cannot close cleanly until everyone is located and accounted for.
- An unprepared personal representative. Delays in filing the inventory or accounting ripple through every later step.
For probate of Florida real estate or assets specifically, our Florida colleagues handle the full process; you can read more on the Florida probate practice page. If your matter touches both states, for example, a New York decedent who also owned a Florida condo, you may face an “ancillary” probate in Florida alongside the main estate up north.
What beneficiaries can actually do while they wait
You are not powerless during administration. Beneficiaries have the right to information, including a copy of the will, the inventory, and the accounting. You can ask the personal representative for status updates in writing. If the representative is unresponsive, self-dealing, or sitting on the estate without explanation, you can petition the court to compel an accounting or, in serious cases, to remove and replace them. If you suspect a problem with how the will itself came to be, the time to raise it is early, while the contest deadlines are still open.
To understand your rights as a named beneficiary, it also helps to understand the document behind the estate; see our overview of wills and our Florida probate resource for more detail. If you are waiting on a distribution and getting silence instead of answers, reach out to our office for a review of where your estate stands and what leverage you have.
The bottom line
Florida probate is methodical by design. The steps, opening the estate, appointing a representative, notifying creditors, inventorying assets, paying debts, and accounting before distribution, exist to make sure the right people inherit and that the estate cannot be raided before its obligations are met. For a beneficiary, the process can feel slow precisely because it is careful. Knowing where your estate sits on this roadmap is the difference between anxious guessing and informed patience.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Florida probate take before beneficiaries get paid?
A simple, uncontested formal administration in Florida usually takes about six months to a year. The mandatory three-month creditor claim period under Florida Statute 733.702 sets the practical floor, and most estates cannot make final distributions until that period closes and debts and taxes are resolved. Will contests, real estate sales, or disputed creditor claims can extend the timeline well beyond a year.
What is the difference between summary and formal administration in Florida?
Summary administration under Chapter 735 is a faster, simplified process available when the probate estate is worth $75,000 or less (excluding exempt property) or when the decedent has been dead more than two years; it requires no personal representative. Formal administration under Chapter 733 is the full process used for larger or more recent estates, involving an appointed personal representative, a creditor period, an inventory, and a final accounting.
Do all assets have to go through probate in Florida?
No. Assets with a named, living beneficiary (such as life insurance and retirement accounts), payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts, property in a funded revocable trust, and jointly owned property with right of survivorship pass outside probate. Only probate assets titled in the decedent’s sole name without a beneficiary designation go through the court process, which is why some inheritances arrive much sooner than others.
Does Florida charge an estate or inheritance tax?
Florida has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only very large estates exceeding the federal exemption owe federal estate tax. Most Florida estates pay no death tax at all, though the personal representative must still address any final income taxes the decedent owed.
What can a beneficiary do if the personal representative is not communicating?
Beneficiaries are entitled to information, including the will, inventory, and accounting, and can request written status updates. If the personal representative is unresponsive, mishandling the estate, or self-dealing, a beneficiary can petition the Florida court to compel an accounting or to remove and replace the representative. Acting early matters, because objection and contest deadlines are short.
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