Boca Raton residents who moved down from New York often ask about “Surrogate’s Court.” That is a New York term — Florida has no Surrogate’s Court. Here, probate matters are handled by the Circuit Court, specifically its probate division. For Boca Raton, that means the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit serving Palm Beach County. Knowing the right court and how it operates removes a lot of the mystery for a grieving family.
Meet the Reyes family
Imagine the Reyes family after losing their father, a longtime Boca Raton resident. He left a will, a home, and a few accounts. Their journey through the probate division shows how the system actually works — and it is more orderly than most people fear.
Where the case is filed
Probate is filed in the county where the decedent lived. For the Reyes family, that is Palm Beach County, with filings handled through the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Florida requires most probate filings to be done electronically, and the family will need the original will, which Florida law requires be deposited with the court within ten days of learning of the death.
What the probate division decides
The probate division does several things for the Reyes estate:
- Determines whether the will is valid under §732.502 — properly signed by the decedent and two witnesses.
- Appoints the personal representative and issues Letters of Administration.
- Oversees notice to creditors and the handling of claims.
- Resolves disputes — will contests, creditor objections, or disagreements among beneficiaries.
- Confirms the homestead status of the family home under Article X, §4.
Two roads through the same court
Florida’s probate division handles both formal administration (Chapter 733) for larger or recent estates and summary administration (Chapter 735) for estates of $75,000 or less or where death occurred more than two years ago. The Reyes estate exceeded the summary threshold because of the father’s solo brokerage account, so it proceeded as a formal administration with an appointed personal representative.
What never touches the court
Plenty of the father’s planning kept assets out of court entirely. His revocable living trust under Chapter 736 passed directly to its beneficiaries. A bank account with a payable-on-death designation transferred automatically. Had he used a Lady Bird deed on the homestead, that too would have bypassed probate. These tools are popular in Boca Raton precisely because they shrink — or eliminate — the role of the probate court.
What the court will not charge you
One reassurance for the Reyes family and every Florida estate: there is no Florida state estate tax and no inheritance tax. The probate division is concerned with proper administration and creditor rights, not with taxing the inheritance itself. Only the largest estates encounter the separate federal estate tax.
How long it takes
A clean formal administration in Palm Beach County often runs several months, driven largely by the statutory creditor-claim period. Disputes can extend it; an organized estate with cooperative beneficiaries moves faster.
Talk to a Florida attorney
The probate division has its own rules, deadlines, and electronic filing requirements that trip up out-of-state families especially. A licensed Florida probate attorney familiar with the Palm Beach County court can guide a Boca Raton family from filing to final distribution. This article is general information, not legal advice.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of probate in Palm Beach. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .
