Citizenship Quietly Reshapes the Marital Deduction

Most married U.S. citizens rely on the unlimited marital deduction, which lets one spouse leave any amount to the other free of federal estate tax. That deduction is not available when the surviving spouse is not a U.S. citizen, even if that spouse is a lawful permanent resident living full-time in Boca Raton. Congress was concerned that a non-citizen spouse might inherit and then leave the country beyond the reach of U.S. estate tax.

The standard solution is a Qualified Domestic Trust, or QDOT. Property passes into the QDOT rather than outright to the non-citizen spouse, a U.S. trustee controls distributions, and the deferred estate tax is collected later. A QDOT can be built into a will or, more commonly, into a revocable trust under Florida’s Trust Code (Chapter 736, Florida Statutes). If your spouse later naturalizes, the planning can be adjusted. This is exactly the kind of provision an off-the-shelf form will miss.

Non-Resident Aliens Face a Much Smaller Exemption

If you are a non-resident alien, meaning you are neither a citizen nor domiciled in the United States, your exposure to federal estate tax is different again. U.S.-situated assets, which include Florida real estate and certain U.S. securities, are subject to estate tax, but the exemption available to non-resident aliens is a small fraction of the generous exemption a U.S. citizen or domiciliary receives. A waterfront unit in Boca Raton can easily exceed that threshold. Strategies such as holding property through the right entity, using debt, or applying a relevant estate-tax treaty can reduce the bite, but they must be designed in advance with both a tax-aware estate attorney and, where relevant, your home-country advisor.

Homestead, Wills, and Trusts Under Florida Law

Florida’s homestead protections and its rules on inheritance apply regardless of citizenship, and they can surprise newcomers. Florida’s constitution restricts how homestead property may be devised when there is a surviving spouse or minor child, and a will that ignores those limits can be partly overridden by operation of law. To be valid, a Florida will must meet the execution formalities of section 732.502, Florida Statutes, including signature in the presence of two witnesses. A revocable trust under Chapter 736 is often used to avoid probate and to keep ownership private, which matters for clients who split time between countries and cannot easily appear in a Palm Beach County courtroom.

Immigration Status Touches Beneficiaries and Guardians

Your plan should also account for the immigration status of the people you love. If you name a beneficiary who lives abroad, or a minor child whose own status is tied to a pending petition, distributions and guardianship choices need extra thought. Florida lets parents nominate a preneed guardian for minor children, and immigrant families should pair that nomination with practical instructions in case a caregiver is overseas. Because the legal and immigration questions overlap here, we coordinate with immigration counsel; for the immigration side we regularly recommend Fitenko Law and their USCIS case strategy team, since our firm focuses on estate planning and does not handle immigration matters.

Travel, Pending Cases, and the Power of Attorney

Clients frequently leave the country for consular interviews, biometrics rescheduling, or to care for family during a green-card process. A durable power of attorney and a designation of health care surrogate let a trusted person handle your Florida affairs while you are abroad, so a closing or a tax deadline does not stall. If your estate plan and your immigration case are moving at once, they should be sequenced together. A change in status can alter your marital deduction, your exemption, and even which trust structure makes sense. Couples pursuing marriage-based green cards in particular benefit from aligning the petition timeline with QDOT and beneficiary decisions.

Newcomers Need Both, Not One

An estate plan without immigration awareness can create avoidable tax and a will that Florida courts will not fully honor. An immigration case without estate planning can leave a family exposed if something happens before the process concludes. If you own property in Boca Raton and you are not yet a U.S. citizen, build your plan with an estate attorney who understands these intersections and an immigration attorney working in parallel. We are glad to handle the Florida estate side and to coordinate with your immigration counsel so the two plans fit together.

I practice probate in Boca Raton, and few questions come up more often than this one: Mom passed away, the house is in her name alone, and we have a buyer — can we just close? The honest answer is “not yet, but probably sooner than you fear.” What follows is how Florida actually handles the sale of a decedent’s real estate, with the small-estate shortcuts that often apply in Palm Beach County.

Why You Cannot Simply Sell a Deceased Owner’s House

When a Florida resident dies owning real property in their sole name, legal title does not evaporate — it passes to the heirs or devisees at the moment of death, but subject to the administration of the estate and the claims of creditors. That last clause is the catch. A title underwriter will not insure marketable title until it is satisfied that creditors have been addressed and that the person signing the deed had the legal authority to do so.

There are a few common situations where probate is not required to sell:

• Property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entireties. Title passes automatically to the surviving co-owner; a certified death certificate recorded in the public records usually clears it.
• Property in a revocable living trust. The successor trustee sells under the trust instrument, no court needed.
• Property subject to a recorded enhanced life estate (“Lady Bird”) deed. The named remainderman takes title outside probate.

If none of those apply — the deed says only the decedent’s name — you are headed to probate court to establish who can sign.

Who Has Authority to Sign the Deed

The person with selling authority is the personal representative (Florida’s term for executor or administrator), once the court issues Letters of Administration. Heirs, even the only child, have no standing to convey the property until a representative is appointed. The source of the representative’s power to sell depends on what the will says.

Power of Sale in the Will

If the will grants the personal representative a power of sale, or directs that real property be sold, the representative may generally sell without a separate court order. Florida Statutes § 733.613(1) addresses this: when the will confers the power, the representative acts under that authority. Title companies still want to see the appointment and the will, but the path is shorter.

No Power of Sale — Court Authorization

When the will is silent, or there is no will at all (intestacy), the representative must obtain court authorization to sell. Under § 733.613(2), a personal representative selling real property that has descended to the heirs needs an order of the court, with notice to interested persons, unless every interested person joins in the deed. In practice we often petition the court for authority and serve the beneficiaries, which both protects the sale and gives the buyer’s title company the comfort it requires.

The Small-Estate Shortcut: Summary Administration

This is where Boca Raton families catch a break more often than they expect. Florida offers summary administration under Florida Statutes § 735.201 when either (1) the value of the entire estate subject to administration, excluding the protected homestead, does not exceed $75,000, or (2) the decedent has been dead for more than two years. The two-year prong matters enormously for inherited real estate — a long-vacant house owned by someone who died years ago almost always qualifies regardless of value.

Summary administration does not appoint a personal representative. Instead, the petition asks the court to enter an Order of Summary Administration that directly distributes the property to the people entitled to it. Once that order is recorded, the new owners hold marketable title and can sell on the open market like any other seller. The advantages:

1. Speed. No appointment, no inventory, no accounting — often a matter of weeks rather than months.
2. Lower cost. Far fewer attorney hours and court filings than formal administration.
3. Clean chain of title. The recorded order itself becomes the conveyancing document the title examiner relies on.

The trade-off is that creditors are not formally cut off the same way a published notice to creditors operates in formal administration, so petitioners can remain liable to creditors for two years after death (up to the value received). For an estate where the house has sat for three years and there are no debts, that risk is theoretical. For a recent death with unpaid medical bills, formal administration is often the safer route. We assess this case by case.

Homestead: The Issue Everyone Underestimates

Florida’s constitutional homestead protection is a blessing for living owners and a complication after death. If the Boca Raton home was the decedent’s primary residence and they were survived by a spouse or minor child, the homestead is not a probate asset that the personal representative can freely sell. It passes outside the estate to the constitutionally protected heirs under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution and § 732.401.

This matters for two reasons. First, homestead value is excluded from the $75,000 summary-administration threshold, which is why many homes qualify for the streamlined process even when they are worth far more. Second, before you can sell, the court frequently needs to enter an order determining homestead status and identifying exactly who inherited it — especially when a surviving spouse and children from a prior marriage are involved, since the spouse takes a life estate or, by election, a one-half tenancy in common. Skip this step and you will close, only to have the title company’s underwriter unwind the deal. Sorting out homestead early is the single biggest favor you can do yourself. If you are also reviewing how the property was titled or whether a will controls, do it before you list.

Creditors, Liens, and the Sale Proceeds

Even after you have authority to sign, the property may carry baggage. Before closing, you and your attorney should run down:

• Mortgages and HELOCs — paid from proceeds at closing like any sale.
• Property tax and code-enforcement liens — common on vacant inherited homes in Palm Beach County.
• Medicaid estate recovery — if the decedent received long-term-care Medicaid, the Agency for Health Care Administration may have a claim against the estate.
• Filed creditor claims — in formal administration, valid claims are paid before beneficiaries see a dime.

In a formal administration, sale proceeds typically flow into the estate account, claims and costs are paid, and the remainder is distributed under the will or intestacy statute. In summary administration, the order directs distribution, and the new owners handle the sale and proceeds directly. Either way, do not promise heirs a number until liens are run.

Step-by-Step: Selling Probate Real Estate in Florida

1. Confirm how title was held. Pull the deed. Joint title or a trust may take you out of probate entirely.
2. Choose the right proceeding. Summary administration if the estate qualifies; formal administration if not, or if creditor cutoff matters.
3. Establish authority. Obtain Letters of Administration (formal) or an Order of Summary Administration.
4. Resolve homestead. Get a determination of homestead and the identity of the protected heirs where applicable.
5. Get authority to sell, if needed. Petition for a court order under § 733.613 when the will lacks a power of sale or the property has descended to heirs.
6. List, contract, and close. The representative (or new owners) signs the deed; the title company relies on the recorded court documents.
7. Distribute proceeds. Pay liens and claims, then distribute the balance.

When Heirs Disagree

Not every estate is harmonious. One sibling wants to sell, another wants to keep the house, a stepparent claims a homestead life estate. When co-owners cannot agree, the remedy is often a partition action under Florida Statutes Chapter 64, which can force a sale and divide the proceeds. Disputes over the validity of the will itself — or over who is entitled to inherit — can stall a sale for a year or more. If you sense a fight brewing, address it early; experienced counsel in can tell you quickly whether the dispute is worth litigating or settling. The same dynamics that play out in New York probate courts show up here in Palm Beach County, and the cost of ignoring them is a property that sits while the market moves.

It is also worth understanding how Florida’s process compares with other states. The structure of probate — and the existence of summary versus formal tracks — varies, and reviewing how the work elsewhere can clarify why Florida’s small-estate options are so valuable for selling inherited real estate quickly.

Getting Help in Boca Raton

Selling a deceased loved one’s home is rarely just a legal transaction — it is grief, family history, and money colliding. The good news is that for most South Florida families, especially where the home is the main asset and the death is not recent, summary administration makes the sale far simpler than the horror stories suggest. An attorney who handles Palm Beach County probate daily can usually tell you in one conversation which track you are on and how long it will take. For matters specifically in this region, the firm’s can walk you through the petition and the closing, and our Florida probate resources cover the related steps. When you are ready to move, reach out before you sign a listing agreement — getting authority lined up first saves weeks at the closing table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell my deceased parent's house in Florida before probate is finished?

Generally no, not on the open market with insurable title. A buyer’s title company needs proof that the seller has legal authority to convey the property. That authority comes from Letters of Administration in a formal probate or from a recorded Order of Summary Administration. The exception is property held in joint title, a trust, or under a Lady Bird deed, which can pass outside probate. In a summary administration, the court can issue its order in a matter of weeks, so the wait is often shorter than people expect.

Does the whole estate have to go through formal probate to sell one house?

Not always. If the estate (excluding protected homestead) is worth $75,000 or less, or if the decedent has been dead more than two years, Florida summary administration under Section 735.201 can distribute the property directly to the heirs without appointing a personal representative. Once the Order of Summary Administration is recorded, those heirs can sell like any other owner. This is the most common shortcut for selling long-held inherited real estate.

What is the $75,000 summary administration limit, and does the house count toward it?

Florida summary administration is available when the non-exempt estate is $75,000 or less. Importantly, protected homestead property is excluded from that calculation. So a Boca Raton home worth far more than $75,000 can still qualify if it was the decedent’s homestead, because its value does not count against the threshold. The two-year-after-death alternative qualifies an estate regardless of value.

Who signs the deed when selling estate property in Florida?

In a formal administration, the personal representative appointed by the court signs the deed, acting under a power of sale in the will or a court order under Florida Statutes Section 733.613. In a summary administration, no representative is appointed; the heirs who received the property under the court’s order sign the deed themselves once it is recorded.

What happens to the money from selling a probate house in Florida?

In formal administration, proceeds usually go into the estate account, where mortgages, tax liens, valid creditor claims, and administration costs are paid before the remaining balance is distributed to beneficiaries. In summary administration, the heirs who received title handle the sale and proceeds directly, but they should still satisfy any mortgages and liens and remain mindful of potential creditor exposure for up to two years after death.

That last sentence is the whole game, and it is why the creditor-claim phase quietly drives the rest of the probate timeline. I have sat across the table from plenty of personal representatives in Boca Raton who assumed the slow part of probate was the court paperwork. It usually isn’t. It’s the creditor period. Below is how it actually works, why the clock matters so much, and how the timing plays out differently in small estates and summary administration.

Why creditor claims sit at the center of the probate timeline

Florida probate exists, in large part, to do two things in the right order: pay the decedent’s legitimate debts and then distribute what’s left to the beneficiaries. You can’t safely do the second until you’ve handled the first. A personal representative who pays out the inheritance and only later discovers a six-figure hospital bill or a credit card judgment can be held personally responsible. So the law builds in a waiting period, and that waiting period is the creditor-claim window.

Think of the estate as having a front door that stays open for a fixed stretch of time. While it’s open, creditors can walk in and present their bills. Once it closes, latecomers are generally turned away. The personal representative’s job is to manage that door correctly, because doing it wrong is one of the few ways an honest fiduciary can end up writing a check from their own bank account.

The two engines that start the creditor clock

Two events trigger the deadlines, and you have to track them separately because they don’t run on the same calendar.

1. Publication of the Notice to Creditors

Under section 733.2121, Florida Statutes, once the court appoints a personal representative, that PR must promptly publish a Notice to Creditors in a newspaper in the county where the estate is being administered, once a week for two consecutive weeks. This publication handles the unknown creditors — the businesses and individuals the PR doesn’t know to contact directly. The clock for those creditors is three months from the date of first publication.

2. Service on known or reasonably ascertainable creditors

Publication alone isn’t enough for creditors the PR knows about or could find with reasonable diligence. The U.S. Supreme Court made that clear decades ago in Tulsa Professional Collection Services v. Pope, and Florida codified the duty. The PR must conduct a diligent search for reasonably ascertainable creditors and serve a copy of the notice on each one. A served creditor gets the later of the three-month publication window or 30 days from the date of service. That 30-day tail is the part people forget, and it’s the part that trips up DIY personal representatives.

So the operative deadline for any given creditor is the later of:

• Three months after the first publication of the Notice to Creditors, or
• 30 days after that creditor was actually served.

And sitting behind both of those is a hard outer limit: section 733.710 bars claims not filed within two years of the decedent’s death, no matter what. That two-year statute of repose is a jurisdictional backstop. Even a creditor who was never served and never saw the publication is generally cut off at the two-year mark.

What a creditor actually has to do

Filing a claim isn’t sending the PR an angry letter. A creditor must file a written Statement of Claim with the clerk of the circuit court in the probate case, in the form required by section 733.703. The statement has to identify the creditor, state the basis and amount of the claim, and indicate whether it’s due or contingent. Filing it in the court file — not merely mailing the family — is what preserves the right to be paid.

Some debts don’t require a claim at all. A properly perfected mortgage or other lien on specific property, for example, can generally be enforced against that property without filing a statement of claim, because the lien follows the asset rather than depending on the probate estate. That distinction matters a lot when a Boca Raton homestead or a financed vehicle is involved.

The personal representative’s right to object

A filed claim is not the same as a paid claim. Once a creditor files a statement of claim, the personal representative (or any interested person) can object under section 733.705. The objection must be filed within the statutory window — generally four months from the first publication of the notice, or 30 days from the timely filing of the claim, whichever is later.

Once a valid objection is served, the burden shifts to the creditor. The creditor then has a limited time — typically 30 days from service of the objection — to file an independent lawsuit to enforce the claim, or it’s barred. This is where strategy lives. A well-timed objection can force a marginal claim to either go to the expense of litigation or simply disappear. I’ve seen plenty of stale credit card claims evaporate the moment a proper objection lands, because the cost of suing exceeds what the buyer of the debt ever expected to recover.

How the timeline looks in a typical formal administration

For a standard formal administration, the creditor sequence tends to run like this:

1. Day 0: Court issues Letters of Administration appointing the personal representative.
2. Weeks 1–3: PR publishes the Notice to Creditors (two consecutive weeks) and serves known creditors. Diligent search for reasonably ascertainable creditors happens here.
3. Through Month 3: The claims window runs. Creditors file statements of claim with the clerk.
4. Month 4: Objection deadline for the PR on most claims. Disputed claims may head toward an independent action.
5. After the window closes: PR pays valid claims in the order of priority set by section 733.707 — administrative costs and attorney’s fees first, then funeral expenses, taxes, and so on down the ladder.
6. Final stage: Once debts are resolved, the PR distributes remaining assets and petitions to close the estate.

In practice, a clean formal administration with cooperative creditors often takes six to twelve months, and the creditor period is the single biggest chunk of that. Contested claims can stretch it well past a year. If you want the broader mechanics of how administration and distribution fit together, this overview of walks through the full arc, and our own Florida probate guide covers the Palm Beach County specifics.

Creditor claims in small estates and summary administration

Here’s where the Boca Raton small-estate angle becomes important, because the rules bend in your favor when the estate is modest.

Florida offers summary administration under section 735.201 when the value of the probate estate (less the value of exempt property, like Florida homestead) is $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. That second pathway is the quiet superpower of summary administration. If two years have passed since death, the section 733.710 statute of repose has already barred most creditor claims, so the estate can often be settled without a formal creditor period at all.

A few things worth knowing about creditors in summary administration:

• No personal representative is appointed. Summary administration is handled by petition and a court order distributing the assets, not by a PR managing a months-long claims window.
• Publishing notice is optional but protective. The petitioners may still publish a Notice to Creditors to start the three-month bar running. If they don’t, those who receive estate property can remain personally liable to creditors for up to two years after death, up to the value of what they received.
• Known creditors must still be served or provided for. The petition must show that creditors have been paid or otherwise dealt with. You can’t use summary administration to simply outrun a known hospital bill.
• The two-year-after-death route is the cleanest. When the decedent died more than two years ago, the creditor exposure has largely closed by operation of law, which is why so many delayed small-estate filings sail through.

For a Boca Raton family dealing with a paid-off condo, a modest bank account, and a couple of routine final bills, summary administration frequently turns what would have been a year-long ordeal into a matter of weeks. The trade-off is that you give up the structured creditor process, so if there’s any real chance of a large or disputed debt, formal administration with a proper claims bar is often the safer container. You can read more about how we approach these matters on our .

Where creditor disputes turn into litigation

Most claims get paid or quietly drop off. But some don’t, and the creditor period is where the seeds of probate litigation get planted. A contingent claim, a disputed loan between family members, or a creditor who insists they were never properly served can all push an estate toward formal proceedings. The objection-and-independent-action structure is essentially a built-in litigation track.

It’s worth noting that creditor fights are a different animal from beneficiary fights. A disgruntled heir challenging the validity of the will is a separate process with its own rules — closer to than to a creditor objection. Both can run at the same time in a busy estate, which is one more reason the timeline stretches. If you’re weighing whether your planning documents are airtight enough to avoid these fights in the first place, our wills and estate planning resources are a good starting point, and you can always reach us through our contact page.

Practical takeaways for personal representatives

If you’re administering a Boca Raton estate, three habits keep the creditor period from blowing up your timeline:

• Publish early and document the diligent search. The sooner the notice publishes, the sooner the three-month clock starts. Keep records of how you searched for creditors — that diligence is what protects you later.
• Serve known creditors properly and track the 30-day tails individually. Each served creditor has their own deadline. A spreadsheet beats your memory.
• Don’t distribute until the door is closed. Resist family pressure to hand out the inheritance before the claims period and objection deadlines have run. Early distribution is the most common way a well-meaning PR ends up personally exposed.

The creditor-claim rules can feel mechanical, but they exist to protect you as much as the creditors. Used correctly, they give the personal representative a clean cutoff and the beneficiaries a settled estate. Used carelessly, they create personal liability and drag the whole administration out. When in doubt about a deadline, a notice, or whether a particular estate qualifies for summary administration, talk to a Florida probate attorney before the clock runs — not after.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do creditors have to file a claim in a Florida probate?

A creditor generally must file a written statement of claim within the later of three months after the first publication of the Notice to Creditors or 30 days after being served with that notice. Under section 733.710, Florida Statutes, claims are barred entirely if not filed within two years of the decedent’s death, regardless of notice.

What happens if a creditor misses the Florida claims deadline?

A claim filed after the statutory window is generally barred, meaning the estate is not obligated to pay it. The personal representative or any interested person can object to a late claim, and the creditor would have to obtain a court extension for cause, which is difficult and time-limited. The two-year statute of repose is an absolute outer limit.

Do creditor claims apply in summary administration?

They can, but the process is lighter. No personal representative manages a months-long claims period. Publishing a Notice to Creditors is optional yet protective, and known creditors must still be paid or provided for. If the decedent died more than two years ago, most creditor claims are already barred by section 733.710, which is why delayed small-estate filings often proceed quickly.

Can a personal representative be personally liable for the decedent's debts?

A personal representative is not liable for the decedent’s debts simply by serving, but they can become personally responsible if they distribute estate assets to beneficiaries before properly handling timely-filed creditor claims. That is why distribution should wait until the claims period and objection deadlines have closed.

What is the order of payment for creditor claims in Florida?

Section 733.707, Florida Statutes, sets the priority. Administrative costs and attorney’s fees are paid first, followed by reasonable funeral expenses, debts and taxes with federal preference, certain medical expenses of the last illness, family allowance, and then other claims. If assets are insufficient, lower-priority creditors may receive partial or no payment.

I have handled probate matters for Boca Raton families for years, and the pattern repeats itself. The estates that end up in litigation are almost never the ones with the most money. They are the ones with the least clarity. Below is how clear planning actually heads off the disputes I see most often, and why even a modest estate that qualifies for summary administration can still turn into a courtroom brawl if the paperwork is sloppy.

What causes probate disputes in the first place

Before you can prevent a fight, you have to understand where fights come from. In Florida, the vast majority of contested estates fall into a handful of categories.

• Ambiguous or contradictory will language. A will that leaves “my personal belongings to my children equally” without defining who gets the watch, the ring, or the boat invites argument.
• Improper execution. Florida requires a will to be signed by the testator and two witnesses, all present together, under Florida Statutes § 732.502. A will signed without proper witnessing is vulnerable to challenge or outright invalid.
• Beneficiary designations that conflict with the will. Life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death accounts pass outside probate. If your will says one thing and your bank form says another, the bank form usually wins, and the disappointed heir often sues.
• Claims of undue influence or lack of capacity. When an elderly person changes a will shortly before death in favor of one child or a new caregiver, the other heirs frequently allege the testator was pressured or no longer competent.
• No will at all. When someone dies intestate, Florida’s intestacy statutes (Fla. Stat. §§ 732.101–732.111) decide who inherits, and blended families in particular often find the result deeply unfair.

Every one of these is preventable with planning that is done carefully and reviewed periodically.

Draft a will that leaves nothing to interpretation

The single most effective dispute-prevention tool is a precisely drafted will. Precision does not mean length. It means that a stranger reading the document could distribute your estate without having to guess.

Name people and assets specifically

Use full legal names. Identify accounts by institution and the last four digits. If you want a particular person to receive a particular item, say so, and consider a separate written memorandum for tangible personal property, which Florida expressly permits under Fla. Stat. § 732.515. That statute lets you list who gets the jewelry, furniture, or collectibles on a signed, dated list referenced in your will, and you can update the list without re-executing the entire will.

Address the “what if” scenarios

Good drafting anticipates death out of order. What happens if a named beneficiary predeceases you? Does their share pass to their children, or is it divided among the survivors? Florida’s anti-lapse statute (Fla. Stat. § 732.603) provides a default, but you should state your own intent rather than rely on a default that may not match your wishes.

Choose a personal representative who can actually serve

Florida limits who may serve as personal representative. A non-resident generally must be a close relative to qualify (Fla. Stat. § 733.304). Naming an out-of-state friend who is ineligible creates a vacancy, and vacancies invite competing petitions. Name a qualified primary and at least one alternate.

Coordinate beneficiary designations with the rest of the plan

This is the gap that surprises families most. Your will controls only the assets that pass through probate. It has no power over an asset that already names a beneficiary. If your IRA still lists an ex-spouse because you never updated the form, that ex-spouse inherits the IRA regardless of what your will says.

Before you consider your plan finished, pull every account that allows a beneficiary designation and confirm it matches your overall intent:

1. Life insurance policies
2. 401(k), IRA, and other retirement accounts
3. Payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts
4. Annuities
5. Any account with a named “in trust for” beneficiary

A consistent, coordinated plan removes the contradictions that opportunistic heirs exploit. This kind of coordination is one of , and it is far easier to solve at the kitchen table than in a courtroom.

Use a revocable living trust to keep assets out of probate entirely

The most reliable way to avoid a probate dispute is to avoid probate. A properly funded revocable living trust holds title to your assets during your life and distributes them privately after death, without court supervision. Because there is no public probate file and no formal notice to disgruntled relatives, a trust dramatically narrows the opportunity to contest.

The word that matters is funded. A trust only governs the assets actually retitled into it. I regularly see beautifully drafted trusts that control nothing because the family never moved the house, the brokerage account, or the bank account into the trust’s name. An unfunded trust is a dispute waiting to happen, because those assets fall back into probate under the will, or worse, under intestacy.

Trusts are not only for large estates. For Florida residents who own real property or want privacy and a faster transfer, a trust often makes sense even at modest asset levels. If you also own property in another state, a trust avoids a second ancillary probate there. For complex estate administration questions, the team at Morgan Legal’s practice handles these coordinated multi-state scenarios regularly.

Small estates and summary administration: clarity still matters

Boca Raton families often assume that a small estate is immune from conflict. It is not. Florida offers a streamlined path called summary administration under Fla. Stat. § 735.201, available when the estate’s non-exempt assets are worth $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. There is also disposition without administration (Fla. Stat. § 735.301) for very small estates consisting only of exempt property and limited final expenses.

Summary administration is faster and cheaper because there is no personal representative appointed and no extended creditor period. But it requires the petitioning beneficiaries to agree, and it requires the assets and heirs to be clearly identified. When siblings disagree about who is entitled to what, or when an unknown creditor surfaces, even a $40,000 estate can stall. The cleaner your documents, the more likely your heirs qualify for summary administration instead of being forced into full formal administration.

How clear planning keeps a small estate in summary administration

• An unambiguous will lets the heirs file a joint petition without disputing shares.
• A current list of assets prevents the surprise account that pushes the estate over the $75,000 threshold.
• Properly designated exempt assets, such as homestead and a vehicle, can pass outside the calculation entirely.

If you want to understand how these thresholds apply to your situation, our Florida probate overview walks through each administration type, and Morgan Legal’s can evaluate whether your estate qualifies.

Protect against undue-influence and capacity challenges

If you intend to leave someone out, or to favor one heir over another, expect the disfavored relatives to look for grounds to contest. You can build a record that defeats those challenges.

• Execute the will when your capacity is not in question. Do not wait until a hospital bedside. Plan early, while no one can credibly argue you were impaired.
• Use independent counsel. Have the lawyer, not the favored beneficiary, arrange and supervise the signing.
• Document your reasons. A contemporaneous note or letter explaining why you made an unusual choice can undercut a later claim of confusion or coercion.
• Consider a no-contest provision. Florida does not enforce in terrorem clauses (Fla. Stat. § 732.517), so these carry no penalty here, which makes the other safeguards all the more important.

Keep the plan current

An estate plan is not a one-time event. Marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a move to Florida, the sale of a business, or the death of a named beneficiary can all break a plan that was perfect when signed. Florida law even revokes certain gifts to a former spouse automatically upon divorce (Fla. Stat. § 732.507), which can produce unintended results if you never revisit the documents. Review your plan every three to five years and after any major life change.

When you are ready to put a clean, dispute-resistant plan in place, start with current wills and trust documents and a coordinated review of every beneficiary designation. If you would like a Boca Raton attorney to look at your situation, you can contact our office to schedule a consultation.

Frequently asked questions

Can a will be contested in Florida even if it is properly signed?

Yes. Proper execution defeats challenges based on improper witnessing, but a will can still be contested on grounds of undue influence, lack of testamentary capacity, fraud, or revocation. Clear drafting, independent counsel at signing, and contemporaneous documentation of your reasons are the best defenses.

Does a small estate that qualifies for summary administration avoid disputes automatically?

No. Summary administration under Florida Statutes § 735.201 is faster, but it generally requires the beneficiaries to agree and the assets to be clearly identified. Disagreement among heirs or an unexpected creditor can push even a small estate into full formal administration.

What is the difference between a will and a revocable living trust for avoiding disputes?

A will is administered through public probate court, where heirs receive formal notice and have an opening to contest. A properly funded revocable trust transfers assets privately, without probate, which narrows the chance and the forum for a dispute. The key is funding the trust by retitling assets into its name.

How often should I update my Florida estate plan?

Review it every three to five years and after any major life event such as marriage, divorce, a new child, a move to Florida, or the death of a beneficiary or personal representative. Florida law revokes some gifts to a former spouse on divorce, so an outdated plan can produce results you never intended.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a will be contested in Florida even if it is properly signed?

Yes. Proper execution defeats challenges based on improper witnessing, but a will can still be contested on grounds of undue influence, lack of testamentary capacity, fraud, or revocation. Clear drafting, independent counsel at signing, and contemporaneous documentation of your reasons are the best defenses.

Does a small estate that qualifies for summary administration avoid disputes automatically?

No. Summary administration under Florida Statutes § 735.201 is faster, but it generally requires the beneficiaries to agree and the assets to be clearly identified. Disagreement among heirs or an unexpected creditor can push even a small estate into full formal administration.

What is the difference between a will and a revocable living trust for avoiding disputes?

A will is administered through public probate court, where heirs receive formal notice and have an opening to contest. A properly funded revocable trust transfers assets privately, without probate, which narrows the chance and the forum for a dispute. The key is funding the trust by retitling assets into its name.

How often should I update my Florida estate plan?

Review it every three to five years and after any major life event such as marriage, divorce, a new child, a move to Florida, or the death of a beneficiary or personal representative. Florida law revokes some gifts to a former spouse on divorce, so an outdated plan can produce results you never intended.

In Palm Beach County, that means the Probate Division of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. If you are a family member in Boca Raton who suspects a last-minute will, a sudden change of beneficiary, or a caregiver who walked away with the house, this article explains what you actually have to prove, who is allowed to raise the claim, and why timing matters more than most people expect.

What Counts as Probate Fraud in Florida

Fraud in the probate context is narrower than the everyday meaning of the word. Florida courts generally recognize two species, and it helps to keep them separate because they require different proof.

• Fraud in the execution. The decedent signed a document without knowing it was a will, or believed it said one thing when it said another. The classic example is the elderly parent who is told “sign here, it’s just the insurance renewal,” when the page is actually a new will.
• Fraud in the inducement. The decedent knew it was a will but was lied to about a material fact that caused the disposition. For instance, a child falsely tells a parent that a sibling has died, stolen from the estate, or abandoned the family, and the parent disinherits that sibling in reliance on the lie.

To prevail on a fraud claim, the challenger usually must show a false statement of material fact, knowledge that it was false, an intent to deceive the decedent, the decedent’s actual reliance on it, and a resulting disposition that would not otherwise have been made. That is a demanding chain. Many cases that feel like “fraud” to the family are, in law, really undue influence cases, which is why experienced counsel often pleads both.

Undue Influence: The Heart of Most Florida Will Contests

Undue influence is the more frequently litigated of the two, and Florida has a well-developed framework for it. The Florida Supreme Court’s decision in In re Estate of Carpenter remains the touchstone. The core idea is that a will is invalid when a wrongdoer’s influence amounts to “over-persuasion, duress, force, coercion, or artful or fraudulent contrivances” to such a degree that the decedent’s own free agency and willpower are destroyed. Mere affection, persuasion, or even nagging is not enough; the influence must overpower the mind.

The Carpenter Presumption and the Burden Shift

Because undue influence happens behind closed doors, Florida law gives challengers a critical tool: a rebuttable presumption. Under Florida Statutes section 733.107, the burden of proof is on the party contesting the will, but once that party establishes the elements that raise the presumption of undue influence, the burden shifts to the will’s proponent to come forward with a reasonable explanation. The presumption arises when the challenger shows three things together:

1. A person who is a substantial beneficiary under the will;
2. who occupied a confidential or fiduciary relationship with the decedent; and
3. who was active in procuring the will.

Carpenter went on to list non-exclusive factors that courts weigh when deciding whether the beneficiary was “active in procurement.” These include whether the beneficiary was present when the will was executed, was present when the decedent expressed a desire to make the will, recommended or selected the attorney who drafted it, knew the contents before execution, gave instructions to the drafting lawyer, secured the witnesses, and kept the will after it was signed. No single factor is decisive. A surviving child who drove a parent to the lawyer’s office is not automatically a wrongdoer, but a child who picked the lawyer, sat in on the meeting, dictated the terms, and then locked the original in a safe-deposit box is a very different picture.

Who Can Bring a Claim, and When

Only an “interested person” has standing to contest a will in Florida. That typically means an heir who would inherit if the challenged will were thrown out, or a beneficiary under a prior will. A neighbor or distant friend who simply feels the result is unfair has no standing.

Timing is where good claims go to die. Once the personal representative serves formal notice of administration under Florida Statutes section 733.212, an interested person generally has three months from the date of service to file objections to the validity of the will, to the venue, or to the jurisdiction of the court. Miss that window and the objection is usually barred. This short, hard deadline is the single most important reason to consult a probate litigation attorney the moment you receive estate paperwork, rather than waiting to “see how it plays out.”

In Terrorem Clauses Do Not Protect Wrongdoers

Many wills contain a “no-contest” or in terrorem clause threatening to disinherit anyone who challenges the document. Florida is friendlier to challengers than most states on this point. Under Florida Statutes section 732.517, a provision in a will purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the will is unenforceable. You will not lose your inheritance simply for raising a good-faith claim of fraud or undue influence, which removes a common scare tactic from the equation.

The Evidence That Wins These Cases

Probate fraud and undue influence are proven by circumstance far more often than by a confession. After years of handling these matters, the patterns that move a judge are remarkably consistent.

• Medical records. Dementia diagnoses, hospitalizations, medication lists, and physician notes establish the decedent’s vulnerability and weakened mental state near the signing date.
• Isolation evidence. Phone logs, neighbor testimony, and changed locks showing the beneficiary cut the decedent off from other family.
• Financial records. Bank statements revealing large gifts, new joint accounts, added authorized signers, or property deeded over shortly before death.
• The drafting file. The estate-planning attorney’s notes, intake forms, and billing entries, which often reveal who actually gave the instructions.
• Suspicious timing. A will rewritten days before death, or right after a medical crisis, while one beneficiary controlled all access.

A capacity challenge under Florida Statutes section 732.501, which requires that a testator be of “sound mind” and at least 18, frequently rides alongside the undue influence claim, because the same medical proof supports both theories.

Where Small Estates and Summary Administration Fit In

Boca Raton sees a high volume of modest estates, and many qualify for summary administration under Florida Statutes section 735.201, available when the non-exempt estate is worth $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. Families sometimes assume that a small or summary-administration estate is too minor to be worth a fraud or undue influence fight. That is a mistake. The validity of the will controls who receives the property regardless of the dollar amount, and a forged or coerced will can be challenged inside a summary administration just as it can in formal administration.

The practical wrinkle is speed. Summary administration moves quickly and there is no personal representative appointed to investigate, so an interested person who suspects wrongdoing must act fast and may need to ask the court to convert the matter to formal administration so that discovery tools become available. If you are weighing whether your situation belongs in summary administration at all, our overview of Florida probate procedures walks through the thresholds, and you can compare the document itself against the requirements on our wills and estate documents page.

Remedies When a Claim Succeeds

If the court finds fraud or undue influence, it can revoke the offending will and admit a valid prior will instead, or, if none exists, distribute the estate under Florida’s intestacy statutes. Where assets passed outside probate, through a coerced deed, a manipulated beneficiary form, or a hijacked joint account, courts can impose a constructive trust or order the property returned. In egregious cases involving a caregiver or fiduciary, the conduct may also expose the wrongdoer to claims for exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

These remedies are powerful, but they are only available to a challenger who files on time and builds the evidentiary record early. The interplay between probate litigation and the underlying estate administration is intricate, and it varies by state. For readers comparing jurisdictions, Morgan Legal’s discussion of the and its explainer on the illustrate how the same core concepts play out under a different statutory regime. Within Florida, the firm’s page outlines local procedure in more depth.

What to Do If You Suspect a Tainted Will

If something about a Boca Raton estate does not add up, treat it as time-sensitive. Preserve every document you have, write down dates and conversations while they are fresh, request the decedent’s medical and financial records, and avoid signing any waiver or receipt the personal representative sends you until a lawyer has reviewed it. Those waivers can quietly extinguish the very rights you would need to bring a claim. Then speak with probate counsel promptly, because the objection clock starts running the day formal notice is served. You can reach our office through the contact page to discuss your options before the deadline closes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to contest a will for fraud or undue influence in Florida?

Once the personal representative serves formal notice of administration under Florida Statutes section 733.212, an interested person generally has three months from the date of service to file objections to the will’s validity. Missing this deadline usually bars the claim, so act quickly after receiving any estate paperwork.

Who is allowed to challenge a will in a Florida probate case?

Only an ‘interested person’ has standing, typically an heir who would inherit if the challenged will were set aside, or a beneficiary named under a prior valid will. Someone who simply feels the outcome is unfair, with no inheritance interest, cannot bring the claim.

What makes a presumption of undue influence arise under Florida law?

Under section 733.107 and the Carpenter case, the presumption arises when the challenger shows a substantial beneficiary who held a confidential or fiduciary relationship with the decedent and was active in procuring the will. Once established, the burden shifts to the will’s proponent to explain.

Can I challenge a will if the estate is in summary administration?

Yes. A small estate that qualifies for summary administration under section 735.201 (generally $75,000 or less, or where death occurred more than two years ago) can still be challenged for fraud or undue influence. You may need to ask the court to convert it to formal administration so discovery tools are available.

Will a no-contest clause cause me to lose my inheritance if I sue?

No. Under Florida Statutes section 732.517, a provision penalizing an interested person for contesting a will is unenforceable. You will not forfeit your inheritance for bringing a good-faith fraud or undue influence claim.

I have handled Boca Raton estates where a grieving spouse assumed everything would simply transfer, only to learn months later that a six-month clock had quietly run out. This article walks through when action is genuinely required, what those deadlines are, and where a surviving spouse can often avoid full formal probate altogether.

When a Florida Spouse Actually Needs to Open Probate

Not every death triggers probate. Florida probate is only necessary for assets titled in the decedent’s sole name that have no beneficiary designation and no surviving co-owner. A surviving spouse frequently inherits a large share of the estate outside of court, which is why so many of our Boca Raton cases qualify for streamlined handling.

Assets that usually bypass probate entirely include:

• Property held as tenants by the entirety — a form of joint ownership available only to married couples, which passes to the survivor by operation of law.
• Bank and brokerage accounts with a pay-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) designation naming the spouse.
• Life insurance, IRAs, and 401(k)s with the spouse named as beneficiary.
• The Florida homestead, which descends under its own constitutional rules rather than through the residuary estate.

When the only probate assets are modest — say, a single account in the decedent’s name, or personal property — the spouse may not need formal administration at all. That is the heart of our practice: getting families through the smallest viable process rather than a year of litigation-style filings.

Summary Administration: The Spouse’s Fast Track

Under Florida Statutes § 735.201, an estate may qualify for summary administration if the non-exempt probate assets total $75,000 or less, or if the decedent has been dead for more than two years. A surviving spouse who is the sole beneficiary can often petition for summary administration and receive an order distributing assets in a matter of weeks rather than months. There is no personal representative appointed, no 90-day creditor period to babysit, and far lower cost.

The catch is that summary administration shifts some creditor risk onto the recipients. If a known creditor is not paid or served, that creditor may pursue the spouse directly after distribution. Before filing, we make a diligent search for creditors and decide whether to serve them. For estates that clearly fit, the summary route is the most spouse-friendly tool Florida offers. You can read more about the broader process on our Florida probate overview.

Disposition Without Administration

For very small estates, Florida allows an even lighter path. Under § 735.301, “disposition of personal property without administration” lets a survivor recover assets when the only property left does not exceed the amount of final illness and funeral expenses (up to a statutory cap) plus exempt property. A surviving spouse who paid the funeral bill can sometimes be reimbursed directly from a small account with a short petition and no formal case. This is genuinely a do-it-with-help procedure, and it is underused.

The Deadlines a Surviving Spouse Cannot Miss

Where Florida probate punishes inaction is in the spousal elections. These are valuable rights, but each one expires. Miss the window and the right is generally gone, regardless of how unfair the result feels.

The Elective Share — Roughly a Six-Month Window

Florida gives a surviving spouse the right to claim an elective share equal to 30% of the elective estate under § 732.201 and following. The elective estate is broad: it reaches far beyond the probate assets to include certain jointly held property, POD accounts, revocable trust assets, and even some transfers made during the marriage. This prevents a spouse from being disinherited by careful titling.

The election must be filed by the earlier of:

1. Six months after service of the notice of administration on the spouse, or
2. Two years after the date of death.

That six-month trigger is the one that catches people. The clock starts when the notice is served, not when the spouse “feels ready.” A spouse who is happy with the will usually does not elect. But when a will or trust steers assets to children from a prior marriage and leaves the survivor short, the elective share is the spouse’s strongest remedy — and it requires an affirmative, timely filing. New York handles disinheritance differently, and Morgan Legal’s discussion of is a useful contrast for spouses comparing the two states.

Homestead Election — Within Six Months

Florida’s homestead protections are a constitutional matter and create a distinct decision. When a homestead passes to a spouse and descendants, the default outcome is a life estate for the spouse with a remainder to the descendants. Under § 732.401(2), the surviving spouse may instead elect to take an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common. That election must be made within six months of the decedent’s death and recorded as the statute directs. The choice has real consequences for who pays taxes, insurance, and upkeep, and whether the home can be sold — so it should never be made on autopilot.

Family Allowance and Exempt Property

Two more protections help a spouse keep the household running while the estate is pending:

• Family allowance (§ 732.403): up to $18,000 payable to the surviving spouse and lineal dependents for support during administration. It is not charged against the spouse’s inheritance.
• Exempt property (§ 732.402): household furnishings up to a statutory value, two motor vehicles, and certain other items pass to the spouse free of creditor claims. The claim for exempt property must be filed within the time allowed — generally within four months of the notice of administration or 40 days after termination of any will contest.

These are easy to overlook precisely because they are not large dollar figures, but a spouse who fails to claim exempt property can see those items pulled into the estate to satisfy creditors.

Pretermitted Spouses and Marriages After the Will

A common scenario in second marriages: the decedent signed a will before marrying the surviving spouse and never updated it. Under § 732.301, a spouse omitted from a pre-marriage will may take an intestate share — roughly what they would have received had there been no will — unless the will provided for the spouse, the omission was intentional and shown on the will’s face, or a valid prenuptial waiver exists. This is a powerful default protection, but asserting it still requires the spouse to step forward in the probate proceeding rather than assuming the court will act on its own.

When the Spouse Should Serve as Personal Representative

If formal administration is necessary, the surviving spouse generally has first priority to serve as personal representative under § 733.301, assuming the will does not name someone else and the spouse is qualified. Serving has advantages — control over the timeline, direct access to information — but it also carries fiduciary duties to creditors and other beneficiaries. In a blended family where children from a prior marriage are also beneficiaries, those duties can become a source of conflict. The administrative tasks involved overlap heavily with the issues Morgan Legal outlines in its guide to the , many of which apply equally in Florida.

For spouses who would rather not manage creditors and accounting, declining the role and letting a neutral party or another beneficiary serve is perfectly acceptable — and often the smarter call when relationships are strained.

A Practical Order of Operations

When a spouse comes to us shortly after a death in Palm Beach County, we generally work through the questions in this order:

1. Inventory the assets and how they are titled. This determines whether probate is needed at all.
2. Confirm the homestead’s status and calendar the six-month election window.
3. Decide on summary versus formal administration based on asset value and creditor exposure.
4. Calendar every spousal election — elective share, exempt property, family allowance — the day we are retained.
5. Evaluate any pretermitted-spouse or elective-share claim if the will shortchanges the survivor.

Done in that sequence, most surviving spouses in our experience either avoid formal probate entirely or move through summary administration quickly, while still preserving the elections that protect them. If you want to compare your situation against a checklist before we talk, our pages on wills and estate documents and the firm’s are good starting points, and you can always reach our office through the contact page.

The Bottom Line for Surviving Spouses

Florida law is, on balance, generous to surviving spouses — the elective share, homestead protections, family allowance, and exempt property exist precisely to keep a spouse from being left out in the cold. But generosity with a deadline attached is only useful to those who act. The single most important step after a spouse’s death is to identify, in writing, every clock that may be running. In a small or summary-administration estate, that often takes one consultation. Waiting six months to “deal with it later” is how good rights quietly disappear.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a surviving spouse have to claim the elective share in Florida?

A surviving spouse must file the elective share election by the earlier of six months after being served with the notice of administration, or two years after the date of death, under Florida Statutes § 732.201 and following. The elective share is 30% of the elective estate, which includes many non-probate assets. Because the six-month trigger starts when the notice is served, spouses should calendar the deadline immediately.

Can a surviving spouse avoid full probate in Florida?

Often, yes. Assets held as tenants by the entirety, accounts with pay-on-death or transfer-on-death designations, and life insurance or retirement accounts naming the spouse pass outside probate. When the remaining probate assets are $75,000 or less, or the decedent died more than two years ago, the spouse may use summary administration under § 735.201, a much faster and cheaper process than formal administration.

What is the Florida homestead election for a surviving spouse?

When a homestead passes to a spouse and descendants, the default result is a life estate for the spouse with a remainder to the descendants. Under § 732.401(2), the spouse may instead elect an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common. This election must be made within six months of death and recorded as required, and it affects who controls, maintains, and can sell the home.

Does a surviving spouse automatically inherit if there is no will?

Under Florida’s intestacy rules, a surviving spouse inherits the entire estate if the decedent left no descendants, or if all descendants are shared children of the couple. If the decedent had children from another relationship, the spouse and those children typically split the intestate estate. These shares apply only to probate assets; jointly titled and beneficiary-designated property passes separately.

What protections help a spouse pay bills while probate is pending?

Florida provides a family allowance of up to $18,000 for the spouse and dependents under § 732.403, plus exempt property under § 732.402, which includes household furnishings up to a statutory value and two motor vehicles free of most creditor claims. The exempt property claim has its own deadline, generally within four months of the notice of administration, so it should be filed promptly.

I have spent years walking Palm Beach County families through the loss of a parent or spouse, and the single most common thing I hear in a first call is: “I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.” If that is you, take a breath. This guide explains exactly how to vet a probate lawyer in Florida, what the process actually requires, and the questions that separate a good fit from an expensive mismatch.

What a Florida probate attorney actually does

Probate is the court-supervised process of transferring a deceased person’s assets to the people entitled to them and settling any debts along the way. In Florida, probate runs through the circuit court in the county where the decedent lived. For Boca Raton, that is the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, with the probate division based in West Palm Beach.

A probate attorney’s job is to file the petition, get the personal representative appointed, give notice to creditors, inventory the assets, handle claims, and finally distribute what remains. Florida is one of the states where the personal representative in a formal administration is generally required by court rule to be represented by an attorney (Florida Probate Rule 5.030), so this is rarely a do-it-yourself situation.

But here is what many families miss: not every estate needs the full, formal version. Florida law offers lighter paths, and choosing a lawyer who actually uses them can save you months and thousands of dollars.

The three doors in Florida probate

• Formal administration — the full process, used for larger or contested estates, or when a personal representative needs broad authority. Governed by Chapter 733, Florida Statutes.
• Summary administration — available when the estate’s non-exempt assets are valued at $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. This is authorized under Florida Statutes §735.201 and is faster and cheaper because there is no appointed personal representative managing the estate over time.
• Disposition of personal property without administration — a narrow, no-formal-probate option under §735.301 for very small estates, typically when assets are limited to exempt property plus enough to cover final medical and funeral expenses.

This is the editorial heart of our practice. A lawyer who reflexively opens a formal administration on a $60,000 estate may be doing more work than the law requires, and you may be paying for it. When you interview attorneys, ask directly which door fits your situation and why.

Start with the credential that is not optional

Anyone you hire must be an active member in good standing of The Florida Bar. This is non-negotiable and easy to verify. Before your first paid consultation:

1. Search the lawyer’s name on the official Florida Bar member directory at floridabar.org to confirm an active license and check for any public discipline history.
2. Note how long they have been admitted. Probate has rhythms and local court customs that take years to internalize.
3. Confirm they actually file in your circuit. A lawyer admitted in Florida can technically practice statewide, but someone who regularly appears before the Palm Beach County probate division knows the local clerk’s quirks and the judges’ preferences.

Board certification in Wills, Trusts and Estates is a strong plus but not a requirement. Plenty of excellent probate lawyers are not board certified; what matters more is volume and recency of probate work.

How probate attorneys charge in Florida

Fees are where families get surprised, so understand them before you sign anything. Florida law actually addresses attorney compensation in probate directly. Under Florida Statutes §733.6171, there is a statutory schedule that is presumed reasonable for ordinary services in a formal administration, calculated as a percentage of the estate’s compensable value. For example, the statute treats 3% of the first $1 million as a reasonable fee for ordinary services. That is a default, not a mandate.

You generally have three fee structures to consider:

• Statutory percentage fee. Common in formal administration. Predictable but can be expensive for large, simple estates where the work does not scale with the asset value.
• Flat fee. Often the smartest choice for summary administration and small estates. You know the total cost up front. Many summary administration matters in Florida are handled this way.
• Hourly billing. Typical for contested matters and litigation, where the work is genuinely unpredictable.

A trustworthy lawyer will tell you which structure they propose, put it in a written engagement letter, and explain what “extraordinary services” (like a will contest or sale of real property) could cost on top. If someone is vague about money in the first meeting, that vagueness usually does not improve later.

The questions that actually reveal fit

A consultation is a two-way interview. Bring these questions and watch how the lawyer responds. You are listening for plain answers, not jargon.

1. “Does my situation even require formal probate?”

If the honest answer is summary administration or disposition without administration, a good lawyer will say so, even though it means a smaller fee for them. That candor is the single best signal you can get.

2. “How many probate matters do you handle in Palm Beach County in a typical month?”

You want someone for whom this is routine. A lawyer who files probate weekly will move faster and make fewer avoidable errors than one who dabbles.

3. “Who will actually do my case?”

At many firms, a paralegal does most of the filing under attorney supervision. That is fine and normal, but you should know who answers your emails and whether an attorney reviews every filing.

4. “What is your fee, in writing, and what could increase it?”

Listen for a specific number or structure plus a clear list of contingencies.

5. “What is the realistic timeline?”

A straightforward summary administration in Florida can sometimes close in a few weeks to a couple of months. A formal administration usually runs at least five to six months, partly because Florida requires a creditor claim period: creditors generally have three months from first publication of the notice to creditors to file claims under §733.702. Any lawyer promising a fast formal probate is overpromising.

Red flags to walk away from

• Guaranteed outcomes or guaranteed timelines. Courts and creditors do not run on a lawyer’s promises.
• Pressure to sign immediately. Grief makes people vulnerable; ethical lawyers do not exploit that.
• No written engagement letter. Florida lawyers should document the scope and fee. If they will not, leave.
• Pushing formal administration when the numbers clearly support summary administration. Always ask why the bigger process is necessary.
• Poor responsiveness during the sales phase. If you cannot get a callback before they are hired, imagine the silence afterward.

Local experience matters more than a flashy website

Probate is intensely procedural and somewhat local. The personal representative must usually be a Florida resident, or otherwise a close relative of the decedent, under §733.304. The court has specific expectations about oath forms, bonds, and the order of filings. A lawyer who knows the Palm Beach County probate division will anticipate what the clerk wants and avoid the back-and-forth that delays distribution to your family.

This is also why national firms with deep estate-administration benches can be valuable when an estate crosses state lines. If your loved one owned property in New York and Florida, you may face ancillary administration in one state. Firms experienced in multi-state estates, including handling alongside Florida matters, can coordinate both so you are not hiring two disconnected attorneys who never speak to each other.

The same is true when a dispute erupts. If heirs are fighting, or someone questions the validity of the will, you have moved from administration into litigation. That is a different skill set entirely. Look for a team that handles , because the lawyer who quietly files uncontested probate is not always the lawyer you want in a courtroom brawl. For Florida-specific representation, our colleagues handle with the same depth.

What to bring to your first probate consultation

You will get far more out of the meeting, and a more accurate fee quote, if you arrive prepared. Try to gather:

• The original will and any codicils, if one exists.
• The death certificate (a certified copy).
• A rough list of assets and their approximate values, noting which were jointly owned or had named beneficiaries.
• A list of known debts and recent bills.
• The names and addresses of the beneficiaries and closest relatives.

That asset list is what lets a lawyer tell you immediately whether you are looking at summary administration, formal administration, or no probate at all. Many assets, like jointly titled homes, payable-on-death accounts, and properly designated retirement accounts, pass outside probate entirely. A good first meeting often shrinks the problem dramatically.

When you might not need probate at all

Before you hire anyone, understand that probate is not always required. Assets that typically avoid it include property held in a living trust, accounts with valid beneficiary designations, and real estate owned as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenancy by the entireties between spouses. If you want to keep your own family out of this process in the future, that is a planning conversation worth having; our overview of Florida wills and estate planning and our Florida probate basics page walk through both sides. When you are ready to talk specifics, reach out through our contact page and we will tell you honestly which door fits.

The bottom line

Choosing a Florida probate attorney comes down to three things: verify the credential, understand the fee in writing, and confirm real, recent experience with your specific kind of estate, especially the smaller summary-administration cases that make up the bulk of Boca Raton probate. The lawyer who tells you that you need less than you feared is usually the one worth hiring.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a lawyer for probate in Florida?

In a formal administration, yes. Florida Probate Rule 5.030 generally requires the personal representative to be represented by an attorney unless they are the sole interested person. Summary administration and disposition without administration are simpler, but most families still benefit from a lawyer because the filings are technical and errors cause delays.

How much does a probate attorney cost in Florida?

It depends on the estate and fee structure. Florida Statutes 733.6171 sets a percentage-based fee that is presumed reasonable for ordinary services in formal administration (for example, 3% of the first $1 million). Many summary administration cases are handled for a flat fee instead, and contested matters are usually billed hourly. Always get the fee in a written engagement letter.

What is summary administration in Florida?

Summary administration is a faster, lower-cost form of probate under Florida Statutes 735.201. It is available when the value of the non-exempt estate assets is $75,000 or less, or when the person has been deceased for more than two years. There is no personal representative managing the estate over time, which is what makes it quicker.

How long does probate take in Boca Raton, Florida?

A straightforward summary administration can sometimes close in a few weeks to a couple of months. A formal administration usually takes at least five to six months, in part because creditors generally have three months from the first publication of the notice to creditors to file claims under Florida Statutes 733.702.

How do I verify a Florida probate lawyer is legitimate?

Search their name in the official Florida Bar member directory at floridabar.org to confirm an active license and review any public discipline history. Then confirm they regularly file probate in your county’s circuit court, which for Boca Raton is the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County.

That distinction matters a great deal in Palm Beach County, where many of the estates we handle in Boca Raton are modest enough to qualify for summary administration. Knowing which track an estate falls on tells you, up front, whether you are facing a full fiduciary accounting or almost none of it. Below is how an experienced Florida probate lawyer thinks through these requirements.

The Florida Probate Inventory: What It Is and When It’s Due

The inventory is the foundation document of a formal estate administration. Under Florida Statutes § 733.604 and Florida Probate Rule 5.340, the personal representative must file a verified inventory listing the decedent’s property “with reasonable detail,” and stating the estimated fair market value of each item as of the date of death. The deadline is 60 days after the court issues letters of administration.

A few features of the inventory trip people up, so it’s worth slowing down on them:

• Date-of-death value, not today’s value. If a brokerage account held $200,000 the day the decedent died, that is the figure that goes on the inventory, even if the market has moved since. The date-of-death valuation also drives the basis step-up for income-tax purposes, so it is not a place to guess.
• Only probate assets. Jointly held property with rights of survivorship, accounts with valid pay-on-death or transfer-on-death designations, and life insurance paid to a named beneficiary generally pass outside probate and do not belong on the estate inventory. The homestead is its own special category and is often listed separately or addressed in a petition to determine homestead status.
• It must be verified. The personal representative signs under oath. An inventory is not an estimate-by-feel exercise; if an asset’s value is uncertain, get an appraisal.
• It is largely confidential. Unlike most probate filings, the inventory is not freely available to the public. Under § 733.604, inspection is generally limited to the clerk, the personal representative and their attorney, and other interested persons.

If an interested person asks how a particular value was reached, the personal representative has to explain the method behind the number, whether it came from an appraisal, a brokerage statement, a Kelley Blue Book figure, or a comparable-sales analysis on real estate. That transparency requirement is one reason it pays to document valuations as you go rather than reconstruct them later.

Amended and Supplementary Inventories

Estates are rarely tidy. A safe-deposit box turns up. An old annuity surfaces. When new assets appear, or when a listed value turns out to be wrong, the personal representative files an amended or supplementary inventory rather than ignoring the change. The duty to give an accurate picture is ongoing, not a one-time box to check at day 60.

The Estate Accounting: Tracking Every Dollar In and Out

Where the inventory is a snapshot, the accounting is the movie. Florida Probate Rule 5.346 governs the form and content of fiduciary accountings, and it is strict. The rule follows uniform fiduciary accounting principles, which means the accounting is not a casual list of checks written; it is a structured financial statement that a judge and the beneficiaries can audit line by line.

A compliant Florida probate accounting separates principal from income and reconciles back to the inventory. In practice, it is organized into schedules:

1. Starting assets — the inventory carried forward at its values.
2. Receipts — income and other money coming in, such as dividends, interest, rent, and refunds.
3. Disbursements — money paid out: funeral expenses, creditor claims, taxes, attorney and personal representative fees, maintenance on real property.
4. Distributions — what went to beneficiaries.
5. Capital transactions and adjustments — gains or losses on the sale of assets, shown at both cost and sale price.
6. Assets on hand at the end of the period — what remains, which must mathematically tie out.

The discipline here is that everything has to balance. Beginning assets, plus receipts, minus disbursements and distributions, adjusted for gains and losses, must equal the assets on hand. When that equation doesn’t close, it usually means a transaction was misclassified or a receipt was missed, and a beneficiary’s attorney will find it.

The Final Accounting and Closing the Estate

Before a formal estate is discharged, the personal representative files a final accounting covering the entire administration, along with a petition for discharge and a plan of distribution. Beneficiaries get notice and a window to object. If no one objects, or after objections are resolved, the court enters an order of discharge and the personal representative’s job ends. Skipping or papering over the final accounting is one of the more common ways a personal representative gets personally exposed, because the accounting is what proves the estate was handled honestly.

The duty underneath all of this comes from Florida Statutes § 733.602, which makes the personal representative a fiduciary held to the standards of care that apply to trustees. That is a high bar. A personal representative is expected to settle and distribute the estate efficiently and in the best interests of the people who have a stake in it, including creditors, and the accounting is how that stewardship is demonstrated.

Waiving the Accounting by Agreement

Florida law lets the beneficiaries of an estate waive a formal accounting if they all agree in writing. In a harmonious family where everyone trusts the personal representative, a waiver can save real time and expense. But a waiver is not a license to cut corners. The personal representative still owes fiduciary duties, still has to be able to show where the money went, and still bears the risk if a beneficiary later claims they were misled. We generally advise keeping the underlying records in accounting-ready form even when the beneficiaries waive, precisely so the fiduciary can defend the administration if relationships sour.

Summary Administration: When the Inventory and Accounting Largely Disappear

This is the part that matters most for the smaller estates we focus on in Boca Raton. Florida’s summary administration, available under Florida Statutes § 735.201, applies when the value of the probate estate (less the value of property exempt from creditors’ claims) is $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. Summary administration is a streamlined, no-personal-representative track, and it skips most of the inventory-and-accounting machinery described above.

In a summary administration there is no formal inventory filed under § 733.604 and no Rule 5.346 fiduciary accounting, because no personal representative is appointed to manage the estate over time. Instead, the asset detail lives inside the Petition for Summary Administration itself. The petition must identify the estate’s assets and their estimated values, identify the people entitled to receive them, and set out a proposed distribution. The court reviews that one filing and, if everything checks out, enters an order distributing the assets directly. There is no ongoing administration to account for.

That does not mean summary administration is consequence-free. A few cautions we give clients:

• The petitioner must still make a diligent, good-faith effort to identify and notify creditors; those who received notice or are reasonably ascertainable can pursue the assets they receive.
• Anyone who receives estate property in a summary administration can remain liable to creditors and other claimants, up to the value of what they received, for two years after death.
• If you understate or omit assets in the petition, you have the same exposure for inaccuracy that a personal representative would have on an inventory.

So even on the streamlined track, the asset disclosure has to be accurate and complete. The work simply moves from a series of court filings into one carefully drafted petition. You can read more about how that election is made on our Florida probate overview page, and about coordinating it with the underlying estate plan on our wills and estates page.

Why These Requirements Trip Up Personal Representatives

The inventory and accounting are where good intentions meet fiduciary liability. A personal representative who pays bills from the wrong account, distributes to a beneficiary before creditors are cleared, or values an asset carelessly can end up personally on the hook. Many of trace back to sloppy or late financial disclosure rather than to genuine disputes over who inherits.

The deadlines are also unforgiving in their own quiet way. Sixty days for the inventory sounds generous until you realize how long it can take to get account statements, locate real-property records, and obtain appraisals. Starting early, and keeping a clean ledger from the first day of administration, is the single most effective thing a personal representative can do to make the accounting painless later.

These principles are not unique to Florida. The same fiduciary logic governs estate administration in other states, including New York, where Morgan Legal’s team handles under that state’s analogous accounting rules. If you are administering an estate that touches more than one state, those parallel duties can overlap in ways worth mapping out with counsel. For Florida-specific matters across the state, Morgan Legal also maintains a dedicated .

Talk to a Boca Raton Probate Attorney

Whether your loved one’s estate calls for a full formal administration with a 60-day inventory and a final accounting, or qualifies for the lighter-touch summary administration, the safest path is to get the financial picture right from the start. If you have questions about valuing assets, preparing an inventory, or building an accounting that will hold up, reach out to our Boca Raton probate team for a focused conversation about your estate.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file the inventory in a Florida probate?

Under Florida Statutes section 733.604, the personal representative must file a verified inventory within 60 days after the court issues letters of administration. The inventory lists the decedent’s probate property in reasonable detail with each item’s fair market value as of the date of death, and it can be amended or supplemented if new assets surface or values change.

Is a formal estate accounting required if the estate qualifies for summary administration?

No. Summary administration under Florida Statutes section 735.201 does not appoint a personal representative to manage the estate over time, so there is no Rule 5.346 fiduciary accounting and no separate 733.604 inventory. The asset details and proposed distribution are instead set out in the Petition for Summary Administration, which the court reviews before ordering distribution.

Can beneficiaries waive the estate accounting in Florida?

Yes. If all beneficiaries agree in writing, they can waive a formal final accounting. The personal representative still owes fiduciary duties under section 733.602 and should keep complete records, because a waiver does not erase liability if a beneficiary later questions how the estate was handled.

What is the difference between an estate inventory and an estate accounting?

The inventory is a date-of-death snapshot of what the estate owned, with values, filed within 60 days. The accounting is the ongoing financial record showing receipts, disbursements, gains, losses, and distributions during administration, organized into schedules under Florida Probate Rule 5.346 and reconciled back to the inventory.

What value do I put on the inventory if asset prices have changed since the death?

You use the fair market value as of the decedent’s date of death, not the current value. That figure also establishes the income-tax basis step-up, so uncertain assets such as real estate or closely held businesses should be supported by an appraisal rather than an estimate.

I practice probate here in Boca Raton, and the most common surprise I see is a family who assumes everything has to go through the courthouse, when in reality the house, the bank accounts, and the retirement plan have already transferred by operation of law. The opposite surprise happens too: someone is certain “it’s all joint” until we pull the account statements and find a CD or a brokerage account sitting in one name alone. This article walks through which assets skip probate in Florida, the statutes that control them, and the traps that pull a “nonprobate” asset back into a court file.

What “nonprobate” actually means under Florida law

The Florida Probate Code, found in Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes, governs the administration of a decedent’s probate estate. The probate estate is a narrower thing than the gross estate you might list for estate-tax purposes. It includes only property that the decedent owned individually and that has no built-in mechanism for transferring at death.

Everything else—property with a survivorship right, a payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) designation, a beneficiary form, or ownership inside a trust—transfers under its own contract or title, not under the will and not under the intestacy statute. Lawyers call these “nonprobate transfers” or “will substitutes.” They are powerful precisely because they bypass the court entirely.

Two practical consequences follow. First, a will does not control nonprobate assets. You can write “I leave everything to my daughter,” but if a bank account names your son as POD beneficiary, the son takes the account regardless of what the will says. Second, the size and complexity of the probate estate—not the total wealth—is what determines whether you need formal administration, summary administration, or no administration at all.

Jointly held property: when survivorship controls

Joint ownership is the most familiar way an asset avoids probate, but Florida treats different forms of joint ownership very differently. The label on the account or deed matters enormously.

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship and tenancy by the entireties

When two people own property as joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS), the survivor automatically becomes the sole owner at the first death. The asset passes outside probate. Married couples often hold real estate and accounts as tenants by the entireties, a form available only to spouses that carries the same survivorship feature plus strong creditor protection. At the death of one spouse, the survivor owns the whole, free of probate.

Florida is cautious about survivorship, though. Under Fla. Stat. § 689.15, survivorship is not presumed—a conveyance to two or more people creates a tenancy in common unless the survivorship right is expressly stated, with the exception of estates held by spouses, which are presumed to be tenancy by the entireties. The wording on the deed or signature card is therefore decisive. I have seen a deed that everyone assumed created survivorship turn out to be a plain tenancy in common, dragging a half-interest in a home straight into probate.

Joint bank accounts

Joint bank accounts are governed by Fla. Stat. § 655.79. A deposit account in the names of two or more people is presumed to be held with right of survivorship unless the signature card or account agreement says otherwise. So the surviving co-owner generally keeps the funds without probate. But “joint” on a statement is not always survivorship in substance—if an account was set up purely for convenience (an adult child added to help pay an elderly parent’s bills), the facts can be contested, and that fight sometimes lands in the probate file.

Tenancy in common: the joint form that does not avoid probate

This is the one that catches people. Two siblings who inherit a Boca condo and hold it as tenants in common each own a separate, devisable share. There is no survivorship. When one sibling dies, that sibling’s share passes through their estate—by will or intestacy—not to the co-owner. A common piece of “joint” real estate is exactly the kind of asset that ends up needing administration.

Beneficiary-designated assets that bypass probate

The second great category of will substitutes is the beneficiary designation—a contract term naming who receives the asset at death. These transfers are honored by statute and by the account contract itself.

• Life insurance. Proceeds payable to a named beneficiary are not part of the probate estate under Fla. Stat. § 733.808. They pay directly to the beneficiary.
• Retirement accounts. IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and pensions pass to the designated beneficiary outside probate. The plan or custodial beneficiary form, not the will, controls.
• POD and TOD accounts. Payable-on-death bank accounts and transfer-on-death brokerage or securities accounts pass to the named person on proof of death.
• Annuities. Like life insurance, an annuity with a living named beneficiary pays directly.
• Florida homestead. A decedent’s protected homestead generally descends outside the reach of creditors and, under Fla. Stat. § 732.401, passes by constitutional rules of descent when there is a surviving spouse or minor child—though a probate court order is usually still needed to confirm the homestead status and clear title.

There is one critical condition running through all of these: the designation only works if a valid beneficiary survives. Name no one, name “my estate,” or name a beneficiary who has already died with no contingent named—and the asset drops back into the probate estate. Stale beneficiary forms after a divorce, a death, or the birth of a child are the single most frequent reason a “nonprobate” account ends up in court. (Florida’s revocation-on-divorce statute, Fla. Stat. § 732.703, automatically voids many designations naming a former spouse, which can itself send funds back to the estate if no alternate is named.)

Why this matters for small estates and summary administration in Boca Raton

Our firm focuses on small-estate and summary-administration cases, and nonprobate planning is the heart of that work. Florida offers three lighter-touch paths, and which one is available depends almost entirely on what’s left in the sole-name probate estate after the survivorship and beneficiary assets peel away.

1. Disposition without administration (Fla. Stat. § 735.301). For very small estates—essentially where the only assets are exempt property plus non-exempt personal property worth no more than the final funeral expenses and last 60 days of medical bills—the court can authorize release of assets to whoever paid those bills, with no personal representative appointed. It’s an informal, low-cost request.
2. Summary administration (Fla. Stat. §§ 735.201–735.2063). Available when the value of the probate estate (less exempt property) is $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead more than two years. No personal representative is appointed; the court enters an order distributing the assets. This is the workhorse for modest Boca estates.
3. Formal administration. The full proceeding, with a personal representative, used when the probate estate exceeds the summary threshold or when complications—contested claims, litigation, unknown creditors—require it.

The takeaway is that good titling does double duty. It moves assets to the right people faster, and it keeps the residual probate estate under the $75,000 line so a family can use summary administration instead of a months-long formal proceeding. A couple with a $900,000 net worth held in tenancy by the entireties, a POD account, and an IRA might leave a probate estate of a few thousand dollars—or nothing.

If your matter has a connection to New York—a decedent who owned property in both states, or a New York will—the analysis shifts to that state’s surrogate’s court, and our colleagues handle and can explain how the compare to Florida’s summary and formal tracks. For Florida administrations, our handles the full range.

Common traps that pull nonprobate assets into court

Over the years a handful of recurring problems account for most of the cases where a family thought probate was avoided and learned otherwise:

• The estate as beneficiary. Naming “my estate” (or leaving the form blank) on insurance or retirement assets forces those funds through probate—often defeating the entire plan and exposing the money to creditors it would otherwise have avoided.
• Predeceased beneficiaries with no contingent. If the primary beneficiary dies first and no alternate is named, the asset reverts to the estate.
• A new asset acquired after the planning. A CD opened last year in one name only, a car titled solely (Fla. Stat. § 319.22 governs vehicle transfer at death), an inherited account—any of these can quietly create a probate estate.
• Deeds that say “joint” but aren’t. Because Florida does not presume survivorship outside marriage, a deed missing the magic survivorship language creates a tenancy in common.
• Homestead confusion. Homestead frequently passes outside probate for creditor purposes, yet a court order is still typically required to confirm the protection and marketable title—so the property is not always as “automatic” as families expect.

A short inventory—pulling every account statement, deed, and beneficiary form—answers nearly every probate question before it becomes a problem. We routinely do this triage at the first meeting so families know within a single sitting whether they’re looking at no administration, summary administration, or something larger. You can review related material on our Florida probate page and on wills and estate documents, or reach us through our contact page.

The bottom line

Whether an asset goes through Florida probate is rarely about how much it’s worth—it’s about how it’s titled and whether a living beneficiary is named. Jointly held survivorship property and beneficiary-designated accounts transfer on their own. Sole-name assets with no designation do not, and they define which small-estate procedure, if any, your family will use. Getting the titles and beneficiary forms right today is the cheapest, most reliable way to keep a Boca Raton estate simple tomorrow.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Beneficiary and survivorship rules turn on specific facts; consult a Florida probate attorney about your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a joint bank account in Florida avoid probate?

Usually, yes. Under Fla. Stat. § 655.79, a multiple-owner deposit account is presumed to carry a right of survivorship unless the account agreement states otherwise, so the surviving co-owner keeps the funds without probate. The exception is a ‘convenience’ account or one where the agreement disclaims survivorship, which can be challenged and may end up in the probate file.

What happens to a life insurance or retirement account with no named beneficiary?

It typically falls into the probate estate. Beneficiary designations only bypass probate if a valid beneficiary survives. If the form names the estate, is left blank, or names someone who died with no contingent beneficiary, the proceeds pass through probate and become reachable by creditors they would otherwise have escaped.

Do beneficiary-designated assets count toward Florida's summary administration limit?

No. Summary administration under Fla. Stat. §§ 735.201–735.2063 is available when the probate estate, minus exempt property, is $75,000 or less (or the decedent has been dead over two years). Assets that pass by survivorship or beneficiary designation are not part of the probate estate, so they don’t count toward that threshold.

Is a tenancy-in-common share subject to probate in Florida?

Yes. Tenancy in common has no right of survivorship, so a deceased co-owner’s share passes through their estate by will or intestacy rather than to the other owner. Because Florida does not presume survivorship outside marriage (Fla. Stat. § 689.15), ‘joint’ real estate without express survivorship language is often a tenancy in common that requires administration.

Does Florida homestead property go through probate?

Protected homestead generally descends outside the reach of creditors and passes by constitutional rules under Fla. Stat. § 732.401 when there is a surviving spouse or minor child. However, a probate court order confirming homestead status is usually still needed to clear marketable title, so it is not entirely automatic.

I’ve handled enough of these matters in Palm Beach County to know that the most common mistake isn’t filing the wrong form — it’s not realizing a streamlined option exists at all. A surviving spouse will brace for months of formal probate and a four-figure legal bill when, in reality, the estate qualifies for a process that can be wrapped up with a short petition and a single hearing-free order. This guide walks through how Florida’s small estate procedures actually work, who qualifies, and where the genuine pitfalls hide.

What “Small Estate” Means Under Florida Law

Florida doesn’t use the phrase “small estate” as a single defined legal term. Instead, the Florida Probate Code (Chapters 731–735) provides two abbreviated procedures that, taken together, cover what most people mean by a small estate. The dividing line is dollar value and, in some cases, how much time has passed since death.

One critical concept underlies everything: only probate assets count toward these thresholds. Property that passes outside of probate — jointly titled accounts with rights of survivorship, payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts, life insurance with a named beneficiary, retirement accounts with a beneficiary designation, and assets held in a living trust — is generally excluded. A person can die owning a $600,000 house and a $400,000 IRA and still leave a “small estate” for probate purposes if the house was held jointly and the IRA named a beneficiary.

So before deciding which procedure fits, you have to separate the probate estate from the non-probate estate. That single step determines whether you’re looking at Disposition Without Administration, summary administration, or unavoidable formal administration.

Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration (§ 735.301)

This is the smallest and most informal of Florida’s procedures. It isn’t really “probate” at all — there’s no personal representative appointed, no letters of administration issued, and often no attorney required. It exists for a narrow situation: someone paid the decedent’s final expenses and wants to be reimbursed from the modest personal property the decedent left behind.

When It Applies

Disposition Without Administration is available only when the decedent left no real property (no Florida real estate subject to probate) and the only assets are:

• Personal property that is exempt from creditors’ claims under the Florida Constitution and § 732.402 (household furnishings up to a statutory value, two motor vehicles, certain education savings, and similar items); plus
• Non-exempt personal property whose value does not exceed the sum of preferred funeral expenses plus reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the final illness.

In plain terms: the estate is so small that, after honoring exempt property, whatever is left is worth no more than the final medical and burial bills someone already paid. The court simply authorizes the asset holder — a bank, for example — to release the funds to the person who covered those costs.

How You File

This is a do-it-yourself-friendly process in most Palm Beach County situations. The person seeking reimbursement files a written statement (many clerks, including the Palm Beach County Clerk, provide a fill-in form) along with:

1. A certified copy of the death certificate;
2. Paid receipts or itemized bills for the funeral and last-illness medical expenses;
3. Documentation of the assets and their values (bank statements, vehicle titles); and
4. The original will, if one exists, deposited with the court.

If the clerk or judge is satisfied the criteria are met, the court enters an order or letter directing the asset holder to pay or transfer the property. There’s no personal representative, no formal notice to creditors, and typically no hearing. It’s the closest thing Florida probate has to a same-day fix.

Summary Administration (§ 735.201)

When the estate is too large for Disposition Without Administration but still modest, summary administration is usually the right tool. This is a genuine probate proceeding, but a condensed one. It skips the appointment of a personal representative and the months-long creditor and administration timeline that formal administration requires.

Who Qualifies

An estate qualifies for summary administration if either of these is true:

• The value of the entire probate estate, less the value of property exempt from creditors’ claims, is $75,000 or less; or
• The decedent has been dead for more than two years, regardless of the estate’s value.

That two-year provision is enormously useful and frequently overlooked. After two years, § 733.710 bars most creditor claims entirely, so even a larger estate that has sat unprobated — say, an inherited home nobody got around to transferring — can often be cleared through summary administration. I see this constantly with property that’s been “stuck” since a parent passed years ago.

Summary administration can be used whether the decedent died with a will (testate) or without one (intestate). Any beneficiary or the person nominated as personal representative in the will may file the petition.

The Petition and What It Requires

The centerpiece is a Petition for Summary Administration, which must be signed and verified by the surviving spouse, if any, and by the beneficiaries. (Beneficiaries who can’t be located or won’t sign can sometimes be formally served instead, but unanimous agreement makes the process dramatically smoother.) The petition must:

• Identify and value the assets to be distributed;
• Identify the beneficiaries and their proposed shares;
• State that the estate qualifies under one of the two thresholds; and
• Show that creditors have been paid or otherwise provided for.

Petitioners are required to make a diligent search for creditors and either pay them, set aside funds, or get their consent. Where there are known creditors, the practical move is often to serve a Notice to Creditors under § 735.2063, which limits the window for claims. If the court is satisfied, it enters an Order of Summary Administration that directs distribution — this order is the document a bank or title company will rely on to release funds or clear title.

One Important Caveat on Liability

Because no personal representative is appointed in summary administration, the people who receive the assets can remain personally liable to unpaid creditors — up to the value of what they received — for up to two years after death. That’s a real reason to handle the creditor analysis carefully rather than assuming “small estate” means “no risk.” A short consult before filing usually pays for itself here.

Choosing the Right Path: A Quick Comparison

Most families land in one of three lanes. Here’s how to think about it:

• Disposition Without Administration — no real estate, tiny estate, and someone already paid the final bills. Cheapest and fastest; often no lawyer needed.
• Summary Administration — probate assets of $75,000 or less (after exempt property) or death more than two years ago. A real court order issues; ideal for transferring a home or clearing modest accounts.
• Formal Administration — required when the estate exceeds the threshold and death was within two years, when a personal representative’s authority is needed to run a business or pursue a lawsuit, or when there are disputes or unknown creditors.

The probate process carries its own set of recurring headaches no matter which lane you’re in — a point well illustrated in this overview of . And when family members disagree about a will’s validity, even a “small” estate can stall; the mechanics of are worth understanding before you assume a streamlined filing will go unopposed.

Real Property Complicates Things — But Doesn’t Always Stop You

A frequent question from Boca Raton homeowners: “Can I use a small estate procedure if there’s a house?” Disposition Without Administration is off the table the moment any probate real estate is involved. But summary administration can transfer Florida real property, including homestead.

Homestead deserves its own mention. Under the Florida Constitution, a decedent’s homestead generally isn’t a probate asset reachable by creditors and passes to heirs with constitutional protection. Courts often address homestead through a companion Petition to Determine Homestead Status of Real Property, which produces an order confirming the protected character of the property and who took title. Getting this step right is what lets a title company insure a future sale — skip it, and the property can become unsellable years later.

Common Mistakes I See in Palm Beach County

A few patterns come up again and again:

• Counting non-probate assets toward the threshold. People disqualify themselves by including a jointly held home or a beneficiary-designated IRA that never needed probate in the first place.
• Ignoring exempt property. Exempt assets are subtracted before applying the $75,000 cap, which means more estates qualify for summary administration than families assume.
• Forgetting the two-year door. An estate that didn’t qualify by value years ago may qualify now simply because more than two years have passed.
• Underestimating creditor exposure. Recipients under summary administration can be personally liable; a clean creditor analysis protects them.
• Mishandling homestead. Treating the house as an ordinary probate asset — or ignoring it entirely — creates title defects that surface at the worst possible time.

When to Bring in a Probate Attorney

Disposition Without Administration is genuinely something many people complete on their own. Summary administration is doable without counsel in the simplest cases, but the moment real estate, multiple beneficiaries, an out-of-state heir, known creditors, or a will dispute enters the picture, the savings from a quick attorney review usually outweigh the cost. The order you obtain has to be airtight, because banks and title insurers will scrutinize it.

If you’re sorting out a loved one’s estate in Boca Raton or anywhere in Palm Beach County, it helps to start by mapping which assets are probate and which aren’t — that single inventory tells you which procedure fits. Our team handles these matters statewide; you can learn more about our approach to , review how a sound estate plan can avoid probate altogether on our wills and estate planning page, or reach out for a consultation to confirm which path your situation qualifies for. You can also read more about navigating the broader Florida probate process before you file.

The Bottom Line

Florida built these abbreviated procedures precisely so that grieving families wouldn’t have to run a months-long formal probate over a modest estate. Disposition Without Administration reimburses final expenses out of the smallest estates; summary administration clears estates of $75,000 or less, or any estate where death occurred more than two years ago. Identify your probate assets, subtract what’s exempt, check the calendar, and you’ll usually know which door to walk through — or whether you need one at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Disposition Without Administration and summary administration in Florida?

Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration (Fla. Stat. § 735.301) applies only to very small estates with no real property, where the remaining assets are worth no more than the final medical and funeral expenses someone already paid; no personal representative is appointed. Summary administration (§ 735.201) is a real, condensed probate proceeding available when probate assets (after exempt property) total $75,000 or less, or when the decedent died more than two years ago, and it can transfer real estate, including homestead.

What is the dollar limit for summary administration in Florida?

An estate qualifies for summary administration if the value of the entire probate estate, less the value of property exempt from creditors’ claims, is $75,000 or less. Importantly, that limit is waived entirely if the decedent has been dead for more than two years, in which case summary administration is available regardless of the estate’s value.

Do non-probate assets like joint accounts or life insurance count toward the small estate limit?

No. Only probate assets count. Jointly held property with rights of survivorship, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, life insurance and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, and assets in a living trust all pass outside probate and are excluded from the threshold calculation.

Can I transfer a house through a Florida small estate procedure?

Not through Disposition Without Administration, which is unavailable if any probate real estate exists. Summary administration, however, can transfer Florida real property, including homestead. Homestead is usually confirmed through a companion Petition to Determine Homestead Status so that title is clear and the property remains sellable.

Am I personally liable for the decedent's debts if I use summary administration?

You can be. Because no personal representative is appointed, recipients of the assets may remain personally liable to unpaid creditors, up to the value of what they received, for up to two years after death. That is why a careful creditor analysis, and often serving a Notice to Creditors, is worthwhile before filing.