Which Debts Get Paid First in Florida Probate

Which Debts Get Paid First in Florida Probate

Florida law requires the personal representative to pay valid debts before distributing anything to heirs, and the order is fixed by statute. Under Fla. Stat. 733.707, costs of administration come first, then funeral expenses up to a capped amount, then federal taxes, then last-illness medical expenses, and so on down through eight priority classes. If the estate runs out of money partway through, lower-priority creditors get nothing.

For families going through probate in South Florida, this matters a lot. The order determines whether a medical bill, a credit card balance, or a personal loan ever gets paid at all, and it directly affects how much is left for the people your loved one wanted to provide for.

What counts as a probate debt in Florida?

Not every obligation the deceased had becomes a probate debt. Only claims against the probate estate go through this process. Assets that pass outside of probate, like jointly held bank accounts, life insurance with a named beneficiary, or assets held in a trust, are generally not available to creditors through the probate estate at all. That is one reason why proper planning matters so much.

For assets that do land in the probate estate, the personal representative has to deal with anyone who makes a valid claim. That includes credit card companies, mortgage lenders (if the property is in the estate), medical providers, the IRS, and even claims from a former business partner.

How long do creditors have to file a claim?

This is where a lot of families get tripped up. Under Fla. Stat. 733.702, creditors generally have 3 months from the date the personal representative published a notice to creditors in a local newspaper to file their claim. Known creditors who were actually served with a copy of the notice have 30 days from service or the end of the publication period, whichever is later.

Miss those deadlines and the claim is almost certainly barred, regardless of how legitimate the debt was. That notice-to-creditors publication is one of the first real steps in formal administration, which is part of why how long probate takes in Broward matters. The clock starts ticking when the notice runs.

What is the Florida priority order for paying debts?

Here is the order under Fla. Stat. 733.707, from first paid to last:

1. Costs of administration. Attorney fees, personal representative fees, court filing fees, and expenses of managing the estate come off the top before anything else.
2. Funeral and burial expenses. Florida caps the reimbursable amount. This class also covers monument and grave marker costs within reasonable limits.
3. Debts and taxes with preference under federal law. Federal estate taxes and federal priority debts fit here.
4. Medical expenses of the last 60 days of illness. Hospital, hospice, and physician bills for the final two months of life come next.
5. Family allowance. The surviving spouse and dependent children may be entitled to a reasonable allowance in money or property while the estate is being administered, under Fla. Stat. 732.403.
6. Arrearage from child support judgments.
7. Debts acquired after death by the personal representative. Things like storage fees or estate maintenance costs.
8. All other claims. General unsecured creditors, credit cards, personal loans, and most trade debts land here at the bottom.

If the estate is insolvent (more debts than assets), creditors in lower classes receive nothing after the higher classes are satisfied. Heirs and beneficiaries receive nothing at all until every valid debt in every class is paid or properly handled.

What happens if the estate can't pay everything?

When the estate is insolvent, the personal representative has to abate (reduce or eliminate) distributions to beneficiaries and pay creditors in the statutory order. General unsecured creditors in the same class share pro rata if there is not enough to pay everyone fully. The family may end up with nothing from the estate, though exempt property like homestead and certain personal property defined under Fla. Stat. 732.402 is protected regardless.

This is also where creditor disputes can turn into litigation. A creditor can object to how the personal representative is handling claims, and the personal representative can object to claims that look invalid. These disputes get resolved by the court. If you are a personal representative facing a contested claim, or a creditor whose claim was rejected, that is a situation where having a litigator in your corner makes a difference.

Does summary administration handle debts the same way?

Not quite. Summary administration, available as of 2026 when non-exempt assets are $150,000 or less (or the decedent has been dead more than two years under Fla. Stat. 735.201), does not appoint a personal representative and does not run a creditor notice period the same way. Creditors still have rights, but the process is faster and lighter. Summary administration typically wraps up in 4 to 8 weeks rather than the 8 to 12 months you should expect for formal administration in Broward County.

That speed is a major reason families who qualify choose it. You can learn more about the cost difference in our what probate costs guide.

Can debts be avoided through estate planning?

Sometimes, yes. Assets that pass through a properly structured revocable trust do not go through probate at all, which means the creditor-notice process does not attach to them in the same way. Florida homestead protections are strong and automatic. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance keep those assets outside the probate estate entirely.

None of this is a last-minute fix. It requires planning before death. If you want to understand how a trust might change what your family deals with, our trust vs will guide walks through the practical differences. For a look at estate planning options and what they cost, our pricing page lays it out plainly.

Frequently asked questions

Can a creditor come after heirs personally for a deceased person's debts?

Generally no. Heirs and beneficiaries in Florida are not personally responsible for a decedent's debts just because they inherited money. However, if a beneficiary received a distribution from the estate before creditors were paid, a creditor may be able to reach that distributed asset up to the amount of their valid claim. This is why the personal representative must handle debts before distributions.

What happens to a mortgage during Florida probate?

A mortgage on real property in the probate estate does not disappear. The personal representative must either continue making payments to preserve the asset, negotiate with the lender, or sell the property. Mortgage debt is typically treated as a secured claim against that specific property rather than a general unsecured claim, so it sits outside the priority waterfall in a practical sense: the lender's security interest in the home survives probate.

Does the IRS have to file a claim in probate to collect estate taxes?

No. Federal tax obligations have priority under the statutory order and do not require the IRS to follow Florida's creditor-claim filing deadlines. Federal estate tax, if owed, must be dealt with separately from the Florida probate process and has its own filing and payment deadlines under federal law. For taxable estates (as of 2026, generally those over $13.61 million), this adds a significant layer to administration.

Can the personal representative be held personally liable for paying the wrong creditors?

Yes. If a personal representative distributes assets to heirs before paying valid creditors, or pays lower-priority creditors before higher ones, they can be held personally liable for the resulting loss. This is one of the most serious fiduciary risks of serving as a personal representative, and it is a strong argument for getting legal guidance before making any distributions.

What is a "reasonably ascertainable" creditor and why does it matter?

A reasonably ascertainable creditor is one the personal representative could identify through a diligent search of the decedent's records, bills, and correspondence. Florida requires that known and reasonably ascertainable creditors be directly notified of the probate proceeding, not just reached through newspaper publication. Failing to notify them properly can expose the estate and personal representative to liability even after the general creditor period closes.

This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.