What Does Probate
Cost in Florida?

Probate costs in Florida come from a short list of sources: the clerk, the newspaper, the appraiser, the personal representative, and the lawyer. Two of those, personal representative compensation and attorney fees, are set by statutory percentage schedules that scale with the size of the estate, which is why a $500,000 estate can rack up five-figure fees under the default rules. The rest are modest, fixed costs.

This guide itemizes every one of them, shows the actual statutory tables, works the math on a real example, and covers the two things that matter most: which track your estate qualifies for, and how to keep the total down.

The Statutory Attorney Fee Schedule (Fla. Stat. 733.6171)

For ordinary services in a formal administration, Florida law sets out fees that courts will presume reasonable, based on the compensable value of the estate (inventory value plus income earned during administration). Here is the actual table:

Three things to understand about this table. First, it is a presumption, not a mandate: you are free to negotiate a lower fee, and the statute requires attorneys to disclose that the fee is negotiable. Second, it covers only ordinary services; litigation, will contests, tax audits, and sales of real property can justify additional fees. Third, it is computed on the compensable value of the estate, so a house with a mortgage still counts at its gross value. That is exactly why we quote a fixed fee up front instead: formal administration starts at $4,500, confirmed after a free call, regardless of what the percentage table would allow.

Statutory Fee vs a Quoted Fee, Side by Side

Personal Representative Compensation (Fla. Stat. 733.617)

The personal representative has their own statutory schedule: 3 percent of the first $1 million, 2.5 percent of the value between $1 million and $5 million, 2 percent between $5 million and $10 million, and 1.5 percent above $10 million, plus extra compensation for extraordinary services like selling real estate or handling litigation.

In practice this line item is often zero. When the personal representative is also a beneficiary, which is the usual case with a spouse or adult child, taking the commission means paying income tax on money they would otherwise inherit tax free. Most family representatives waive the fee. Where it matters is when a bank, trust company, or professional fiduciary serves, or when one sibling does all the work and the family agrees compensation is fair.

Summary vs Formal Administration: Two Very Different Bills

Florida probate runs on two tracks, and which one your estate qualifies for is the single biggest driver of cost.

• Summary administration is available when the probate estate is worth $75,000 or less (excluding protected homestead), or when the decedent has been dead more than two years, whatever the value. No personal representative is appointed, no letters issue, and the whole proceeding is a petition and an order. Court costs run about $346 to $600 and The Kogan Firm handles it for a flat $3,000. Most files close in 4 to 8 weeks. (For deaths on or after July 1, 2026, Florida raised the value ceiling to $150,000, so more estates will qualify going forward.)
• Formal administration is everything else: a personal representative is appointed, creditors get their 3-month window, an inventory and accounting are filed, and the estate usually runs 8 to 12 months. Because the work varies with the estate, our fee is not flat: formal administration starts from $4,500, quoted per matter after a free call, still typically far below the statutory percentage on mid-size estates.

Not sure which track applies? Our two-minute probate calculator sorts it out, and the month-by-month timeline guide walks through what actually happens in formal administration.

What Makes Probate More Expensive

The numbers above assume a clean file: a valid will (or clear intestacy), cooperative heirs, and assets in one state. Costs climb, sometimes dramatically, when any of these show up:

• Litigation and will contests. A challenge to the will on execution, capacity, or undue influence converts an administrative proceeding into a lawsuit. Contested probate is billed hourly on top of the administration fee, and a fought-out contest can consume tens of thousands of dollars and double the timeline.
• Real estate in multiple states. Florida courts only control Florida property. A condo in North Carolina or a cabin in Michigan requires a second, ancillary probate in that state, with its own filing fees and local counsel. Each additional state is essentially a second (smaller) probate bill.
• Creditor disputes. When a claim is objected to, the creditor can sue, and the estate pays to defend. Large medical bills, business debts, and Medicaid estate recovery claims all add negotiation and sometimes litigation cost.
• Missing or unknown heirs. If heirs cannot be located, the estate pays for genealogical research, service by publication, and sometimes a court-appointed attorney ad litem to represent the absent parties.
• Operating businesses, taxable estates, and hard-to-value assets. Each adds appraisal, accounting, and sometimes federal estate tax return (Form 706) costs, and a 706 usually means waiting on the IRS before final distribution.

How to Reduce or Avoid Probate Costs

Almost everything above is avoidable with planning done while you are alive, and some of it can still be mitigated after a death.

• A funded revocable living trust. Assets titled in a trust skip probate entirely: no filing fee, no publication, no statutory attorney percentage, no waiting on the creditor window to distribute. Our trust vs will comparison runs the numbers side by side.
• Beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death or transfer-on-death registrations on bank and brokerage accounts pass outside probate to the named beneficiary. Keeping these current is free and removes those assets from the fee base.
• A lady bird deed. Florida recognizes the enhanced life estate deed, which keeps full control of your home during life and passes it automatically at death, without probate and without losing homestead protection. Often the single highest-leverage document for a Florida homeowner who is not ready for a full trust.
• Exempt property and family allowance. Even inside probate, Florida exempts household furnishings up to $20,000, two vehicles, and certain other property from creditor claims, and the protected homestead passes outside the claims process entirely. Claiming these correctly shrinks what creditors can reach and what the estate spends resolving claims.
• Waiving the PR commission and the bond. A family personal representative who waives compensation removes the 3 percent line item, and a will that waives bond removes the annual premium.

Not sure which of these fits your situation? Take the one-minute estate plan quiz to see whether a will-based or trust-based plan matches your assets and family.