Interactive Tool · Probate
Do I need probate
in Florida?
Answer a few short questions to find out which Florida probate process may apply: formal administration, summary administration, disposition without administration, or ancillary probate.
Takes about 2 minutes
Did the deceased live in Florida?
The four answers the calculator can give, explained
Whether a Florida estate needs probate depends on how each asset was titled, not on the size of the estate alone. The quiz asks about real property, beneficiary designations, trusts, and the date of death because those are the facts that sort an estate into one of four tracks:
- 1
No probate needed
Everything the person owned either had a named beneficiary (life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, pay-on-death accounts), was held jointly with right of survivorship, or sat in a funded revocable trust. Those assets pass by contract or by title, and the court is never involved. A homestead that passes to a spouse or children by a Lady Bird deed also stays out.
- 2
Disposition without administration
Section 735.301, Florida Statutes. Available when the only assets are exempt personal property and non-exempt assets that do not exceed the funeral expenses and the last 60 days of medical bills. There is no dollar ceiling in the statute itself; it is a reimbursement procedure, filed on a short form with the clerk, and usually done in weeks.
- 3
Summary administration
Section 735.201. Available when the probate estate, not counting exempt property such as homestead, is $150,000 or less (deaths on or after July 1, 2026; $75,000 for earlier deaths), or when the person has been dead for more than two years. No personal representative is appointed; the court orders distribution directly. Four to eight weeks when everyone agrees. We handle it for a flat $3,000.
- 4
Formal administration
Chapter 733. Everything else: estates over the ceiling, estates that need someone with ongoing authority (to sell a house, run a business, litigate a claim), and estates with disputes. The court appoints a personal representative, issues Letters of Administration, and supervises a three-month creditor period. Eight to twelve months for a clean file. Quoted up front, from $4,500.
Two things the quiz cannot see: whether the will waives bond and names a Florida-eligible personal representative, and whether anyone is likely to contest. Both change the timeline. The probate timeline guide walks through formal administration month by month, the cost estimator prices it, and the probate practice page covers how we handle Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach filings.