Florida estate administration

Florida probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines

Small-estate limit: $150,000

In Florida, estates up to $150,000 can use the small-estate route and executor fees run 3% down to 1.5% on a sliding scale (Fla. Stat. § 733.617). Florida uses summary administration for qualifying estates. The route can depend on both estate value and how long ago the person died.

Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .

Answer first

Florida simplified probate route

Up to $150,000; no waiting period stated. Source: Ch. 2026-57, § 7, Laws of Fla. (amending Fla. Stat. § 735.201(2)).

Summary administration

No combined Florida probate total

The Circuit Court filing charge (Fla. Stat. § 28.2401(1)) differs by proceeding or by a value the statute defines. The commission schedule (Fla. Stat. § 733.617) is statewide; the filing side has no one figure. Each side in full: Florida probate filing cost and Florida executor fees.

Screen a specific Florida estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.

What the reviewed rules establish

Court cost

Tiered

2 published schedules, itemised on the filing-cost page.

Filing-cost detail

Executor compensation

Statutory schedule

A statutory percentage schedule applies. Source: Fla. Stat. § 733.617.

Compensation detail

Statutes read in full for Florida

Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.

CitationWhat reading it establishedRead on
Fla. Stat. § 733.6171Florida presumes an attorney fee by schedule, and makes the attorney say it is negotiable — court and filing cost note2026-10-09
Fla. Stat. § 733.702Florida’s claim bar runs from publication or from service, whichever falls later — creditor deadline note2026-09-17
Fla. Stat. § 733.617Florida’s presumed commission, and the base it is computed on — representative pay note2026-09-17

Florida decision map

The four facts that change the Florida route

Each Florida answer below links to the page that sets out its source.

Florida estate administration decision map
QuestionRecorded Florida answer
What route is being screened?Summary administration
What property and basis count?probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet.
What is the amount screen?$150,000
What is the time or deadline record?No universal waiting period stated; creditor deadlines: not published here
What does the cost record establish?2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total.
What does compensation use?Statutory percentage schedule, measured on the estate accounting.

Limits and unresolved costs

  • The $150,000 limit comes from Chapter 2026-57, section 7, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2026. The Legislature's codified page for section 735.201 now carries that figure in the 2026 edition, so the codified statute and the session law agree.
  • Section 735.201(1) adds a condition this screen does not evaluate: in a testate estate the will must not direct administration as required by chapter 733. A will can therefore rule out summary administration regardless of value.
  • Exempt property is excluded from the threshold, and this tool does not value exempt property, so a result near the limit is provisional.
  • The two-year route is separate from the $150,000 route.
  • The clerk charges are maximums the statute permits, and a court may increase them in an individual matter on a showing of extraordinary circumstances.

What Florida courts publish

Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.

Limits on court material

  • Florida publishes no statewide summary-administration form. The petition is prepared for the circuit court in the county where the decedent lived, and requirements differ by circuit.
  • The statewide court system publishes one probate page; county clerk sites carry the operative local instructions.

Florida primary sources

Each rule on the Florida pages comes from one of these 4 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.

  1. Simplified-procedure rule

    Fla. Stat. § 735.201, Florida Statutes, Summary Administration.

    • No value limit once the decedent has been dead more than 2 years

    Florida Legislature · The 2026 Florida Statutes

  2. Simplified-procedure rule

    Ch. 2026-57, § 7, Laws of Fla. (amending Fla. Stat. § 735.201(2)), Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida (CS/HB 1337, enrolled), amending the summary administration limit.

    • Small-estate limit: $150,000

    Florida Senate · This act shall take effect July 1, 2026

  3. Court cost rule

    Fla. Stat. § 28.2401(1), Florida Statutes, Probate Filing Charges.

    • Summary administration: 230 below $1,000, 340 at $1,000 or more, plus a $4 service charge
    • Formal administration: 395 plus a $4 service charge

    Florida Legislature · The 2026 Florida Statutes

  4. Executor compensation rule

    Fla. Stat. § 733.617, Florida Statutes, Personal Representative Compensation.

    • Personal representative's commission schedule: 3% to $1,000,000, 2.5% to $5,000,000, 2% to $10,000,000, 1.5% above
    • Value the commission is figured on: compensable value (inventory value plus estate income)

    Florida Legislature · The 2026 Florida Statutes

Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Florida source list · how sources are checked · report a correction