Simplified route
$150,000
The probate estate, after exempt property, may qualify at $150,000 or less. An estate may also qualify regardless of value when the decedent has been dead for more than two years.
Eligibility and caveatsFlorida estate administration
Florida probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $150,000
This guide explains probate in Florida: 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. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
Answer first
Florida simplified probate route
The probate estate, after exempt property, may qualify at $150,000 or less. An estate may also qualify regardless of value when the decedent has been dead for more than two years.
Summary administrationWhat the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Tiered
Summary administration is $230 below $1,000 and $340 at $1,000 or more, and formal administration is $395. Section 28.2401(3) adds a mandatory $4 service charge to each of these petitions.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Statutory schedule
Florida presumes a percentage schedule is reasonable. The base is the compensable value of the estate, meaning the inventory value of the probate assets plus income the estate earned during administration, so it is not the same as the gross probate estate. A court may adjust compensation, and extraordinary services are paid separately.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Not published
No creditor deadline is published here because the governing rule was not verified to this site’s primary-source standard.
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Florida
These are the Florida provisions read end to end on the enacting state’s own site, rather than summarised from a secondary source. The middle column is what reading each one actually established for Florida — not a restatement of the topic — and the last column records the date the wording was read, so a later amendment can be spotted by comparing dates.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Fla. Stat. § 733.702 | Florida’s claim bar runs from publication or from service, whichever falls later — creditor deadline note | 2026-09-17 |
| Fla. Stat. § 733.617 | Florida’s presumed commission, and the base it is computed on — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
Florida decision map
The four facts that change the Florida route
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Florida amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded Florida answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Summary administration | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $150,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No universal waiting period stated; No deadline is recorded here: The creditor-notice and claim-bar deadlines have not been verified to this site's primary-source standard, so no number is published. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | 2 published schedules; the proceeding and value basis control the total. | Ask the Circuit Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | Florida presumes a percentage schedule is reasonable. The base is the compensable value of the estate, meaning the inventory value of the probate assets plus income the estate earned during administration, so it is not the same as the gross probate estate. A court may adjust compensation, and extraordinary services are paid separately. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Arithmetic illustration
See the Florida amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded Florida ceiling is $150,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. Counted that way, $112,500 sits below the Florida figure and $187,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Florida counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Florida ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $112,500 | Below $150,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $187,500 | Above $150,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Start with the row that is still unknown, then take that question to the named court or source.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Florida Courts probate resource pageFlorida State Courts System
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.
Source trail
Records used by this Florida map
- Fla. Stat. § 735.201Florida Statutes, Summary Administration; reviewed August 7, 2026
- 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; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 28.2401(1)Florida Statutes, Probate Filing Charges; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 733.617Florida Statutes, Personal Representative Compensation; reviewed August 7, 2026
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.
- Attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, certified copies, tax work, and asset-sale costs are not included unless expressly shown.
- Asset title, beneficiary designations, creditor claims, and will terms can change the route.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
Continue
What Florida courts publish
The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.
- Court resourceFlorida Courts probate resource pageFlorida State Courts System
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.
Primary sources
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Fla. Stat. § 735.201 (F.S. 735.201)
Reviewed source note: (2) That the value of the entire estate subject to administration in this state, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditors, does not exceed $150,000 or that the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years.
What this means: Florida codifies its statutes once a year, and the 2026 edition has folded in Chapter 2026-57. This page now states the operative $150,000 limit directly, and its history line credits section 7 of chapter 2026-57. The session law remains cited alongside it as the enacting authority.
Ch. 2026-57, § 7, Laws of Fla. (amending Fla. Stat. § 735.201(2))
Reviewed source note: (2) That the value of the entire estate subject to administration in this state, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditors, does not exceed $150,000 $75,000 or that the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years.
What this means: This is the enacted text and it governs. Florida bills print new wording followed by the wording it replaces, so "$150,000 $75,000" means the limit rose to $150,000 and the old $75,000 figure was struck. The act took effect July 1, 2026.
Fla. Stat. § 28.2401(1) (F.S. 28.2401(1))
Reviewed source note: (e) Fee for summary administration - estates valued at $1,000 or more .......... $340 (f) Fee for summary administration - estates valued at less than $1,000 .......... $230 (g) Fee for formal administration, guardianship, ancillary, curatorship, or conservatorship proceedings .......... $395
Fla. Stat. § 733.617 (F.S. 733.617)
Reviewed source note: (2) A commission computed on the compensable value of the estate is presumed to be reasonable compensation for a personal representative in formal administration as follows: (a) At the rate of 3 percent for the first $1 million. (b) At the rate of 2.5 percent for all above $1 million and not exceeding $5 million. (c) At the rate of 2 percent for all above $5 million and not exceeding $10 million. (d) At the rate of 1.5 percent for all above $10 million.