LegalDraft · Florida probate
Florida probate: every path’s conditions and the rules, stated generally
The statutory conditions of each administration path and the rules every Florida administration answers to, the same for every reader and cited. LegalDraft does not choose a path for you and prepares no probate filing.
5
Administration paths
5
Structural rules
26/27
Sources verified
Statutes cited here are verified against the Florida Legislature’s official text (last check 2026-08-24). See the Florida page and the coverage page.
Estate planning & probate
Wills, trusts, deeds, and the other estate documents are prepared on our estate sites.
Wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, guardian and preneed designations, HIPAA releases, deeds, and prenuptial agreements are not prepared on LegalDraft. They are the estate sites’ — separate platforms from the same family, built for estate planning, deeds, and probate — and the probate documents live beside them.
The documents this covers: Last Will & Testament · Revocable Living Trust · Financial Power of Attorney (Durable) · Advance Healthcare Directive & Living Will · preneed-guardian · hipaa-release · lady-bird-deed · companion-will · pour-over-will · Guardianship Designation for Minor Children · Prenuptial Agreement · Quitclaim Deed
Separate sites from the same family of platforms, linked with attribution — LegalDraft hosts none of their data and prepares none of their documents.
The administration paths and their statutory conditions
Stated for everyone. Which path fits an estate is a question for a licensed Florida attorney or the clerk of court.
Formal administration
- The default administration for a Florida-resident decedent — available regardless of estate value.
- Generally required when the estate does not meet the criteria of a smaller-estate path below.
Fla. Stat. ch. 733
Summary administration
- Non-exempt estate value within the statutory ceiling ($75,000 for filings before 2026-07-01; $150,000 on or after), OR the decedent has been dead more than 2 years (no value cap).
- The estate must not require the powers of a personal representative that only formal administration provides.
Fla. Stat. s. 735.201 · Fla. Stat. s. 733.710
Disposition without administration
- No Florida real property in the estate.
- Non-exempt personal property does not exceed the preferred funeral expenses plus reasonable and necessary medical expenses of the last 60 days.
Fla. Stat. s. 735.301
Ancillary administration (non-resident decedent)
- The decedent was NOT a Florida resident, and left assets in Florida (for example, Florida real property).
Fla. Stat. s. 734.102
Short-form ancillary administration
- Non-resident decedent, testate (a will exists), with NO Florida real property and Florida personal property of $50,000 or less.
Fla. Stat. s. 734.1025
Rules every Florida administration answers to
Florida real property in the estate
Estate includes Florida real property. Homestead is not a probate asset and cannot be devised away from a surviving spouse or minor child; an invalid devise is void and descends by statute.
Fla. Const. art. X, s. 4 · Fla. Stat. s. 732.4015 · Fla. Stat. s. 732.401 · Fla. Prob. R. 5.405
A surviving spouse who has not waived spousal rights
A surviving spouse who has not waived spousal rights may elect a 30% elective share of the elective estate; distributions that shortchange the spouse are vulnerable.
Fla. Stat. s. 732.2065 · Fla. Stat. s. 732.2125 · Fla. Stat. s. 732.2135
A nonresident named as personal representative
A nonresident who is not a spouse or qualifying relative cannot serve as personal representative in Florida.
Fla. Stat. s. 733.304 · Fla. Stat. s. 733.302
A personal representative with a felony conviction
A person convicted of a felony is not qualified to act as personal representative.
Fla. Stat. s. 733.303 · Fla. Stat. s. 733.304
A death before July 1, 2026 with a non-exempt value between the two summary-administration ceilings
The non-exempt value falls in the $75,001-$150,000 band for a decedent who died before 2026-07-01. ch. 2026-57 has no date-of-death transition clause, so eligibility is jurisdiction/judge-dependent.
Fla. Stat. s. 735.201 · ch. 2026-57, Laws of Florida
LegalDraft is self-help legal document software. LegalDraft is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and does not decide what legal action you should take. Your documents are prepared from your own answers on templates; the software chooses no term for you, and no attorney has reviewed your document unless you engage one. Communications with LegalDraft are not protected by attorney-client privilege. For legal advice, consult an independent licensed attorney.