Bradenton firm on State Road 70 East serving Manatee and Sarasota families, and accepting probate cases in any Florida county. Guides personal representatives and trustees through probate and trust administration, and handles estate planning, wills, trusts, and elder law as a National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys member. Rodney D. Gerling and Dana Laganella Gerling founded the firm in 2004.
Probate in Leon County
Probate Court Record
Leon County Clerk of Circuit Court & Comptroller
Leon County · 2nd Judicial Circuit
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM
Office
301 South Monroe Street, Suite 100, Tallahassee, FL 32301
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Leon County →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Leon County? →Settling an estate in Leon County →
Elder Law Firms Serving Leon County
Fort Lauderdale two-attorney firm in which both partners hold Florida Bar board certification: David Shulman in Wills, Trusts and Estates and Jill Ginsberg in Elder Law. Handles probate and trust administration for Broward and Palm Beach fiduciaries, plus guardianship — including emergency temporary guardianship — estate planning, and asset protection. Takes probate matters anywhere in Florida.
Seminole firm serving Pinellas and Hillsborough County families since 1976, with St. Petersburg and Sun City Center offices. Walks personal representatives through disposition without administration, summary and formal probate, and trust administration, and litigates trust and estate disputes. Long-term-care Medicaid and elder-law planning sit alongside the settlement work.
Brothers Sean and Seton Hengesbach lead this Spring Hill firm, with additional offices in Beverly Hills and New Port Richey and work throughout Florida. Handles probate and trust administration, will contests, probate and trust litigation, and guardianships. Sean is a past president of the Hernando County Bar Association and a member of the Nature Coast Estate Planning Council.
Palm Beach Gardens elder law and estate planning firm with offices in Boynton Beach and Port St. Lucie, practicing since 1988. Handles probate and trust administration, estate litigation, Medicaid and veterans benefits planning, and wealth-transfer tax planning. Joseph S. Karp holds both Florida Bar and national elder law certification.
Gainesville solo practice serving all 67 Florida counties, with most matters handled remotely by phone, email, or Zoom. Lauren Richardson has 30 years of experience and has handled probate estates in more than 50 Florida counties, along with trust administration, guardianship, and elder law matters.
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Florida
Free Florida forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Florida.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Healthcare Power of Attorney
Florida requires 2Fla. Stat. § 765.203Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredFla. Stat. § 765.203Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
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Free
Financial Power of Attorney
Florida requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityFla. Stat. §§ 709.2101, 709.2104, 709.2105, 709.2106, 709.2108, 709.2109, 709.2113, 709.2119, 709.2120, 709.2201, 709.2202, 709.2208, 709.2209 (2024 supported decisionmaking — informational only, not a POA); § 695.01 (recording); § 695.03 (alternative acknowledgment methods referenced by § 709.2105(2))Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, and it is signed before 2Fla. Stat. §§ 709.2101, 709.2104, 709.2105, 709.2106, 709.2108, 709.2109, 709.2113, 709.2119, 709.2120, 709.2201, 709.2202, 709.2208, 709.2209 (2024 supported decisionmaking — informational only, not a POA); § 695.01 (recording); § 695.03 (alternative acknowledgment methods referenced by § 709.2105(2))Verified Oct 21, 2026View source witnesses and a notary.
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Last Will and Testament
In Florida, a will is signed before 2Fla. Stat. § 732.502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyFla. Stat. § 732.502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Florida
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Florida: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Florida.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Florida runs $4,320Estimate: 10 hours at $432, Clio's Florida Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,480Estimate: 15 hours at $432, Clio's Florida Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,320Estimate: 3 hours at $440, Clio's Florida Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,640Estimate: 6 hours at $440, Clio's Florida Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
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How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Florida, four years at a public university cost about $64,352NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax. Fla. Const. Art. VII, § 5(a) caps any Florida estate or inheritance tax at the federal credit amount; the Chapter 198 estate tax (Fla. Stat. § 198.02) is a federal-credit pickup — not repealed, but $0 since EGTRRA eliminated the federal state death tax credit, and the Florida Department of Revenue confirms the estate tax was eliminated for people who died after Dec. 31, 2004. Florida has no inheritance tax and no gift tax.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Florida costs an estimated $30,600Fla. Stat. § 733.6171Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees on a statutory schedule presumed reasonableFla. Stat. § 733.6171Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Estates under $150,000 can use a small-estate procedure instead.
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Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Probate in Florida takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees on a statutory schedule presumed reasonableFla. Stat. § 733.6171Verified Sep 8, 2026View source; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
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Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Florida automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceFla. Stat. § 732.703Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
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