Probate in Columbia County

Probate Court Record

Columbia County Clerk of Circuit Court

Columbia County · 3rd Judicial Circuit

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM

Office

173 Northeast Hernando Avenue, Lake City, FL 32055

Filing in person

Walk-ins accepted

Self-represented filing

Allowed

Self-help forms

How to file probate in Columbia County →

Verified October 15, 2026 · Source

Do I need a lawyer for probate in Columbia County? →Settling an estate in Columbia County →

Guardianship Firms Serving Columbia County

Gainesville firm founded in 1927 by E.G. Baxter and E.A. Clayton, one of the oldest continuously operated law firms in Florida. Handles estate administration, probate, trust administration, and asset-protection and charitable trusts for families across eleven north-central Florida counties, from Alachua and Marion to Lafayette, Dixie, and Putnam.

Solo PracticeSince 1927Serves 11 countiesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTax PlanningGuardianship+2

Gainesville firm serving Alachua County and north-central Florida since 1974. Handles probate and estate administration, trust administration, wills and trusts, Medicaid planning, and elder and minor guardianships. Richard Knellinger was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1974 and holds Martindale-Hubbell's AV Peer Review Rating.

Since 1974Serves 12 countiesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawGuardianshipWills Trusts

Gainesville elder law firm serving Alachua, Marion, Columbia, and neighboring north-central Florida counties. Handles probate and trust administration, guardianships, trust and estate litigation, elder financial exploitation recovery, Medicaid planning, and special needs planning. Shannon M. Miller has been board certified by The Florida Bar in Elder Law since 2011.

Serves 8 countiesFree consultationEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateTrust LitigationElder Law+3

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.

Serves the whole stateVirtual consultationsEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder LawTax Planning+3

Winter Park firm serving Orange County and, in probate matters, the entire state of Florida. Represents estate administrators, executors, trustees, and fiduciaries; handles intestate estates, probate real estate, will contests, and probate litigation; and drafts wills, testamentary trusts, and advance directives. Co-founder John R. Gierach has 43 years of experience and an AV Preeminent rating.

Since 1971Serves the whole stateFree consultationEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTax Planning+2

Aventura practice serving Miami-Dade and clients throughout Florida, focused exclusively on trust and estate law. Handles formal, summary, and ancillary administration — including Florida timeshares and second homes inherited by out-of-state families — and trust administration with asset collection, distribution, and accounting. Eric S. Kane lectures on probate administration and estate planning.

Solo PracticeServes the whole stateEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateGuardianship

All 14 Florida guardianship firms serving Columbia County →

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.

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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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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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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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$12/month

Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

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All Florida forms

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.

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 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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Who Inherits Without a Will?

Without a will in Florida, a surviving spouse takes the entire estateFla. Stat. § 732.102Verified Oct 21, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per stirpesFla. Stat. § 732.104Verified Oct 21, 2026View source.

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