Florida runs supervised probate as the default, meaning the court is involved at every step of the process — hearings for executor appointment, asset inventories, accounting reports, and final distributions. That procedural overhead is what drives both the cost and the timeline of Florida probate. It's also why living trusts are popular here: they bypass the court entirely.

Estate planning attorneys in Florida average $440 per hourClio Legal Trends Report 2025Verified Jan 1, 2025 for wills and estates work. Flat-fee packages run roughly $1,320–$2,640 for a simple individual will and $4,320–$6,480 for a basic revocable trust. Online and DIY services cost $30–$300 for the same documents — see the will cost calculator for a side-by-side comparison.

Florida doesn't have a traditional small-estate affidavit, but estates under $150,000 may qualify for Summary Administration, a faster and cheaper alternative to formal probate. Whether you need an attorney for the summary procedure depends on the situation; for full formal probate, most families retain counsel.

In Florida, the situations where retaining counsel is typically worth the cost are: blended families with children from prior relationships; ownership of a business, rental property, or significant investment assets; special-needs dependents who need a special-needs trust to preserve benefits; substantial property held in multiple states. If none of these describe your situation, the simpler online and DIY tools are often enough.