Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Florida

After a death in Florida, the estate either qualifies for the simplified procedure for estates under $150,000 or goes through probate, where creditors have 3 months to file claims after notice.

All Planning ahead Settling an estate

36 tools for Florida

How Much Does Probate Cost?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Florida costs an estimated $30,599. Attorney fees on a statutory schedule presumed reasonable.

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How Much Can an Executor Charge?

Florida sets executor compensation on a statutory schedule that is presumed reasonable — about $15,000 on a $500,000 estate, roughly 3.0%.

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Who Inherits Without a Will?

Without a will in Florida, a surviving spouse takes the entire estate when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per stirpes.

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What's Fair Trustee Compensation?

In Florida, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent) unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.

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How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?

Florida levies no estate or inheritance tax; only the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,000.

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How Many Death Certificates Do I Need?

In Florida, certified death certificates come from the Florida Department of Health - Bureau of Vital Statistics; the first copy costs $5, additional copies $4 each.

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Do I Need Probate?

Florida sets no dollar limit for its Disposition Without Administration; eligibility turns on other tests.

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What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Florida runs $4,320 to $6,480 and a simple will $1,320 to $2,640, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

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How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Florida runs $4,320 to $6,480 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

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How Much Does a Will Cost?

An attorney-prepared will in Florida runs $1,320 to $2,640, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $30,599.

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How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

In Florida, four years at a public university cost about $64,352 and the cost of living is near the U.S. average; no state estate or inheritance tax applies.

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What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?

Florida imposes no inheritance or estate tax; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate.

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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?

Inherited assets in Florida take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death, and the gain on a later sale faces no state capital gains tax.

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Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

Florida automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorce; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

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What Are the Estate Laws in My State?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Florida costs an estimated $30,599 and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees on a statutory schedule presumed reasonable. Estates under $150,000 can use a small-estate procedure instead.

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How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?

Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.

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How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?

In Florida, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writing, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18.

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What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in My State?

Florida allows you to name your own agent in a signed, written document, and that designation takes priority over the statutory order of next of kin who otherwise control disposition of the remains.

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How Do I Sign Estate Documents?

Find witness, notary, and remote signing requirements for all 50 states.

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Will My Estate Documents Transfer?

Check if estate planning documents signed in one state are valid in another.

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Florida does not set a single dollar-capped small estate limit. Its Disposition Without Administration is not gated on a dollar figure. Florida's small estate shortcut is a court procedure: the court's own order authorizes collection. There is no affidavit to present to a bank.

Probate costs in Florida typically include attorney fees on a statutory schedule presumed reasonable, executor fees, court filing fees, and publication costs. On a $500,000 estate, total costs run about $30,599, roughly 6% of estate value, varying with complexity. Estimate executor compensation separately with the Florida executor fee calculator.

Florida intestacy law decides. Florida follows separate property rules: the surviving spouse's share depends on whether children survive and whose children they are. The estate passes to the closest surviving relatives, in most cases the spouse and children first, then in order: Parents; Brothers and sisters and their descendants; Grandparents (paternal and maternal halves); Uncles and aunts and their descendants; Whole estate to the surviving side; Kindred of your last deceased spouse; Escheat to the State of Florida.

No. Florida imposes no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, on an estate above $15,000,000, an exemption the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21 §70106) set permanently from 2026 and indexes for inflation.

A will in Florida costs what the provider charges. An online service runs $0 to $299 up front. An attorney in Florida charges around $440 an hour for wills and estates, which puts a simple will at $1,320 to $2,640. The document is only part of the cost: probate adds about $30,599 on a $500,000 estate in fees the heirs pay later.

Free Estate Planning Tools in Florida

The tools are grouped by who you are. Planning ahead covers the questions that come before any document is drafted: what a will, a trust, or a full plan costs in your state, whether a trust or a transfer on death deed changes anything for you, and how documents are signed. Someone I love died covers the first weeks: death certificates, burial and cremation rules, and whether the estate needs probate at all. The executor and trustee groups follow an administration from appointment to distribution, and inheriting covers what a death triggers in estate, inheritance, and income tax.

In Florida, probate on a $500,000 estate costs about $30,599, and a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months. Florida sets executor compensation on a statutory schedule that is presumed reasonable — about $15,000 on a $500,000 estate, roughly 3.0%. Florida levies no estate or inheritance tax; only the federal estate tax above $15,000,000 applies.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 15, 2026

Legal Sources

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Data sourced from Florida statutes and official state code. How we research.