Tools for 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

25 tools for Florida

How Much Does Probate Cost?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Florida costs an estimated $30,600. 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 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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What Are the Estate Laws in My State?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Florida costs an estimated $30,600 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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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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Can I Self-File Probate?

Florida has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is not available.

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How Do I Get Appointed as Executor?

In Florida, the Circuit Court appoints the personal representative and the The Circuit Court issues Letters of Administration; every appointment goes through the court.

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What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?

In Florida, creditors have 3 months from first publication of the creditor notice to present claims; late claims are barred.

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What Happens When an Estate Is Insolvent?

When an estate owes more than it holds, Florida pays the claims in 8 classes in statutory order, beginning with costs and expenses of administration, and compensation of personal representatives and their attorneys.

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How Do I Open an Estate Account When Someone Dies?

Compare estate-account opening requirements bank by bank: channels, required documents, and steps.

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How Do I Open a Trust Account at My Bank?

Compare trust-account requirements bank by bank: how a revocable trust account is opened or retitled, and what proves the trust.

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When Do I Have to Withdraw an Inherited IRA?

See which federal withdrawal rules apply to an inherited IRA, Roth IRA, or employer plan, the deadline year, and the missed-withdrawal tax.

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Settling an estate in Florida means gathering the assets, notifying creditors, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what remains to the beneficiaries. Assets in a living trust settle privately without the court. An estate that needs probate takes 9 months to 12 months on average, and the creditor claim period of 3 months is the floor. In a probate case the inventory of estate assets is due within 60 days of appointment.

Florida has no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the Circuit Court. The Circuit Court issues Letters of Administration after the court grants the petition.

The creditor claim period of 3 months runs from the first publication of the creditor notice, which follows the executor's appointment. Distributing assets before the period has run can leave the executor personally liable for a claim that arrives later.

Florida sets executor compensation on a statutory schedule that is presumed reasonable — about $15,000 on a $500,000 estate, roughly 3.0%. The statutory amount is the baseline; executors and beneficiaries can agree on a different fee. Executors can waive the fee entirely or accept a reduced amount.

Settling a trust in Florida starts when the successor trustee accepts the role: the trustee obtains death certificates and an EIN for the now-irrevocable trust, notifies the beneficiaries within 60 days, takes inventory of the trust assets, settles the grantor's debts and taxes, and distributes what remains under the trust terms. The process runs privately, without probate court supervision.

Tools for Settling an Estate in Florida

The tools on this page cover an administration from the first week to the last distribution. The first weeks are the death certificate count, the burial and cremation rules, and whether the estate needs probate at all. The executor tools follow the court track: what probate costs and how long it takes, whether the estate can be self-filed and at which county court, the creditor claim deadlines, what an executor can charge, how an estate account is opened at a specific bank, and what happens when the estate cannot pay its debts. The trustee tools cover the settlement of a trust and the trustee's compensation.

Florida sets executor compensation on a statutory schedule that is presumed reasonable — about $15,000 on a $500,000 estate, roughly 3.0%. In Florida, the inventory is due within 60 days of appointment, the personal representative is discharged by court order, and a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 15, 2026

Legal Sources

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