The Probate Timeline: From Start To Finish

The probate process is emotionally challenging for many Florida families. In some instances, the probate timeline has substantial implications for their financial situation, as well. Understanding the probate timeline is therefore crucial to both practical application and personal peace of mind. At Loughlin Law, P.A., we work to help grieving families and the personal representatives tasked with the administration of their loved ones’ estates to chart key points on the probate timeline based on the complexity of the estate and the type of probate that will be required. We take a hands-on and personalized approach to supporting each and every client, and we would love to hear from you. Call our Boca Raton office at 561-559-6214 or book a consultation online today.

Summary of the Florida Probate Timeline

The Florida probate timeline varies based on estate complexity, the presence of a valid Will, and the type of probate administration required.

• Florida probate generally begins when the custodian of a Will submits it to the probate court within ten days of learning of the decedent’s death, with delays possible if the Will is difficult to locate or jurisdiction is unclear.
• The type of estate administration, such as disposition without administration, summary administration, intestate succession, or formal probate, significantly affects how long the process may take, with formal probate often lasting the longest due to mandatory notice periods.
• Required notices to beneficiaries and creditors establish minimum timelines, including a three-month period for creditor claims, while final income tax filings often mark the true conclusion of estate administration.

Loughlin Law, P.A. regularly assists Florida families and personal representatives with probate and estate administration matters, including summary administration, formal probate, and intestate estates, across South Florida.

Beginning and Ending Probate in Florida

The Florida probate timeline begins with a 10-day countdown from the time the custodian of the Will (the person who holds the deceased person’s Last Will and Testament) receives notice of the individual’s death. This process can easily be diverted if it appears that the decedent had no Will, but a variety of factors can impact the probate timeline even when the deceased person left behind a valid Will and a well-organized estate plan. Some of the most significant factors can be whether the estate qualifies for an accelerated probate timeline via summary administration, and whether there are any challenges from heirs or creditors. The full process of estate administration is not considered complete until the personal representative has made the decedent’s final income tax findings and been discharged by the Probate Court.

Locating the Will

Hopefully, the person who has charge of an individual’s Last Will and Testament (Will) will be in a position to learn of the testator’s passing without delay. Many testators make a point of letting close family know who this person is (often but not always the same individual named as the personal representative in the Will), just in case this person is not close at hand when the testator passes away. Testators will often make a practice of keeping notes about the status of key estate planning documents, and who has them or how to access them, in a location (usually in their home) that will be easy for others to find.

Making Estate Planning Documents Easy To Find

If you are still preparing your own estate plan, or updating it in light of your recent experience with the probate of a loved one’s estate, then if you want to implement this strategy you will generally want the location you choose to be both explicitly known to one or more of the individuals who might have a reasonable need to check your notes, and a place where someone who did not already have that information might logically consider looking.

Protecting Sensitive Information

Keep in mind that any notes placed in this manner should not include highly sensitive information, such as login credentials or account numbers. The goal is to make it easy for your loved ones to figure out where (and with whom) to start the process of probating your Will, not to roll out a welcome mat for potential identity thieves or other bad actors.

Submitting the Will to Probate

Once the individual in possession of the Will (known formally as the custodian of the Will) is aware of the testator’s passing, this person has the primary responsibility for delivering that Will to the Probate Court in the county where the testator was domiciled at the time of his or her death within 10 days of learning that the testator has passed away. Ideally, this should be within 10 days of the date listed on the individual’s death certificate, but the language used in Fla. Rev. Stat. § 732.901 actually specifies “within 10 days after receiving information” (emphasis added) of the testator’s death. If it is not immediately clear to the family members first notified of the death who have custody of the Will, then identifying the correct individual and informing them of the testator’s passing may introduce some delay into the probate timeline.

Domicile and Probate Jurisdiction

Typically, the custodian of a Will is also in possession of pertinent information about where the testator would have expected it to go for probate, so in most cases, determining domicile will not present a significant cause of delay. However, if you have identified the custodian of the Will (or if you yourself are the custodian) and it is not entirely clear which county should have jurisdiction over your loved one’s estate even after applying these tips, you may want to talk with a probate lawyer in your area to get guidance tailored to your exact situation.

Compelling the Production of a Will

Informing the custodian of a Will that the testator has died is sufficient to gain the custodian’s cooperation in the vast majority of cases. If the individual who has possession of the Will does not deposit the Will with the clerk of the probate court in the appropriate county within 10 days of receiving notice of the testator’s death, as required by law, then family members can seek a remedy from the probate court under 732.901(2).

Generally, the primary remedy is for the court to compel production of the Will, but the petitioner may also be entitled to have court costs and “reasonable” attorney fees paid by the delinquent custodian unless he or she can show the court a good reason for failing to uphold the obligation to deposit the Will. Failures to produce the Will as required are relatively uncommon, but can obviously prolong the probate timeline when they occur.

Types of Probate in Florida

The type of probate required for the administration of a decedent’s estate can have a substantial impact on the total probate timeline. Some clarification of terms may be useful here. The American Bar Association (ABA) makes a formal, semantic distinction between probate, the process for submitting a Will and getting letters of testamentary authorizing the personal representative of the estate to begin the administration process, and administration, all of the tasks to be completed in resolving a decedent’s estate, including those, like filing final income tax returns.

Because all types of estate administration in Florida fall under the state’s Probate Code, however, and because they may involve many of the same essential steps, it is very common to hear even estate planning lawyers refer to “probate” as a catchall term when they are not directly discussing a circumstance in which these finer distinctions make a difference in the procedure that applies to a particular situation. One of our attorneys with Loughlin Law, P.A. may be able to identify which process is most appropriate based on the facts of your situation.

Intestate Succession

Intestate succession is the procedure for administering a decedent’s estate when the individual died “intestate,” meaning they died without a Will. To avoid potential conflicts over the property of a deceased individual’s estate in the absence of a Will clearly documenting his or her preferences, estate administration in these cases strictly follows the rules set out in Fla. Rev. Stat. 732.101-111. Intestate succession may take more or less time than some other forms of estate administration, depending on the complexity of the property involved and how the intestacy is determined (sometimes a decedent is declared intestate as a result of a contested Will being found invalid; the contests that lead to the declaration of intestacy in these cases may extend the probate timeline, even if the administration that follows runs smoothly).

Disposition Without Administration

Disposition of personal property without administration under Fla. 734.301 is reserved for cases in which the decedent’s estate includes only his or her personal property exempt from the claims of creditors and non-exempt personal property whose value is no greater than that of the individual’s combined medical and funeral expenses from the last 60 days of his or her final illness. Cases of disposition without administration tend to follow either significant adverse events or a history of chronic struggle, and are thankfully rare.

Summary Administration

Summary administration is also reserved for small estates, but not quite so small as those that qualify for disposition without administration, and many astute Florida residents prepare their estate plans precisely to ensure that their estates will be eligible for summary administration after they are gone. Like disposition without administration, summary administration requires approval from the Probate Court, but the eligibility criteria set out in 735.201 are much less stringent, requiring only that the value of non-exempt property in the probate estate be no more than $75,000 and that the decedent’s Will contain no provision requiring the more formal process outlined in Chapter 733. Summary administration tends to expedite the probate timeline somewhat.

Formal Probate

Formal probate is the “full” probate process described in Fla. Rev. Stat. § 733.201-213; this is the probate process with which the greatest number of Floridians are likely to be familiar, and it is also the one that in most cases takes the longest. By the nature of formal probate’s difference from intestate succession, however, a direct comparison of the probate timeline between these two methods of estate administration can be difficult.

Estate Administration and Probate Timeline

The time it takes to complete each of these procedures can vary, depending on a variety of factors, some of which may not apply in every case. One way to gauge the probable probate timeline in your particular situation is to think of the statutory requirements as establishing a minimum, or baseline. From that point, any additional complications can extend the probate timeline, but will not generally reduce it.

Minimum Timelines: Required Notices

The most significant mandatory factors setting a minimum for the Florida probate timeline are generally those related to notices. These come in two categories: notice to creditors and notice to parties with a non-creditor connection to the estate. Notice of administration is required in both summary administration and formal probate, but formal probate imposes a mandatory waiting period to allow time for objections and claims. In summary administration, however, the personal representative is required to conduct a thorough review to identify creditors of the estate and, if none are to be found, may request the court’s permission, pursuant to 735.206(3), to immediately proceed with distribution. This difference in the handling of notices is often the primary factor making the formal probate timeline longer than that required for summary administration.

Notice to Family, Trustees, and Beneficiaries Named in the Will

Notice to these “non-creditor” connections covers the following:

• The decedent’s surviving spouse
• The trustee of any trust the decedent has left under the provisions of Fla. 733.707(3)
• Each qualified beneficiary of a 736.0103 trust who is also a personal representative of the estate (a co-executor)
• All beneficiaries named in the decedent’s Will
• Any other “persons who may be entitled” to property that is exempt from creditors’ claims during probate

This last item serves to clarify why creditors would constitute a separate group.

Notice to Creditors

The notice personal representatives are required to provide to creditors can be further divided, based on the personal representative’s knowledge of their claims on the estate:

• Notice served must be served directly on “reasonably ascertainable” creditors under 733.2121(3)(a), to allow these creditors to file their claims.
• Notice must run by publication in a newspaper in the county where the decedent was domiciled at least once per week for at least two weeks, to give any unknown creditors a chance to come forward.

The outer limit for filing objections, whether from creditors or from one of the other parties served with notice of administration, is generally set at three months. For non-creditors, the timeline to file an objection cannot usually be extended except in cases where the personal representative has misstated the relevant dates in the notice provided. Fla. 733.702(3) bars creditors from filing claims after the three-month period has closed, with tightly limited exceptions.

Tax Filings and Additional Factors

Beneficiaries named in a decedent’s Will may feel that the probate process has concluded as soon as they receive the property that was designated for them. For personal representatives, however, the full probate timeline is not truly over until the decedent’s final income tax returns have been filed. Even in the instance of the disposition of personal property without administration, timely notice to government agencies of the individual’s passing may also be necessary. This would not typically extend the timeline. The same is not true for final tax filings; the information needed to complete each year’s income tax returns is not normally provided until early in the following year, so the extent to which final income tax returns affect the probate timeline for the personal representative to complete their duties can vary from a very short period to nearly a year.

How Long Does Probate Take in Florida?

If you have questions about the Florida probate timeline, the answer may be as few as three to six months for summary administration. Formal probate proceedings typically take longer, particularly if objections or claims are filed during the three-month notice period. A variety of circumstances can cause delays, particularly if there are unexpected claims for creditors or if someone contests the Will. Working with an experienced probate attorney can often make it easier for personal representatives and families to navigate the process and understand what to expect at each stage, so consider reaching out to a member of our team at Loughlin Law, P.A. to discuss the specifics of your situation and get help reviewing the requirements that may apply to your loved one’s estate. Call 561-559-6214 today to schedule a private consultation.

Important Frequently Asked Questions About Florida Probate

Read below to find many of the common FAQs about the Florida probate timeline. 

What Is Probate Under Florida Law?

Probate is the court-supervised process of transferring a deceased individual’s assets to beneficiaries or heirs and resolving outstanding obligations. In Florida, probate also authorizes a personal representative to administer the estate under the Probate Code.

When Does the Florida Probate Timeline Begin?

The probate timeline generally begins when the custodian of the Will receives notice of the individual’s death. Florida law requires the Will to be deposited with the appropriate probate court within ten days of receiving that information.

How Long Does Probate Usually Take in Florida?

Probate timelines vary based on the type of administration and estate complexity. Summary administration may take three to six months, while formal probate often takes longer due to creditor notice requirements and potential objections.

What Factors Commonly Delay the Probate Process?

Delays may occur if the Will cannot be located promptly, if heirs or creditors raise objections, or if there are disputes regarding domicile or the validity of estate planning documents. Tax filings and contested claims can also extend the timeline.

What Is the Difference Between Summary Administration and Formal Probate?

Summary administration applies to qualifying estates with limited non-exempt assets and generally proceeds more quickly. Formal probate involves additional court oversight, mandatory waiting periods, and detailed administrative steps.

Why Are Notices to Creditors Important in Probate?

Florida law requires personal representatives to notify known and unknown creditors, allowing them a limited time to file claims. These notice periods establish a statutory minimum timeline that cannot typically be shortened.

How Can Loughlin Law, P.A. Assist With Florida Probate Matters?

Individuals managing an estate may consider visiting with an experienced attorney at Loughlin Law, P.A. to learn more about probate procedures, timelines, and responsibilities. Attorneys at the firm could help clarify available legal options and explain how Florida probate laws apply to a specific estate.