Florida 2026 probate reform: what changed, chapter 2026-57 and the $150,000 summary administration limit

The Florida Legislature passed CS/HB 1337, approved April 29, 2026 as chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida. It raises the summary administration limit in § 735.201(2), Fla. Stat., from $75,000 to $150,000. Section 14 of the act states: “This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.” (Ch. 2026-57, Laws of Fla.).

The four dollar changes

All four changes are in the act and in the 2026 statutes.

Section	What it covers	Before	After
§ 735.201(2) (act s. 7)	Summary administration: value of the estate subject to administration, less exempt property	$75,000	$150,000
§ 735.302 (act s. 8)	Federal income tax refund payable without administration	$2,500	$5,000
§ 735.303 (act s. 9)	Payment by a financial institution to a family member on an affidavit	$1,000	$2,000
§ 735.304 (act s. 10)	Disposition without administration of intestate personal property in small estates: $20,000 plus preferred funeral expenses and last-60-day medical and hospital expenses	$10,000 plus the same expenses	$20,000 plus the same expenses

• Summary administration. The statute reads: the value of the entire estate subject to administration in this state, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditors, “does not exceed $150,000 or that the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years” (§ 735.201(2)). The two-year alternative has no dollar limit of its own. Under Fla. Prob. R. 5.530(a)(7) (Oct. 15, 2026 ed.), the petition states the $150,000 limit or the two-year fact.
• Bank accounts. A financial institution may not pay earlier than 6 months after the date of death, and the total of the qualified accounts may not exceed $2,000 (§ 735.303).
• Small intestate estates. The nonexempt personal property must have a value that does not exceed “the sum of $20,000 and the amount of preferred funeral expenses and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness” (§ 735.304(1)). Fla. Prob. R. 5.425 states the route applies when the decedent “has been deceased for more than 1 year.”
• Tax refunds. An overpayment “not in excess of $5,000” may be refunded as § 735.302 provides.

What did not change

Section 735.301, the general disposition-without-administration section, was last amended by ch. 2001-226, and the act does not amend it. Its limit is the amount of preferred funeral expenses plus the reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness, together with exempt property (§ 735.301(1)).

Other provisions of the act

The act also amends or creates these provisions for personal representatives and safe-deposit boxes:

• Safe-deposit boxes: §§ 655.933 and 655.936 (lessor duties toward personal representatives and other fiduciaries).
• § 733.603: a personal representative may invoke the jurisdiction of the court to resolve questions concerning the estate or its administration (§ 733.603).
• § 733.612(28): a personal representative may “institute a proceeding to enforce his or her authority as personal representative” (§ 733.612).
• § 733.6125 (new): in a proceeding to enforce the personal representative’s authority, the court “shall award to a prevailing personal representative taxable costs as in chancery actions, including attorney fees,” and may direct payment from any person whose action or inaction necessitated the proceeding (§ 733.6125).
• § 733.6171(4)(l): “Involvement in any proceeding to enforce the authority of a personal representative” is added to the list of extraordinary attorney services (§ 733.6171).

Date of death, date of filing and the effective date

The act takes effect July 1, 2026. The act text has no separate provision stating which deaths the new limits cover, so the act does not say whether the $150,000 figure turns on the date of death or the date of filing. Fla. Prob. R. 5.530(a)(7) (Oct. 15, 2026 ed.) has the petition state the $150,000 limit, and the 14th Judicial Circuit’s petition form revised 7/22/26 states it as well. Several local checklists still list $75,000, among them the 9th Judicial Circuit checklist revised October 31, 2022 and the 17th Judicial Circuit checklist for summary administration of a testate estate (file name dated 12.9.25). When a local form and the statute disagree, § 735.201(2) controls.

For a decedent who died before July 1, 2026, with an estate between $75,000 and $150,000, the question is how a court applies the amended statute. The clerk of the court for the county of venue or a Florida attorney can say how that circuit treats it.

Examples

The examples apply § 735.201(2) and use invented figures. They illustrate the test and do not predict a court’s decision.

Facts	Result under § 735.201(2)
Non-exempt estate of $120,000, decedent dead 5 months	Below $150,000. The value test is met.
Non-exempt estate of $180,000, decedent dead 5 months	Above $150,000 and under 2 years. Summary administration is not available on the value test.
Estate of $400,000, decedent dead 3 years, will does not direct administration	Dead more than 2 years. The value test does not apply.

Next steps in the process are in the summary administration page, the cost calculator and the Do I need probate? guide.

Sources

1. Ch. 2026-57, Laws of Fla. (CS/HB 1337). Section 7 amends § 735.201(2); sections 8 to 10 amend §§ 735.302 to 735.304; sections 3 to 6 amend §§ 733.603, 733.612 and 733.6171 and create § 733.6125; section 14 sets the effective date. Quote read: “This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.”
2. § 735.201, Fla. Stat. (2026). Quote read: “does not exceed $150,000 or that the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years.” History line ends “s. 7, ch. 2026-57.”
3. § 735.301, Fla. Stat. (2026). Disposition without administration; history ends “s. 184, ch. 2001-226.”
4. § 735.302, § 735.303 and § 735.304, Fla. Stat. (2026). Refund of $5,000, bank payment of $2,000 after 6 months, intestate small estates of $20,000 plus preferred funeral and last-60-day medical and hospital expenses.
5. § 733.603, § 733.612, § 733.6125 and § 733.6171, Fla. Stat. (2026). Quote read in § 733.612: “(28) Institute a proceeding to enforce his or her authority as personal representative as conferred by this code.”
6. Florida Probate Rules, Fla. Prob. R. 5.530 and 5.425 (Oct. 15, 2026 ed.). Summary administration petition contents; small intestate estates.
7. 14th Judicial Circuit, Petition for Summary Administration (rev. 7/22/26). States the $150,000 limit.
8. 9th Judicial Circuit, Checklist for Summary Administration (rev. Oct. 31, 2022). Lists $75,000, the figure ch. 2026-57 replaced.

Last checked: October 19, 2026.