Florida probate timeline 2026: deadlines and steps from death to discharge

The 10-day rule. The custodian of a will must deposit it with the clerk of the court having venue of the estate within 10 days after receiving information that the testator is dead (§ 732.901(1), Fla. Stat. (2026)). This is the only filing deadline that runs from the date of death in these steps. A court can compel a delinquent custodian to deposit the will and award costs, damages and a reasonable attorney's fee against a custodian who lacked reasonable cause (§ 732.901(2)).

How long an estate stays open. The statutes set minimum and maximum periods, not an average. Even the simplest formal administration stays open through the 3-month creditor period (§ 733.702(1)). The Florida Bar's consumer pamphlet says a simple estate takes about five or six months, and states that the final accounting and the documents to close the estate are first due within 12 months after letters of administration issue, a period the court can extend (Fla. Prob. R. 5.400(c); Probate in Florida, updated January 2021). Contested matters, real estate sales and disputed claims lengthen that.

Opening an estate. No statute cited on this page sets a deadline to petition for administration. Claims against the decedent are barred 2 years after death whether or not letters have issued (§ 733.710(1)).

Last checked: October 17, 2026. Statutes are cited to the 2026 Florida Statutes on the Florida Senate site and rules to the Florida Probate Rules, October 15, 2026 edition. General information, not legal advice for a particular estate.

Deadline table for a formal administration

Table 1 lists each period in the order it usually starts. “Service” means service on the person; a period that ends on a weekend or legal holiday continues to the next court day (Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.514(a)(1)(C)).

Stages of a formal administration

• Petition and letters. An interested person or the person nominated in the will petitions for administration (Fla. Prob. R. 5.200). Preference in appointment runs to the personal representative named in the will, then to a majority in interest of those entitled, then to a devisee; in an intestate estate, to the surviving spouse, then the person selected by a majority of the heirs, then the nearest heir (§ 733.301). A person not domiciled in Florida must be a close relative of the decedent to serve (§ 733.304). Clerk filing fees are capped by § 28.2401; amounts are in the cost guide.
• Notices. The personal representative serves the notice of administration and publishes the notice to creditors. A good-faith failure to give either notice does not make the personal representative liable; liability, if any, falls on the estate (§ 733.212(6); § 733.2121(3)(c)).
• Inventory. The inventory lists the estate with reasonable detail and each item's estimated fair market value at the date of death, with real property that appears to be protected homestead listed and designated. It is served on the surviving spouse, each heir in an intestate estate and each residuary beneficiary (Fla. Prob. R. 5.340). A filed inventory is confidential and exempt from public records disclosure (§ 733.604(1)(b)).
• Claims. Creditors file; the personal representative and interested persons may object; a claimant then has 30 days to sue (Table 1; § 733.702; § 733.705). Class priority for payment when assets run short is in § 733.707.
• Taxes. The personal representative files the decedent's final income tax return, an estate income tax return when required and, above the threshold, a federal estate tax return. Form 56 gives the IRS notice of the fiduciary relationship (About Form 56).
• Closing. The personal representative files a final accounting and a petition for discharge that states the estate is fully administered, claims are paid or provided for, compensation paid, and a plan of distribution (Fla. Prob. R. 5.400(a)-(b)). After objections are resolved, the personal representative distributes and the court discharges the personal representative, which bars actions against the personal representative and the surety (§ 733.901).

Worked example: how the periods stack

Table 2 is an illustration, not a forecast. It assumes a death on Tuesday, February 2, 2027, letters issued Thursday, February 25, 2027, the notice of administration served on the spouse and beneficiaries Monday, March 1, 2027, and the notice to creditors first published Tuesday, March 2, 2027. Each date is the period in Table 1 applied to that trigger.

Summary administration and other shortcuts

Summary administration proceeds on one verified petition instead of the notice, inventory, claims and accounting sequence in Table 1. The petition is signed and verified by the surviving spouse and beneficiaries (§ 735.203) and lists the assets with estimated values, the creditor search results and a schedule of proposed distribution (Fla. Prob. R. 5.530(a)). The will is proved, known or reasonably ascertainable creditors are served with the petition, and the court may enter an order allowing immediate distribution (§ 735.206). A petitioner may then publish a notice to creditors, and unknown creditors are barred 3 months after first publication (§ 735.2063). The statute sets no court-processing time, so no timeline for the order can be sourced to law.

The 2026 amounts for these procedures are in Table 3. Ch. 2026-57, Laws of Fla., changed four of them, effective July 1, 2026 (act text). Earlier published figures remain in older materials: The Florida Bar's probate pamphlet (updated January 2021) and the Ninth Circuit's summary administration checklist (revised October 31, 2022) show $75,000, which the 2026 statute no longer states.

What lengthens or shortens an estate

• A will challenge or venue objection. The 3-month objection period runs from service of the notice of administration, with an outside limit of the earlier of discharge or 1 year after service (§ 733.212(3)).
• A disputed claim. After an objection the claimant has 30 days to sue (§ 733.705(5)). Unmatured claims block discharge until the creditor and personal representative agree or the court provides for payment, and a contingent claim can hold discharge for up to 5 years from first publication (§ 733.705(7)-(8)).
• A federal estate tax return. The 12-month accounting period runs from the date the return is due instead of from letters (Fla. Prob. R. 5.400(c)).
• Extensions. Inventory and notice deadlines can be extended on petition (Fla. Prob. R. 5.340(b); Fla. Prob. R. 5.400(c)).
• Unlocated heirs or beneficiaries. A summary petition needs the beneficiaries' signatures, and a distribution to the wrong people is open to challenge by an omitted heir or devisee (§ 735.206(4)(g)).
• Real estate in the estate. A personal representative takes possession of protected homestead only to preserve it pending a determination (§ 733.607(1); § 733.608(2)); a petition to determine homestead status under Fla. Prob. R. 5.405 may be needed first. See selling an inherited Florida home.
• Filing method. Attorneys must file through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal; an unrepresented person may elect to use it (Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.525(b)).
• Signatures in a summary administration. A summary administration needs the signature of each beneficiary who does not receive a full distributive share (§ 735.203(1)). The time for signatures is within the family's control.

Ancillary administration for nonresident decedents

A nonresident decedent's Florida property goes through an ancillary proceeding. The domiciliary personal representative, or a person the will designates for the Florida property, is entitled to ancillary letters if qualified to act in Florida; the proceeding follows an original administration as closely as possible, with notice to creditors published and served under ch. 733 (§ 734.102). If a nonresident's testate estate has Florida property of $50,000 or less, the foreign personal representative may instead file an authenticated transcript of the foreign proceedings within 2 years of death (§ 734.1025). No statute sets the length of an ancillary proceeding.