Will contest in Florida: grounds, deadlines and the 3-month objection period
How a will contest works in Florida: who can file, the grounds in § 732.5165, the 3-month deadline after service of the notice of administration, caveats, revocation of probate, burden of proof and who pays costs. Each rule is cited.
An interested person who is served with a notice of administration must file any objection to the validity of the will, the venue or the court's jurisdiction on or before the date 3 months after service, or the objection is “forever barred” (§ 733.212(3), Fla. Stat. (2026)). The statute counts three months from service, not 90 days.
The grounds are in § 732.5165, § 732.501 and § 732.502: fraud, duress, mistake, undue influence, lack of sound mind and defective execution. The contestant carries the burden of proof once the will's execution is shown (§ 733.107(1)).
Deadlines
Table 1 collects the deadlines that decide whether a challenge is still open. The 3-month rule starts with service on the person who objects.
| Situation | Deadline or limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Served with a notice of administration | File the objection on or before the date 3 months after the date of service on the objecting person. The 3-month period can be extended only for estoppel based on the personal representative's misstatement of the time. | § 733.212(2)(c), (3) |
| Outer limit | All objections to the validity of a will, venue or jurisdiction must be filed no later than the earlier of the order of final discharge of the personal representative or 1 year after service of the notice of administration. | § 733.212(3) |
| Service waived | For deadlines measured from service of the notice of administration, service is deemed to occur on the date the waiver is filed. | § 733.212(8) |
| Formal notice of the petition for administration served before letters | A person served, or who waived notice, may not challenge the validity of the will, testacy, venue or jurisdiction except in the proceedings before letters issue. | § 733.2123 |
| A successor personal representative is appointed | The appointment does not extend or renew the period unless a new will or codicil is admitted. A newly admitted will requires a new notice of administration. | § 733.212(4), (7) |
| Petition to revoke probate | An interested person, including a beneficiary under a prior will, may commence it before final discharge of the personal representative, unless barred under § 733.212 or § 733.2123. | § 733.109(1) |
| Challenge to a trust or writing incorporated by reference | The notice of administration warns that failing to contest the will may waive the right to contest a trust or other writing incorporated into it. | § 733.212(2)(f) |
| Spouse's elective share | Unless extended under § 732.2135(2), the election is due by the earlier of 6 months after service of the notice of administration on the spouse or 2 years after the decedent's death. | § 733.212(2)(e) |
| Exempt property claim | A petition is due by the later of 4 months after service of the notice of administration or 40 days after a will proceeding ends. | § 733.212(2)(d) |
| Appeal of an order revoking or refusing to revoke probate | Notice of appeal within 30 days of rendition of the order. | Fla. R. App. P. 9.170(b)(2); Fla. R. App. P. 9.110(b) |
Sources: Fla. Stat. (2026) and the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure (Oct. 1, 2026 ed.). Who is bound when no notice of administration reached a person is a question for a Florida probate lawyer.
Caveats
A caveat is a notice filed with the court by an interested person who is apprehensive that an estate will be administered, or a will admitted, without the person's knowledge. An interested person other than a creditor may file it before or after the death. A creditor may file only after death (§ 731.110(1); Fla. Prob. R. 5.260(a)).
- Effect. With a caveat on file, the court may not admit a will or appoint a personal representative until formal notice of the petition for administration has been served on the caveator or the caveator's designated agent and the caveator has had the opportunity to participate (§ 731.110(3)).
- Nonresident caveators. A nonresident without a Florida attorney's signature designates a resident of the county as agent for service (§ 731.110(2)).
- Expiration. A caveat filed before the death expires 2 years after filing (§ 731.110(4)).
- The 3-month clock. Neither the caveat statute nor the caveat rule changes the period in § 733.212(3), which runs from service of the notice of administration on the person who objects.
Grounds
Table 2 matches each ground to its statute.
| Ground | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lack of sound mind or age | Any person of sound mind who is 18 or older, or an emancipated minor, may make a will. | § 732.501 |
| Defective execution | The testator signs at the end, or another person subscribes the testator's name in the testator's presence and by direction. The signing or acknowledgment is in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, who sign in the presence of the testator and of each other. | § 732.502(1) |
| Fraud, duress, mistake or undue influence | A will is void if its execution is procured by fraud, duress, mistake or undue influence. Only the part so procured is void if the rest is valid. A revocation procured the same way is void. | § 732.5165 |
| Revocation by a later will, codicil or writing | A later inconsistent will or codicil revokes a prior will to the extent of the inconsistency. A later writing executed with the formalities for wills and declaring revocation also revokes. | § 732.505 |
| Revocation by act | Burning, tearing, canceling, defacing, obliterating or destroying the will with the intent and for the purpose of revocation. | § 732.506 |
| Divorce | A will provision affecting the testator's spouse is void on dissolution of the marriage, with listed exceptions. | § 732.507(2) |
Sources: Fla. Stat. (2026). A self-proved will may be made so by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits before an officer (§ 732.503).
Burden of proof and undue influence
The proponent of a will must first establish its formal execution and attestation. A self-proving affidavit under § 732.503 does that prima facie. After that, the contestant “shall have the burden of establishing the grounds on which the probate of the will is opposed or revocation is sought” (§ 733.107(1)).
Where the presumption of undue influence applies, it is a presumption that shifts the burden of proof (§ 733.107(2)). In In re Estate of Carpenter, 253 So. 2d 697 (Fla. 1971), the Florida Supreme Court explained that the presumption rests on a confidential relationship plus active procurement of the will by the beneficiary, and listed criteria for active procurement.
- Presence of the beneficiary at the execution of the will.
- Presence of the beneficiary when the testator expressed a desire to make a will.
- Recommendation by the beneficiary of the attorney who drew the will.
- Knowledge by the beneficiary of the will's contents before execution.
- Instructions by the beneficiary to the attorney on preparing the will.
- Securing of the witnesses by the beneficiary.
- Safekeeping of the will by the beneficiary after execution.
The court called these criteria non-exclusive and said a contestant is not required to prove all of them (Carpenter, 253 So. 2d at 702). A confidential relationship can be informal, including any relation in which one person trusts in and relies on another (Carpenter, 253 So. 2d at 701-02).
Disputes that are not will contests
Unfairness is not among the grounds in § 732.5165. Several statutes decide the common disputes that look like will contests.
- No-contest clauses. “A provision in a will purporting to penalize any interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is unenforceable” (§ 732.517).
- Spouse. A surviving spouse of a person who died domiciled in Florida has a right to an elective share (§ 732.201). See the elective share guide.
- Children and spouses added after the will. A later marriage, birth or adoption does not revoke a prior will, and the pretermitted child or spouse inherits under §§ 732.301 and 732.302 (§ 732.507(1)). See the pretermitted heirs guide.
- Homestead. The devise limit applies when a spouse or minor child survives (Art. X, § 4(c), Fla. Const.; § 732.4015).
- Missing will. See the missing will guide. A custodian must deposit a will with the clerk within 10 days after learning the testator died, and a custodian who fails without just cause owes costs, damages and a reasonable attorney's fee (§ 732.901(1)-(2)).
Who can contest
An “interested person” is any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding, and the meaning is decided for each proceeding (§ 731.201(23)). The statute on revocation names a beneficiary under a prior will (§ 733.109(1)). The personal representative is deemed an interested person in a proceeding affecting the estate.
How the case runs
- Notice. The personal representative serves the notice of administration on the surviving spouse, beneficiaries, certain trustees and persons who may be entitled to exempt property (§ 733.212(1)).
- Pleading. A proceeding to contest the validity of a will, and one for revocation of probate, are adversary proceedings (Fla. Prob. R. 5.025(a)(6)-(7)). The petitioner serves formal notice, and the proceeding is conducted as nearly as practicable like a civil suit, including entry of defaults, under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure except rule 1.525 (Fla. Prob. R. 5.025(d)). A revocation petition states the petitioner's interest and the facts constituting the grounds (Fla. Prob. R. 5.270(a)).
- Administration continues. The personal representative proceeds as if no revocation proceeding had begun, but no distribution may be made against the rights of those who would take if the will failed (§ 733.109(2); Fla. Prob. R. 5.270(b)).
- Trial. Burdens follow § 733.107.
- Result. Revocation does not affect title to property purchased in good faith for value from the personal representative before the order of revocation (§ 733.109(3)).
- Appeal. An order determining a petition to revoke probate is appealable, and the notice of appeal is due within 30 days of rendition (Fla. R. App. P. 9.170(b)(2); Fla. R. App. P. 9.110(b)).
Costs and attorney fees
Costs may be awarded as in chancery actions in probate proceedings (§ 733.106(1)). Four rules matter in a contest.
- Proponent in good faith. A person nominated as personal representative, or any proponent of a will if the nominee does not act within a reasonable time, who in good faith is justified in offering the will for probate “shall receive costs and attorney fees from the estate even though probate is denied or revoked” (§ 733.106(2)).
- Which share pays. The court, in its discretion, may direct from what part of the estate costs and fees are paid and may assess them against one or more persons' parts in proportions it finds just and proper (§ 733.106(4)(b)).
- Factors. The court may consider the impact on each person's share, the extent of each person's participation, the benefit or detriment expected, the relative strength of the claims and defenses, whether the person prevailed, whether the person unjustly increased costs, and any other relevant fact. It may assess a person's share without finding bad faith, wrongdoing or frivolousness (§ 733.106(4)(c)-(d)).
- The estate's lawyer. The personal representative's attorney is allowed further compensation for extraordinary services, including a will contest and any adversarial proceeding by or against the estate (§ 733.6171(4)(a)). Ch. 2026-57, Laws of Fla., effective July 1, 2026, added paragraph (4)(l) for proceedings to enforce a personal representative's authority.
The statutes set no dollar figure for a contest. The cost guide lists the amounts the statutes do set.
Sources
Last checked: October 17, 2026. Statutes are cited to the 2026 Florida Statutes on the Florida Senate site.
- § 733.212, § 733.2123, § 733.109 and § 733.107, Fla. Stat. (2026). Notice of administration and objections; adjudication before letters; revocation of probate; burden of proof.
- § 731.110, Fla. Stat. (2026), caveat; § 731.201, definitions.
- § 732.501, § 732.502, § 732.503, § 732.505, § 732.506, § 732.507, § 732.5165 and § 732.517, Fla. Stat. (2026). Wills.
- § 732.201, § 732.4015 and § 732.901, Fla. Stat. (2026). Elective share; devise of homestead; production of wills.
- § 733.106 and § 733.6171, Fla. Stat. (2026). Costs and attorney fees.
- Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const., homestead.
- In re Estate of Carpenter, 253 So. 2d 697 (Fla. 1971).
- Fla. Prob. R. 5.025, 5.260 and 5.270, Florida Probate Rules, October 15, 2026 edition, The Florida Bar. Fla. R. App. P. 9.110 and 9.170, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, October 1, 2026 edition.
- Ch. 2026-57, Laws of Fla. (CS/HB 1337), effective July 1, 2026.
What people ask us about this.
How long do I have to contest a will in Florida?
Is the deadline 90 days or 3 months?
What is a caveat, and does it start the deadline?
What are the grounds to contest a will in Florida?
Who can contest a will in Florida?
Does a no-contest clause stop me from challenging a will?
Who has to prove undue influence?
Does the estate stop while a will contest is pending?
Who pays the lawyers in a Florida will contest?
What is the 10-day rule for wills in Florida?
Related guides
Intake reopens late October 2026. The guides stay free.
Rachel is not accepting new clients until late October 2026. Leave your details and we'll call when intake reopens. If your matter can't wait, The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service — 800-342-8011 — refers you to another Florida attorney taking cases now.