Hillsborough County probate help.
We serve Hillsborough County (including Tampa, Brandon, Plant City, and surrounding areas) under the 13th Judicial Circuit, with the county seat in Tampa. Probate, estate planning, and trust administration — all on flat fees, all remote-friendly.
Looking for a probate or estate planning attorney near you in Hillsborough County?
We serve all of Hillsborough County — Tampa, Brandon, Plant City, Riverview, and the surrounding communities — with flat-fee probate, estate planning, wills, and trusts. Most of it happens by phone, email, and e-signature, so “near me” really means wherever you are in Hillsborough County.New-client intake is closed until late October 2026; the Hillsborough County filing details on this page stay free to use.
Where you'll go. What you'll need.
Probate in Hillsborough County, as we see it.
Hillsborough is the only county in the 13th Judicial Circuit — its probate division judges hear nothing but Hillsborough cases, which keeps timelines tight and the bench unusually familiar with the local docket. We file at the George Edgecomb Courthouse in downtown Tampa most weeks; for east-county families, the Plant City branch accepts probate filings and saves an hour-plus round trip.
The caseload here is the most varied in our practice. Tampa proper and the I-275 corridor produce a steady stream of summary administration for moderate estates and formal administration for larger Davis Islands, Hyde Park, and Bayshore estates. South county — Sun City Center, Apollo Beach, Ruskin — leans heavily retiree, where summary admin and disposition without administration are the dominant paths. Riverview and northwest Hillsborough (Westchase, Citrus Park) skew younger and produce more planning work than probate.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton (fall 2024) are still in the background of many south-county cases. Apollo Beach, Ruskin, and the Little Manatee corridor saw real storm-surge damage; insurance proceeds, condemned-home valuations, and rebuild-vs-sell decisions overlap with everyday probate work. We work these case-by-case — there's no template for them.
Local quirks worth knowing.
- 13th Circuit is Hillsborough-only. Unlike most Florida circuits that span 2–7 counties, the 13th covers Hillsborough alone — probate judges live and breathe Hillsborough cases, and the docket moves accordingly.
- Two courthouses for filing. Most files run through downtown Tampa (Room 204), but the Plant City branch (301 N Michigan St, Room 1071) accepts probate filings — a real convenience for east-county families.
- Sun City Center concentration. The 55+ community in south county runs about 25,000 residents, most of them Northern transplants. Many estates pull records from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, or New York — ancillary administration is everyday work.
- Waterfront and condo estates. Davis Islands, Harbour Island, Bayshore, and Apollo Beach generate a meaningful share of estates with high-value homestead, dock-slip questions, and HOA estoppel issues at sale.
- Hurricane Helene & Milton aftermath. South Hillsborough (Apollo Beach, Ruskin, Wimauma) saw significant 2024 storm-surge damage; insurance claims and condemned properties are recurring threads in current estates.
Local where you live — Hillsborough County, top to bottom.
Save these to your phone.
Homestead exemption, Save Our Homes portability, property valuation
Vehicle title transfers, property tax, business tax receipts
Lawyer referral service for litigation, real estate, family law
Search forgotten accounts in the deceased's name — about 1 in 5 estates has something
Medical records release for estate claims (you'll need a death certificate)
One-tap kit for Hillsborough County probate.
Adds the firm + courthouse + vital records + property appraiser + tax collector to your phone contacts in one tap.
DownloadSingle-page printable cheatsheet — courthouse address, hours, where to get death certificates, our contact, top 5 first-call resources.
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