— Everything on this site
The whole map.
665 pages. Every guide, every county, every form, 282 Florida statutes in plain English, and 204 case files in the Probate Archive. All of it free, none of it gated, no signup anywhere.
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— The Probate Archive · 204 case files
Two hundred famous estates, told properly and sourced, each ending with the Florida statutes that would have governed the same facts here. Nine centuries of it, from the bishops' courts to the $15 million exemption.
Browse by collection
- Probates of note — 79 cases
- Celebrity estates — 117 cases
- Pets — 7 cases
- Macabre — 17 cases
- Exotic & eccentric — 16 cases
- Historical — 49 cases
- The Florida files — 60 cases
Browse by failure mode · the legal axis
- Died without a will — 41 cases
- Handwritten wills — 11 cases
- Capacity & undue influence — 31 cases
- Trustee & fee wars — 100 cases
- Pets — 8 cases
- Strange conditions — 33 cases
- Remains & final wishes — 35 cases
- Blended families — 43 cases
- Taxes & timing — 33 cases
Start here
- A history of probate — 1066 to 2026
- Aretha Franklin — The will in the couch
- Anna Nicole Smith — Two trips to the Supreme Court
- Leona Helmsley — The dog that got $12 million
- Jimmy Buffett — Two co-trustees, one Margaritaville
- Robert Rauschenberg — The $24.6 million fee
- Prince — No will, six years, half to a stranger
— Florida probate · 10 pages
Five ways an estate gets administered in Florida, and the situations that decide which one you're in.
Case types
- Summary Administration — A court order that distributes an estate of $150,000 or less, or the estate of a person who died more than 2 years ago.
- Formal Administration — Full probate under chapter 733: letters, creditor notice, inventory, accounting and discharge.
- Ancillary Administration — Florida administration of the Florida assets of a decedent who lived in another state.
- Disposition w/o Administration — Transfer of exempt and small amounts of personal property without opening an estate.
- Determination of Homestead — Protect the family home from creditors. Often paired with another path.
Your situation
- No will (intestate) — Florida statute decides who inherits. We'll show you the map.
- Out-of-state executor — We handle the FL filings remotely. You sign electronically.
- Real estate in the estate — Title transfer + Florida's unique homestead protections.
- Small estate / no real property — You probably qualify for summary administration.
- Disputed will or heir — We refer litigation cases — and we know the right people.
— Wills & trusts · 10 pages
The documents, and the life stages that call for them. Drafted under Florida law.
Documents
- Revocable Living Trust — How a Florida revocable living trust is created, funded, changed and administered after death, with each rule cited to the Florida Statutes.
- Pour-over Will + Trust — Bundle: trust + pour-over will + POAs + healthcare directives.
- Last Will & Testament — Florida-compliant, witnessed, attested. The basics, done right.
- Durable Power of Attorney — Authorize someone to handle your finances if you can't.
- Healthcare Surrogate + Living Will — Medical decisions if you can't make them. End-of-life wishes in writing.
Life stages
- Young families — Guardianship for the kids, life-stage trust for assets.
- Blended families — Protect both spouses and kids from prior marriages.
- Business owners — Continuity planning, buy-sell agreements, succession.
- Snowbirds / multi-state — Domicile planning + ancillary coordination across states.
- Special-needs planning — Special needs trusts that protect benefits eligibility.
— Plain-English guides · 39 guides
Long-form, no jargon, no fearmongering. Written for someone who is grieving and has to do paperwork anyway.
First steps
- What to do in the first 72 hours after a death in Florida — Checklist with sources
- Do I need probate in Florida? Which assets and estates skip it — Decision table with sources
- What happens to a bank account when someone dies in Florida — 13-min read
- Missing will in Florida: where to look, safe-deposit boxes and lost-will probate — 9-min read
Process & timeline
- Florida probate timeline 2026: deadlines and steps from death to discharge — Deadline table with sources
- Florida personal representative duties: who can serve, a phased checklist from appointment to discharge, creditor and tax deadlines, compensation, liability, resignation and removal — Checklist with deadlines
- Digital assets after a death in Florida: email, cloud accounts and crypto under chapter 740 — 12-min read
- Ancillary probate in Florida: when it is needed, who can serve, steps and alternatives — 13-min read
- Will contest in Florida: grounds, deadlines and the 3-month objection period — 14-min read
- Out-of-state heirs and Florida property: who can serve, what happens to title, taxes and selling — 12-min read
- Disposition without administration in Florida under § 735.301: who qualifies, limits and filing steps — 11-min read
- Trust administration after death in Florida: successor trustee duties, notices and deadlines — 12-min read
Cost & pricing
- Florida probate costs in 2026: attorney fees, commissions and court fees — With calculator
- Executor and personal representative fees in Florida: the § 733.617 commission — 12-min read
- Florida estate tax and federal estate tax in 2026: the $15,000,000 exclusion, portability and Form 706 — 12-min read
- Florida Medicaid planning: 2026 limits, the 60-month look-back and estate recovery — 13-min read
Wills & trusts
- Will vs. trust in Florida: what each does, how each is signed and what each avoids — Comparison table with sources
- When to update a Florida estate plan: marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a move, new assets and incapacity, what Florida law changes automatically and which documents to review after each event — Life events
- Probate vs trust administration in Florida: differences, steps and deadlines — 14-min read
- Blended families and estate planning in Florida: homestead, elective share, stepchildren and trusts — 13-min read
- Florida snowbird estate planning: domicile, homestead, other-state taxes and ancillary probate — 12-min read
- Power of attorney in Florida: execution rules, durable language, agent powers, bank acceptance and revocation — 13-min read
- Health care surrogate and living will in Florida: signing rules, powers, limits and who decides without one — 13-min read
- Pet trusts in Florida under § 736.0408: setup, funding, caregiver, trustee and enforcement — 9-min read
- Funding a revocable trust in Florida: deeds, accounts, retirement plans, insurance and what to leave out — 13-min read
- Special needs trusts in Florida: three types, SSI and Medicaid rules, and ABLE accounts — 12-min read
- Out-of-state wills in Florida: validity, moving to Florida and probate steps — 10-min read
Homestead & property
- What Florida homestead protects: tax exemption, creditor protection and inheritance rules — Three rules, with sources
- Selling an inherited Florida home: who can sign, probate steps, mortgage and taxes — 14-min read
- Stepped-up basis in Florida: which inherited assets get it and how to document the value — 12-min read
- Lady bird deed in Florida: how an enhanced life estate deed works — 14-min read
- Florida homestead exemption in 2026: amounts, March 1 deadline, Save Our Homes and death of the owner — 11-min read
Heirs & beneficiaries
- Florida intestate succession: who inherits when there is no will, the spouse's share, descendants, parents, siblings and other relatives, the homestead, who is not an heir and steps to settle the estate — Tables and examples
- Florida spousal elective share: 30 percent of the elective estate, what the elective estate includes and leaves out, the filing deadline, waiver, the court process and a worked example — Tables and example
- Family allowance and exempt property in Florida: amounts, eligibility and deadlines — 10-min read
- Disinheriting a child in Florida: what the law allows, protected homestead and how to draft it — 12-min read
- Inheriting an IRA or 401(k) in Florida: the 10-year rule, spouse choices, taxes and probate — 11-min read
- Pretermitted spouse and child in Florida: the share owed when a will predates a marriage or birth — 9-min read
— The Statute Library · 282 statutes & rules
Every Florida statute this site cites, translated to plain English — with the official catchline and a link to the official text on every page.
The Florida Probate Code · 87
- § 731.011 — Determination of substantive rights; procedures
- § 731.103 — Evidence as to death or status
- § 731.106 — Assets of nondomiciliaries
- § 731.201 — General definitions
- § 731.303 — Representation
- § 732.101 — Intestate estate
The Florida Trust Code · 39
- § 736.0110 — Others treated as qualified beneficiaries
- § 736.0201 — Role of court in trust proceedings
- § 736.0402 — Requirements for creation
- § 736.0403 — Trusts created in other jurisdictions; formalities required for revocable trusts
- § 736.0404 — Trust purposes
- § 736.0405 — Charitable purposes; enforcement
Estate Planning Documents · 27
- § 709.2104 — Durable power of attorney
- § 709.2105 — Qualifications of agent; execution of power of attorney
- § 709.2120 — Rejecting power of attorney
- § 709.2201 — Authority of agent
- § 709.2202 — Authority that requires separate signed enumeration
- § 739.104 — Power to disclaim; general requirements; when irrevocable
Health Care & Anatomical Gifts · 17
- § 765.202 — Designation of a health care surrogate
- § 765.205 — Responsibility of the surrogate
- § 765.302 — Procedure for making a living will; notice to physician
- § 765.401 — The proxy
- § 765.510 — Legislative declaration
- § 765.512 — Persons who may make an anatomical gift
Homestead, Exemptions & Creditors · 18
- § 222.11 — Exemption of wages from garnishment
- § 222.13 — Life insurance policies; disposition of proceeds
- § 222.14 — Exemption of cash surrender value of life insurance policies and annuity contracts from legal process
- § 222.17 — Manifesting and evidencing domicile in Florida
- § 222.21 — Exemption of pension money and certain tax-exempt funds or accounts from legal processes
- § 222.22 — Exemption of assets in qualified tuition programs, medical savings accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, and hurricane savings accounts from legal process
Family, Guardianship & Protection · 22
- § 744.301 — Natural guardians
- § 744.3045 — Preneed guardian
- § 744.3046 — Preneed guardian for minor
- § 744.3201 — Petition to determine incapacity
- § 744.3215 — Rights of persons determined incapacitated
- § 744.331 — Procedures to determine incapacity
Death, Remains & Records · 30
- § 382.006 — Burial-transit permit
- § 382.012 — Presumptive death certificate
- § 406.11 — Examinations, investigations, and autopsies
- § 406.12 — Duty to report; prohibited acts
- § 406.13 — Examiner’s report; maintenance of records
- § 406.135 — Autopsies; confidentiality of photographs and video and audio recordings; confidentiality of reports of minor victims of domestic violence; exemption
Civil Claims & Wrongful Death · 15
- § 46.021 — Actions; surviving death of party
- § 49.041 — Sworn statement, natural person as defendant
- § 49.10 — Notice of action, publication, proof
- § 768.16 — Wrongful Death Act
- § 768.18 — Definitions
- § 768.20 — Parties
Business & Succession · 11
- § 605.0105 — Operating agreement; scope, function, and limitations
- § 605.0502 — Transfer of transferable interest
- § 605.0503 — Charging order
- § 605.0702 — Grounds for judicial dissolution
- § 607.0730 — Voting trusts
- § 607.0731 — Voting agreements
Forfeiture, Lottery & the State · 9
- § 932.701 — Short title; definitions
- § 932.703 — Forfeiture of contraband article; exceptions
- § 932.704 — Forfeiture proceedings
- § 932.7055 — Disposition of liens and forfeited property
- § 932.7062 — Penalty for noncompliance with reporting requirements
- § 944.512 — State lien on proceeds from literary or other type of account of crime for which convicted
Florida Probate Rules · 7
- Rule 5.025 — Adversary Proceedings
- Rule 5.040 — Notice
- Rule 5.120 — Administrator Ad Litem and Guardian Ad Litem
- Rule 5.171 — Evidence of Death
- Rule 5.205 — Filing Evidence of Death
- Rule 5.385 — Determination of Beneficiaries and Shares
— Every Florida county · 67 counties
All 67 counties, each with its own probate division, filing quirks, clerk contacts and courthouse. We file statewide.
Tampa Bay & SW FL · 10
- Charlotte — 20th Cir.
- Lee — 20th Cir.
- Collier — 20th Cir.
- Hendry — 20th Cir.
- Glades — 20th Cir.
- Hillsborough — 13th Cir.
- Pinellas — 6th Cir.
- Pasco — 6th Cir.
Central FL · 13
- Lake — 5th Cir.
- Marion — 5th Cir.
- Sumter — 5th Cir.
- Orange — 9th Cir.
- Osceola — 9th Cir.
- Seminole — 18th Cir.
- Brevard — 18th Cir.
- Volusia — 7th Cir.
South FL · 7
- Indian River — 19th Cir.
- Martin — 19th Cir.
- St. Lucie — 19th Cir.
- Palm Beach — 15th Cir.
- Broward — 17th Cir.
- Miami-Dade — 11th Cir.
- Monroe — 16th Cir.
— Free tools & forms · 8 downloads & tools
Calculators and Florida forms. No signup, no email wall, no watermark.
— News & commentary · 6 posts
Florida law and rule changes, and how we think about probate work.
Latest
- Jack Daniel's heirs feud over a $15 billion bid — and the voting trust holding the family together
- The 2026 federal estate tax exemption — what most Florida families don't owe
- Anatomy of a 5-week summary administration
- Florida 2026 probate reform — what actually changed
- Lady Bird deed or revocable trust — which one for your homestead?
- Saying yes to PR: the personal liability nobody mentions
By category
— The firm · 6 pages
The firm and the fine print.
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