Florida Statute 733.2121
“Notice to creditors; filing of claims”
What it means
Section 733.2121 requires the personal representative to promptly publish a notice to creditors, unless claims are otherwise barred by § 733.710. The notice contains the decedent's name, file number, court, the names and addresses of the personal representative and the attorney, and the date of first publication, and states that creditors must file claims within the periods in § 733.702 or be forever barred. Publication is once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper published in the county where the estate is administered, or, if none, a newspaper of general circulation in that county.
The personal representative must also promptly make a diligent search for creditors who are reasonably ascertainable, even if the claims are unmatured, contingent, or unliquidated, and serve them a copy. Impracticable and extended searches are not required. If the decedent was 55 or older at death, the personal representative must serve the notice and provide a death certificate to the Agency for Health Care Administration within 3 months after first publication, unless the agency has already filed a statement of claim. Claims are barred as provided in §§ 733.702 and 733.710.
- Publication is once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the county where the estate is administered (§ 733.2121(2)).
- A diligent search is required for creditors who are reasonably ascertainable, who must be served the notice (§ 733.2121(3)(a)).
- Impracticable and extended searches are not required (§ 733.2121(3)(a)).
- Decedent 55 or older: serve the notice and a death certificate on the Agency for Health Care Administration within 3 months after first publication, unless the agency has already filed a statement of claim (§ 733.2121(3)(d)).
- Service on the Department of Revenue is permitted only when it is determined to be a creditor (§ 733.2121(3)(e)).
- Claims are barred as provided in § 733.702 and § 733.710 (§ 733.2121(4)).
Text of the statute (2026)
(1) Unless creditors’ claims are otherwise barred by s. 733.710, the personal representative shall promptly publish a notice to creditors. The notice shall contain the name of the decedent, the file number of the estate, the designation and address of the court in which the proceedings are pending, the name and address of the personal representative, the name and address of the personal representative’s attorney, and the date of first publication. The notice shall state that creditors must file claims against the estate with the court during the time periods set forth in s. 733.702, or be forever barred. The notice shall state that a personal representative or curator has no duty to discover whether any property held at the time of the decedent’s death by the decedent or the decedent’s surviving spouse is property to which the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act as described in ss. 732.216-732.228, applies, or may apply, unless a written demand is made by a creditor as specified under s. 732.2211.
(2) Publication shall be once a week for 2 consecutive weeks, in a newspaper published in the county where the estate is administered or, if there is no newspaper published in the county, in a newspaper of general circulation in that county.
(3)(a) The personal representative shall promptly make a diligent search to determine the names and addresses of creditors of the decedent who are reasonably ascertainable, even if the claims are unmatured, contingent, or unliquidated, and shall promptly serve a copy of the notice on those creditors. Impracticable and extended searches are not required. Service is not required on any creditor who has filed a claim as provided in this part, whose claim has been paid in full, or whose claim is listed in a personal representative’s timely filed proof of claim.
(d) If a decedent at the time of death was 55 years of age or older, the personal representative shall promptly serve a copy of the notice to creditors and provide a copy of the death certificate on the Agency for Health Care Administration within 3 months after the first publication of the notice to creditors, unless the agency has already filed a statement of claim in the estate proceedings.
(4) Claims are barred as provided in ss. 733.702 and 733.710.
Excerpts are the subsections the summary relies on. Read the full official text of § 733.2121.
History. s. 95, ch. 2001-226; s. 9, ch. 2003-154; s. 4, ch. 2005-140; s. 49, ch. 2017-36; s. 12, ch. 2024-238.
How it applies
Publication starts the claims period under § 733.702(1): claims must be filed by the later of 3 months after first publication or, for a creditor required to be served, 30 days after service. The personal representative serves those creditors who are reasonably ascertainable (§ 733.2121(3)(a)).
Service is not required on a creditor who has filed a claim, whose claim has been paid in full, or whose claim is listed in a timely proof of claim (subsection (3)(a)). A good-faith failure to give required notice does not make the personal representative liable; liability, if any, is on the estate (subsection (3)(c)).
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 733.2121 does real work:
- What to do in the first 72 hours after a death in Florida
- Florida probate timeline 2026
- 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
- Florida personal representative duties: who can serve, a phased checklist from appointment to discharge, creditor and tax deadlines, compensation, liability, resignation and removal
- Selling an inherited Florida home: who can sign, probate steps, mortgage and taxes
- Ancillary probate in Florida: when it is needed, who can serve, steps and alternatives
- Probate vs trust administration in Florida: differences, steps and deadlines
- Florida Medicaid planning: 2026 limits, the 60-month look-back and estate recovery
- Disputed will or heir
- Claims against the estate
Questions people ask
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 733.2121 (Publication, diligent search, service on creditors, and the notice to the Agency for Health Care Administration.)
- Fla. Stat. § 733.702 (Claims deadline: later of 3 months after first publication or 30 days after service.)
- Fla. Stat. § 733.710 (Claims barred 2 years after death.)
Last checked: October 17, 2026
Published by the Probate.Help editorial team.How these pages are written and checked.