Executor Checklist Florida: A Personal Representative's Guide

In Florida, whether a will names you or the court appoints you, your title is personal representative. This executor checklist Florida families can use covers that role, the three probate routes, the deadlines set by statute and the Florida Probate Rules, and why a Florida lawyer is usually part of the process.

The personal representative's role in Florida

Florida probate runs through the probate division of the circuit court in the county where the person lived. It covers assets in the deceased's sole name that do not pass automatically at death.

In formal administration, the court issues you Letters of Administration. You then collect assets, give notices, file an inventory, pay valid claims and distribute the rest. To serve, you must be a Florida resident or a close relative such as a spouse, sibling, parent or child, wherever you live. People under 18 and convicted felons cannot serve.

Route check: formal, summary or no administration

Start by listing probate assets only, then compare the total with these routes:

• Disposition without administration (Fla. Stat. § 735.301): the deceased left only exempt personal property, or non-exempt personal property worth no more than preferred funeral expenses plus reasonable medical and hospital costs of the last 60 days of the final illness. The court may authorize release of the property by letter.
• Summary administration (§ 735.201): the estate subject to administration in Florida, less exempt property, is $75,000 or less, or the person has been dead for more than 2 years, and any will does not require formal administration. No personal representative is appointed, and people who receive assets can remain liable for valid debts for 2 years after death.
• Formal administration (chapter 733): every other case, or when the family needs someone with authority to act.

The deceased's Florida home deserves separate attention. Homestead property is usually not a normal probate asset, and special rules decide who receives it, especially where there is a surviving spouse or minor child.

Executor checklist Florida deadlines

Note which date starts each clock.

The main steps in a formal administration

1. Whoever holds the original will deposits it with the clerk of the circuit court.
2. Through a Florida lawyer, petition the court and obtain Letters of Administration.
3. Promptly serve the notice of administration on the surviving spouse, beneficiaries, certain trustees and anyone who may be entitled to exempt property.
4. Publish the notice to creditors once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a county newspaper, and serve it on creditors who are known or reasonably ascertainable.
5. File the inventory with estimated date of death values, marking any protected homestead.
6. Review claims. You or another interested person may object in writing within 4 months of first publication, or 30 days after a claim is filed if later (§ 733.705).
7. Pay valid claims, prepare the final accounting, distribute and ask the court for discharge.

Federally, the estate needs an EIN, and Form 56 tells the IRS you are the fiduciary.

Taxes and fees

Florida has no state estate tax or inheritance tax, so the estate has no tax filings with the State of Florida. Federal obligations can still apply: the deceased's final Form 1040, Form 1041 if the estate earns $600 or more of gross income in a tax year, and Form 706 where the estate exceeds the federal basic exclusion amount ($15,000,000 for 2026 deaths) or the executor elects portability.

Court filing fees are set locally: check the current schedule with the county clerk of the circuit court.

Working with a Florida lawyer

Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires a personal representative to be represented by an attorney admitted in Florida, unless the personal representative is the sole interested person in the estate. A personal representative who is a Florida lawyer may act alone. The attorney represents the personal representative, not the beneficiaries. Extra care is usually needed with homestead property, a spouse considering the elective share, disputed claims or a will contest.

The Steady Executor Florida kit puts this process into five files: a user guide covering the routes, deadlines and steps, an executor workbook that works out due dates from the dates you enter and records assets, debts and distributions, financial letters for banks, insurers, pension providers and creditors, services and agencies letters for utilities, credit bureaus, landlords and government offices, and beneficiary letters with a receipt form.

Sources

• The Florida Bar consumer pamphlet: Probate in Florida
• Fla. Stat. § 735.201 Summary administration
• Fla. Stat. § 735.301 Disposition without administration
• Fla. Stat. § 732.901 Production of wills
• Fla. Stat. § 733.702 Limitations on presentation of claims
• Fla. Stat. § 733.212 Notice of administration
• Sarasota County Clerk: Wills, Probate and Guardianship
• IRS Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators