Florida Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

Florida probate cases are heard in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in whichever of the state's 20 judicial circuits the decedent lived. Florida just doubled the dollar threshold for its faster Summary Administration track, from $75,000 to $150,000, effective July 1, 2026.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in Florida

Florida probate is governed by the Florida Probate Code, Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes, and administered under the Florida Probate Rules. Every one of Florida's 20 judicial circuits maintains a Probate Division within its Circuit Court, and a case is filed in the circuit where the decedent was domiciled at death, or where the decedent's property is located if they lived out of state.

Florida does not follow the Uniform Probate Code's informal/formal terminology. Instead it offers three genuinely distinct tracks. Formal Administration is the full court-supervised process: an interested party petitions the court, the court issues Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary appointing a personal representative, and that representative gathers assets, publishes notice to creditors, pays valid claims, and distributes what remains under court oversight. It applies to larger estates or whenever an estate does not qualify for a faster track.

Summary Administration, under Fla. Stat. § 735.201, skips the personal representative model entirely. Instead the court reviews the petition and enters an order distributing assets directly to the beneficiaries. An estate qualifies if the decedent's will (if any) does not direct formal administration, and either the value of the Florida estate subject to administration, after subtracting exempt property, falls at or under the current threshold, or the decedent has been dead for more than two years. That second condition qualifies an estate for Summary Administration regardless of its value.

The narrowest track, Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration under Fla. Stat. § 735.301, is not technically an "administration" at all. It is available only when the estate consists of exempt personal property plus a small amount of non-exempt personal property capped at the decedent's preferred funeral expenses and reasonable medical or hospital expenses from the last 60 days of a final illness. It is initiated by an informal application or affidavit, not a court petition, and it cannot transfer real property.

Intestate Succession in Florida: Who Inherits Without a Will

When a Florida resident dies without a valid will, Fla. Stat. § 732.102 sets the surviving spouse's share using a clean fractional rule rather than a dollar-bracket formula. If the decedent left no surviving descendants, the spouse inherits the entire estate. If the decedent left descendants and every one of those descendants is also a descendant of the surviving spouse, and the spouse has no other descendants of their own, the spouse again inherits the entire estate. But if one or more of the decedent's surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse, such as children from a prior relationship, or if all of the descendants are shared but the spouse also has other descendants from outside the marriage, the spouse's share drops to one-half, with the remaining half passing to the descendants.

Florida is a common-law, separate-property state, not a community-property state, so this statutory share governs the entire probate estate rather than just one spouse's half of jointly accumulated property.

If no spouse or descendant survives, Fla. Stat. § 732.103 sets the order: first to the decedent's parents, equally or to the survivor; then to siblings and the descendants of any deceased sibling, per stirpes; then, if none of those survive, split one-half to paternal kindred and one-half to maternal kindred, starting with grandparents and moving to aunts, uncles, and their descendants. Only if no qualifying heir can be found at all does an estate escheat to the state under Fla. Stat. § 732.107, and even then the property is sold with proceeds held for ten years, during which a legitimate heir can still come forward and claim them.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following Florida's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free Florida Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in Florida

Florida's Summary Administration threshold rose from $75,000 to $150,000 in nonexempt estate value on July 1, 2026, under CS/HB 1337, Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida, which passed the House 110-0 and the Senate 37-0 before being signed into law. Homestead property is excluded from the calculation, since it typically passes outside probate through Florida's separate homestead protections regardless of the threshold. For thresholds, waiting periods and forms, see our guide to the Florida small estate affidavit.

One detail is not yet fully settled in public guidance: whether the new $150,000 cap applies to every Summary Administration petition filed on or after July 1, 2026, regardless of when the decedent died, or only to decedents who die on or after that date, with earlier deaths still capped at $75,000. The official statute text now carries the $150,000 figure, with a History line citing chapter 2026-57, but the published section itself contains no transition or applicability language answering that question. If the death occurred before July 1, 2026, ask the clerk of court or get a free case evaluation from a Florida probate attorney on which threshold applies to your filing (attorney advertising).

Beyond Summary Administration, the Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration track under Fla. Stat. § 735.301 works differently. It is not scaled to a dollar figure at all; it is capped at the decedent's preferred funeral expenses plus medical and hospital expenses from the final 60 days of a last illness, and it is initiated by an informal application rather than a court petition.

Does Florida Have an Estate or Inheritance Tax?

No. Florida levies no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax, and the Florida Constitution prohibits the state from imposing either. Only the federal estate tax could apply to a Florida estate, and as of 2026 that tax reaches only estates above $15,000,000 per person, or $30,000,000 for a married couple using portability, so it affects a very small share of estates.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

A probate attorney is worth engaging when a will contest or dispute among heirs is likely, when the estate includes a business interest, when the family is blended in a way that raises the exact questions Florida's intestate statute does not resolve cleanly, or when the timing question around the new Summary Administration threshold could affect which track an estate qualifies for. For a straightforward, uncontested estate that clearly qualifies for Summary Administration or Disposition Without Administration, many families handle the filing without one. See Probate by State for how other states' thresholds and procedures compare.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession in Florida as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in Florida, particularly given the unresolved timing question around the new Summary Administration threshold, or for a contested estate, a business interest, or a blended family. Figures and thresholds change; verify current details directly with the clerk of court or Fla. Stat. Chapters 731 through 735 before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What court handles probate in Florida?

The Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the judicial circuit where the decedent lived, or where their property is located if they lived outside Florida.

What is Florida's small estate threshold in 2026?

Summary Administration is available for estates valued at $150,000 or less in nonexempt assets (homestead excluded), effective July 1, 2026, up from the prior $75,000 threshold, under Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida. Summary Administration is also available regardless of value if the decedent has been dead more than two years.

Who inherits if you die without a will in Florida?

A surviving spouse inherits everything if there are no descendants, or if all descendants are shared and the spouse has no other children. Otherwise the spouse gets one-half and the descendants split the other half. Fla. Stat. § 732.102.

Does Florida have an inheritance tax or estate tax?

No. Florida imposes neither a state estate tax nor a state inheritance tax, and its Constitution prohibits both.

How long does probate take in Florida?

Formal Administration commonly takes 6 to 12 months, driven largely by the mandatory creditor-claim period. Summary Administration is typically faster, often 1 to 3 months.

Does a will avoid probate in Florida?

No. A will still generally needs to be authenticated through probate. What a will avoids is Florida's intestate succession order, meaning your own choices control distribution instead of the statutory default.

What happens to a Florida estate if no heirs can be found?

The estate escheats to the state under Fla. Stat. § 732.107, but only as a last resort. Proceeds from the sale of the property are held for ten years, during which a legitimate heir can still come forward and claim them.