Cost to Probate a Will in Florida: Know Every Line Item Before You Begin

Short answer: what probating a Florida will costs and why the total varies

Probating a will in Florida has no single fixed price. The cost is the sum of several separate items: clerk and court charges, notice publication, bond premiums if one is required, attorney fees, personal representative compensation and other administration expenses. Each item follows its own rule, so the total changes from one estate to the next.

Many websites publish one average figure. An average helps only when its source is named and linked, and one number rarely fits one family’s estate. A more useful approach is to add up each category using your estate’s actual numbers.

Leslie V. Marenco is responsible for this page. Trust Counsel’s only office is in Coral Gables, Florida. For a broader view of planning and tax issues, read our estate tax planning overview.

Court filing fees, required notices and bonds

Court and clerk charges are the most visible cost, but they are only one piece. Filing charges vary by county, so total them from the clerk’s current schedule for the county where the estate is opened.

Notice to creditors is a required step with its own cost. Under Fla. Stat. § 733.2121, the personal representative must promptly publish a notice to creditors. Publication runs once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the county where the estate is administered. The notice warns that creditors must file claims within the statutory time periods or be forever barred.

The statute also requires a diligent search for creditors who can be reasonably identified. Impracticable and extended searches are not required.

Bonds add another item. Under Fla. Stat. § 733.402, a fiduciary to whom letters are granted must file a bond unless the will or the court waives it. Fla. Stat. § 733.402 reads: “(1) Unless the bond requirement has been waived by the will or by the court, every fiduciary to whom letters are granted shall execute and file a bond with surety, as defined in s. 45.011, to be approved by the clerk without a service fee.” The court can also waive, require, increase or decrease the bond. Under Fla. Stat. § 733.406, a personal representative required to give bond pays the reasonable premium as an expense of administration.

How much do lawyers charge to handle probate?

Attorney fees must be reasonable, and when the lawyer has not regularly represented the client, the client must be informed of how the fee is calculated and of any costs, preferably in writing. Except as provided in paragraph (2)(d), Fla. Stat. § 733.6171 provides that attorneys for personal representatives are entitled to reasonable compensation payable from the estate assets without court order.

The same statute requires an attorney for the personal representative who intends to charge a fee based on the schedule in subsection (3) to disclose in writing that there is not a mandatory statutory attorney fee for estate administration. For ordinary services in a formal estate administration, and subject to subsection (2), fees based on that schedule are presumed reasonable when they are based on the estate’s compensable value.

Florida generally follows the American Rule. Rule 4-1.5 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar applies a test of reasonableness to all fees for legal services.

Trust Counsel focuses on probate litigation, trust litigation and trust administration matters. How a fee is set depends on the facts of the estate.

Personal representative compensation under Florida law

A personal representative may also be paid, separately from the lawyer. Under Fla. Stat. § 733.617, a personal representative is entitled to a commission for ordinary services, except that, for a will that a resident of this state executed, or republished, on or after October 1, 2020, an attorney serving as personal representative, or a person related to the attorney, is not entitled to compensation if the attorney prepared or supervised the execution of the will that nominated them, unless the attorney or the nominee is related to the testator or the attorney makes the required disclosures before the will is executed. That commission is payable from estate assets without court order. It is based on the compensable value of the probate estate, which is the inventory value of probate assets plus income the estate earns during administration.

The personal representative (often called an executor) may give up that pay. The statute says a personal representative may renounce all or any part of the compensation.

Who can serve matters here too. Under Fla. Stat. § 733.305, the entities allowed to act as personal representatives are trust companies incorporated in Florida, state banking corporations and state savings associations, and national banking associations and federal savings and loan associations, in each case authorized and qualified to exercise fiduciary powers in Florida; a successor corporation after a transfer, merger or consolidation may also qualify as personal representative unless the will provides otherwise. A law firm is not on that list. Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative. This section addresses trust companies incorporated under Florida law, state banking corporations and state savings associations, and national banking associations and federal savings and loan associations, each authorized and qualified to exercise fiduciary powers in Florida, which are entitled to act as personal representatives, and it also covers successor corporations. The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries.

Factors that raise or lower the total cost of probate

Estate size, complexity and disputes move the total the most. Under Fla. Stat. § 735.201, summary administration may be had when the value of the entire estate subject to administration in Florida, less property exempt from creditors’ claims, does not exceed $150,000. It may also be had when the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years. For a testate estate, the will must not direct administration as chapter 733 requires.

Disputes raise the cost. Under Fla. Stat. § 733.6171, extraordinary services can include involvement in a will contest, a contested claim, or any adversarial proceeding or litigation by or against the estate. The same statute lists review of estate tax returns and preparation of other required tax returns as extraordinary services.

Other factors add paperwork. Property in more than one county, creditor claims and missing records all take more time and filings. The verified inventory is the starting point. Unless an inventory has already been filed, under Fla. Stat. § 733.604, the personal representative must file a verified inventory listing estate property at its estimated fair market value at the date of death.

Can I set up a living trust in Florida to reduce probate?

A living trust can hold assets during life, but it is a planning step taken before death. Under Fla. Stat. § 736.0401, a trust may be created by transferring property to a trustee during the settlor’s lifetime or by will or other disposition taking effect on the settlor’s death; by the owner’s declaration that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee; or by exercising a power of appointment in favor of a trustee.

Beneficiary designations and joint ownership can also move property outside probate. Each tool works differently and has its own costs and tradeoffs. A trust also needs funding, meaning the assets must be retitled into it.

Creating a plan has its own cost. You can read more in our guide on what it costs to hire an estate planning attorney. Once a death has occurred, planning tools cannot change a probate process that has already started.

Is it worth paying a lawyer for probate?

Whether a lawyer is worth the fee depends on the time, paperwork and risk the family would otherwise carry. The personal representative has real duties, and the law sets clear rules for them.

Under Fla. Stat. § 733.602, a personal representative is a fiduciary who must observe the standards of care that apply to trustees. The personal representative must settle and distribute the estate under the will and the probate code, as efficiently as the estate’s interests allow.

Under Fla. Stat. § 733.609, a personal representative’s fiduciary duty is the same as a trustee’s. The personal representative is liable to interested persons for damage or loss from a breach of that duty. In actions for breach, the court shall award taxable costs, including attorney’s fees.

Mistakes in paperwork can cause delays and personal exposure. Each step is a point where a mistake can happen.

If a Florida estate is on your plate now

If you were just named personal representative or a beneficiary, the cost questions can feel urgent. You may be trying to add up the bills while also dealing with a loss. You don’t have to work through every category alone.

The first consultation is free, confidential and carries no obligation to continue. Call (305) 707-7126 or schedule online to talk through your estate’s costs.

We serve clients in Fort Lauderdale through our estate planning attorney page for Fort Lauderdale. We serve clients across Florida through our statewide page.