What Assets Must Go Through Probate in Florida (and What Skips It)

In Florida, an asset must go through probate when it was owned solely by the person who died, in their name alone, with no surviving co-owner and no valid beneficiary or transfer-on-death designation attached to it. Everything else—jointly held property with survivorship rights, accounts with named beneficiaries, and assets held in a living trust—generally passes directly to the new owner without court involvement. Knowing which bucket each asset falls into is the single most useful thing a Palm Beach family can do before, or right after, a death in the family.

I have handled enough Palm Beach County estates to tell you that most probate surprises are not legal puzzles. They are ownership puzzles. A widow assumes the house transfers automatically because “we were married,” only to learn the deed never added her name. An adult son assumes the brokerage account is his because Dad always said so, but Dad never filed the beneficiary form. The law is actually fairly predictable here. The facts are where things go sideways.

What “Probate” Actually Does in Florida

Probate is the court-supervised process of identifying a decedent’s assets, paying valid creditors, and transferring what is left to the rightful heirs or beneficiaries. In Florida it is governed primarily by Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes and the Florida Probate Rules. A circuit court judge oversees it, and a personal representative—what other states call an executor or administrator—does the legwork under that court’s authority.

The reason probate exists is to give clean title. When a sole owner dies, no living person has the legal authority to sign that asset over to anyone. The court’s job is to supply that authority through letters of administration. So the real question is never “Is this asset valuable?” It is “Does anyone already have the legal right to take title without a judge’s order?”

Assets That Must Go Through Probate

These are the assets that typically require a probate proceeding because the decedent held them individually, with no automatic transfer mechanism:

• Real property titled in the decedent’s name alone. A condo on Flagler Drive deeded solely to the deceased, or property held as tenants in common, usually must be probated to transfer the interest. Florida homestead is a special case discussed below.
• Bank accounts in the decedent’s sole name with no payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary listed.
• Brokerage or investment accounts held individually with no transfer-on-death (TOD) registration.
• Vehicles, boats, and other titled personal property owned solely by the decedent (though Florida offers a simplified title transfer for some vehicles outside formal probate).
• Business interests such as a sole proprietorship or a member interest in an LLC, unless an operating agreement or buy-sell agreement directs otherwise.
• Tangible personal property—jewelry, art, furniture, collectibles—that was the decedent’s alone and has meaningful value.
• Any asset left to a beneficiary who has already died, where the beneficiary designation lapses and the asset falls back into the estate.

A will does not avoid probate. This is the most stubborn misconception I encounter. A will is simply your instruction sheet for how the probate court should distribute your probate assets. If you own probate assets and you have a will, you still go through probate—the will just tells the judge who gets what. If you want to learn how a will fits into the broader plan, our overview of Florida wills and what they do walks through it.

Assets That Skip Probate in Florida

The following assets transfer outside probate, by operation of law or by contract, regardless of what a will says:

1. Jointly owned property with right of survivorship. Property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship, or by a married couple as tenants by the entirety, passes automatically to the surviving owner. Tenancy by the entirety is the default presumption for marital property in Florida and offers strong creditor protection during life.
2. Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts. A POD bank account or a TOD brokerage account pays directly to the named beneficiary on proof of death. Florida authorizes these under its version of the Uniform Transfer-on-Death Security Registration Act, Sections 711.50 through 711.512.
3. Life insurance proceeds paid to a named living beneficiary. If the only named beneficiary is “my estate,” however, the proceeds become probate assets.
4. Retirement accounts—IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities—paid to a named beneficiary. Same caveat: name a person, not the estate, or it lands back in probate.
5. Assets titled in a revocable living trust. Property properly transferred into a funded living trust passes under the trust’s terms, administered by the successor trustee without court supervision. The key word is funded—an unfunded trust protects nothing.
6. Florida homestead property in many cases. Constitutionally protected homestead descends to heirs under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution and often passes outside the probate estate for creditor purposes, though a court order determining homestead status is frequently still required to clear title.

Notice the pattern. Each of these has a built-in successor: a surviving joint owner, a named beneficiary, or a trustee. Probate is what happens when no such successor exists.

The Beneficiary Designation Trap

Beneficiary designations override your will. Every single time. I have seen a meticulously drafted will leaving everything to a second spouse, defeated entirely because a 401(k) still named the ex-spouse from a divorce fifteen years earlier. The plan administrator pays the named beneficiary and is not interested in your will. Review these designations after every major life event—marriage, divorce, birth, death. It is the cheapest estate planning you will ever do.

Summary Administration and Disposition Without Administration

Even when an asset technically requires probate, Florida offers lighter-weight paths. Under Florida Statutes Section 735.201, summary administration is available when the value of the probate estate (excluding exempt and homestead property) is $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. It is faster and cheaper than formal administration and skips the appointment of a personal representative.

There is also disposition of personal property without administration under Section 735.301, a streamlined route for very small estates where the assets do not exceed the cost of final illness and funeral expenses. For larger or contested estates, formal administration under Chapter 733 is the full process, with a personal representative, formal creditor notice, and ongoing court oversight.

Where Guardianship and Probate Collide

One scenario deserves special attention because it produces some of the hardest-fought litigation in Palm Beach County: the transition from a living person’s guardianship into their probate estate. When someone is placed under guardianship of the property during life, a court-appointed guardian controls their assets. The moment that person dies, authority shifts—the guardianship ends and probate begins, and the personal representative takes over.

That handoff is where disputes erupt. Did the guardian properly account for every asset before death? Were beneficiary designations or account titles changed during the guardianship, and were those changes authorized by the court? Was a deathbed deed or transfer valid, or the product of undue influence? These questions determine whether an asset lands in the probate estate or skips it—and the answer can move hundreds of thousands of dollars. When the prior guardianship is contested, the probate that follows is rarely simple, and it often turns into .

Why Florida and New York Families Get Tripped Up Differently

If your family has assets in more than one state—a common situation for Palm Beach snowbirds—you may face ancillary probate. Real property is governed by the law of the state where it sits. A New York apartment owned by a Florida decedent generally requires a separate ancillary proceeding in New York, even when the main estate is administered here. The rules differ meaningfully between the two states, and the categories of probate proceedings are not identical; Morgan Legal’s explainer on the is a useful starting point if part of the estate sits up north.

For the Florida side of a multistate estate, or for a straightforward Palm Beach probate, you can review the to understand how the process runs locally. And if you are still mapping out which assets you own and how they are titled, our guide to Florida probate basics lays out the timeline and costs.

A Practical Way to Sort Your Own Assets

Before you assume anything will or will not be probated, do this exercise. Pull every account statement and every deed. For each asset, ask three questions in order:

• Is there a surviving co-owner with survivorship rights? If yes, it skips probate.
• Is there a valid, living named beneficiary (POD, TOD, insurance, retirement)? If yes, it skips probate.
• Is it titled in a funded trust? If yes, it skips probate.

If the answer to all three is no, that asset is headed for probate. Run this for every line item and you will have a more accurate estate map than most people ever build. It also reveals the gaps—the lonely individual account, the deed that was never updated—while there is still time to fix them.

The goal is not to avoid probate at all costs. Probate exists for good reasons, and for many modest estates summary administration is painless. The goal is to know, in advance, what your family will face, and to make sure the assets land where you actually intend. When a prior guardianship, a contested deed, or a stale beneficiary form clouds that picture, talk to a Florida probate attorney before the assumptions harden into a court fight. You can reach our Palm Beach office to walk through your specific titling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does having a will mean my estate avoids probate in Florida?

No. A will does not avoid probate—it directs how the probate court distributes your probate assets. If you own assets in your sole name with no beneficiary designation or survivorship co-owner, those assets go through probate whether or not you have a will. The will simply tells the judge who inherits them. To skip probate, assets must transfer by survivorship, by beneficiary designation, or through a funded living trust.

What is the value limit for summary administration in Florida?

Under Florida Statutes Section 735.201, summary administration is available when the value of the probate estate—excluding homestead and other exempt property—is $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. It is a faster, less expensive alternative to formal administration and does not require appointing a personal representative.

Does life insurance or a retirement account go through probate in Florida?

Generally no, as long as a living person is named as the beneficiary. Life insurance proceeds and retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s pass directly to the named beneficiary outside probate. The exception is when the only beneficiary listed is the decedent’s estate, or when the named beneficiary has already died with no contingent named—then the proceeds become probate assets.

How does Florida homestead property pass at death?

Florida homestead receives special protection under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution. It often descends directly to heirs and is shielded from most creditors of the estate, frequently passing outside the probate estate for creditor purposes. However, a court order determining homestead status is commonly still needed to clear title for the new owners.

What happens to assets when a guardianship ends because the person died?

The guardianship of the property terminates at death and authority shifts to the probate estate. A personal representative takes over and must account for the assets. Disputes often arise over how the guardian handled assets during life, whether account titles or beneficiary designations were changed with court authorization, and whether any late-in-life transfers were valid—each of which affects whether an asset is a probate asset or passes outside probate.