Estate Accounting and Inventory Requirements in Florida Probate

In Florida probate, the personal representative must file a verified inventory of the decedent’s property within 60 days after letters of administration are issued, and must later provide a final estate accounting showing every dollar that came in, went out, and remains before the estate can be closed. The inventory is a snapshot of what the estate owns; the accounting is the moving picture of how that property was managed and distributed. Together they are the two documents that let beneficiaries — and a probate judge — confirm that the estate was handled honestly.

I have spent a lot of years watching these two filings make or break a probate case, especially in Palm Beach County where estates often arrive at probate straight out of a contested guardianship. When a ward dies and the file shifts from guardianship to probate, the accounting questions don’t reset — they carry over. So let’s walk through what Florida actually requires, where the deadlines bite, and why the inventory and accounting are usually the first place a contest gets fought.

The Florida Probate Inventory: Your First Accounting Obligation

The inventory is governed primarily by Florida Statutes section 733.604 and Florida Probate Rule 5.340. Once the court issues letters of administration, the clock starts. The personal representative has 60 days to file a verified inventory listing the estate’s assets, each described with reasonable detail and stated at its fair market value as of the date of death.

“Verified” matters here. The personal representative signs under oath. That signature is not a formality — it is the legal hook that lets a beneficiary later argue the fiduciary knew, or should have known, what was in the estate.

What Goes on the Inventory

The inventory is meant to capture probate assets — the property that actually passes through the estate. Common entries include:

• Real property located in Florida, listed by legal description and date-of-death value;
• Bank, brokerage, and money-market accounts held in the decedent’s sole name;
• Vehicles, boats, and other titled personal property;
• Closely held business interests, partnership shares, and LLC membership units;
• Tangible personal property of meaningful value — jewelry, art, collections;
• Notes receivable, loans owed to the decedent, and pending claims.

Just as important is what usually stays off the probate inventory: assets with a valid beneficiary designation or right of survivorship. Life insurance paid to a named beneficiary, POD/TOD accounts, jointly held property, and assets in a funded revocable trust typically pass outside probate and are not estate inventory items. That distinction is where a lot of family arguments start, so it pays to be precise.

The Homestead Wrinkle

Florida’s constitutional homestead protection complicates the inventory. A protected homestead generally is not a probate asset subject to creditor claims and passes under Article X, section 4 of the Florida Constitution and section 732.401. Many practitioners list the homestead separately and note its protected status rather than folding it into the general estate. Getting this wrong invites both creditor problems and beneficiary disputes.

Supplementing and Amending the Inventory

Estates are rarely fully understood within 60 days. If the personal representative later discovers an asset — an old savings bond, a forgotten brokerage account, an unrecorded loan — Rule 5.340 requires a supplemental or amended inventory. There is no excuse for sitting on newly found property. A pattern of “discovering” assets only after a beneficiary asks is one of the fastest ways to lose a judge’s trust.

Beneficiaries also have a statutory right to request a written explanation of how the personal representative valued any inventory item. If a beneficiary asks, the fiduciary must respond. Stonewalling that request is itself grounds for a petition to compel or to remove.

The Estate Accounting: Tracing Every Dollar

Where the inventory is a snapshot, the accounting is the full story. Florida Statutes section 733.602 makes the personal representative a fiduciary, and section 733.901 with Probate Rule 5.346 frames the accounting duty. The final accounting must show, at a minimum:

1. A starting balance — the assets on hand at the beginning of the accounting period, tied to the inventory;
2. All receipts: income, sale proceeds, refunds, and any other money coming into the estate;
3. All disbursements: debts paid, taxes, attorney’s and personal representative’s fees, and administration expenses;
4. All distributions to beneficiaries;
5. Any gains or losses on the sale of assets;
6. The assets remaining on hand and proposed for distribution.

Florida’s standard accounting format follows Rule 5.346, which prescribes schedules so that anyone reading it can follow the money without guesswork. A proper accounting reconciles. The beginning balance plus receipts minus disbursements and distributions must equal what is left. When those numbers don’t tie out, that is your first red flag.

When a Formal Accounting Can Be Waived

Not every estate files a full formal accounting. Under section 733.901 and Rule 5.400, if all interested persons sign waivers — and in many family estates they do — the personal representative can close the estate without a detailed court-filed accounting. Waiver is common and perfectly legitimate when everyone trusts one another and the estate is simple.

It is also where unsophisticated beneficiaries get hurt. Signing a waiver of accounting gives up your single best tool for catching mismanagement. I tell beneficiaries to never sign one blind. If you have any doubt about how the estate was handled, you are entitled to demand the full accounting before you release the fiduciary.

Deadlines and Consequences

The two dates to keep in front of you:

• 60 days from issuance of letters to file the inventory (section 733.604, Rule 5.340).
• 12 months is the ordinary outside target to complete administration of a non-taxable estate under Rule 5.400, though complex estates routinely run longer with court approval.

Miss these, and the personal representative is exposed. A beneficiary or other interested person can petition to compel the inventory or accounting. Persistent failure supports removal under section 733.504 and a surcharge — a money judgment against the personal representative personally — for any loss the estate suffered through breach of fiduciary duty. Courts in Palm Beach County do not treat chronic noncompliance as a paperwork problem; they treat it as a fiduciary one.

How Accounting Disputes Arise Out of Guardianship

This is the angle I see most often. A person spends their final years under a contested guardianship. When they die, the guardianship closes and the matter becomes a probate estate — frequently with the same family members, the same lawyers, and the same simmering distrust now pointed at a new set of documents.

The transition creates specific accounting friction:

• The handoff figure. The guardian of the property must file a final guardianship accounting. The number on that final accounting should become the opening figure for the probate estate. When the two don’t reconcile, beneficiaries reasonably ask where the money went during the gap.
• Pre-death spending. Large or unusual disbursements during the guardianship — gifts, “loans” to family, caregiver payments — often resurface as contested items once probate begins.
• Asset disappearance. Property listed in an early guardianship inventory that is missing from the probate inventory demands an explanation. A good probate lawyer pulls the guardianship file and lines the two inventories up side by side.

The lesson: a clean guardianship accounting is the foundation of a clean probate accounting. When the guardianship was contested, expect the probate inventory and accounting to be litigated just as hard. The probate process carries its own well-documented friction points, much like in other jurisdictions, and Florida’s contested estates are no exception.

What Beneficiaries Should Actually Do

If you are a beneficiary watching an estate that came out of a guardianship, protect yourself early:

• Ask for the inventory in writing and confirm it was filed within the 60-day window;
• Request the valuation basis for any asset that looks under- or over-stated;
• Compare the probate inventory against the final guardianship inventory;
• Do not sign a waiver of accounting until you have seen the numbers reconcile;
• If receipts and disbursements don’t tie out, raise it formally — a written objection preserves your rights.

Many contested estates trace back to the same root issue as a : someone in a position of trust was managing assets without meaningful oversight. The accounting is where that oversight finally happens. For Florida-specific guidance, our team also maintains a dedicated page, and you can review related material on wills and estate planning or reach us directly through our contact page.

The Bottom Line

The Florida probate inventory and estate accounting are not bureaucratic boxes to check. They are the transparency mechanism that keeps a personal representative honest. The inventory tells you what the estate had; the accounting tells you what happened to it. In ordinary estates these documents move quietly through the court. In estates born from a contested guardianship, they are usually the battlefield — and the family that understands the deadlines, the schedules, and the right to demand a full reconciliation is the family that protects its inheritance.

Frequently Asked Questions

When must the inventory be filed in Florida probate?

The personal representative must file a verified inventory within 60 days after the court issues letters of administration, under Florida Statutes section 733.604 and Probate Rule 5.340. The inventory lists each probate asset at its fair market value as of the date of death, and must be supplemented if additional property is later discovered.

Can beneficiaries waive the estate accounting in Florida?

Yes. Under section 733.901 and Rule 5.400, if all interested persons sign waivers, the estate can close without a detailed court-filed accounting. But waiving the accounting also waives your best tool for catching mismanagement, so you should not sign one until you are confident the estate was handled properly.

What happens if a personal representative fails to file the inventory or accounting?

An interested person can petition to compel the filing. Persistent failure can support removal of the personal representative under section 733.504 and a surcharge — a personal money judgment for any loss the estate suffered through the breach of fiduciary duty.

How does a prior guardianship affect the probate accounting?

The guardian’s final accounting should reconcile with the opening figure of the probate estate. When property listed in the guardianship inventory is missing from the probate inventory, or pre-death spending looks irregular, those items frequently become contested in probate — especially after a contested guardianship.

What assets do not appear on the Florida probate inventory?

Non-probate assets generally stay off the inventory: life insurance with a named beneficiary, POD/TOD accounts, jointly held property with right of survivorship, and assets in a funded revocable trust. Constitutionally protected homestead is also typically listed separately and noted as protected rather than treated as a general estate asset.