In Florida, most formal probate administrations take roughly six months to a year to complete, while summary administration for small or older estates can wrap up in a matter of weeks to a few months. The single biggest driver is the mandatory creditor period: Florida law requires a three-month window for known and unknown creditors to file claims before an estate can safely close. Add a contested will, an out-of-state executor, or a guardianship that has to be unwound first, and a “simple” probate can stretch past eighteen months.
I practice probate here in Palm Beach County, and the question I hear before any other is some version of “how long is this going to take?” The honest answer is that it depends on which road your estate is on and how many people decide to argue along the way. Below I’ll walk through the real timeline, the statutory deadlines that set the floor, and the specific things that quietly add months.
The Two Main Probate Tracks in Florida (and Their Timelines)
Florida doesn’t have one probate. It has several procedures, and the path your estate takes determines almost everything about how fast it moves. The two you’ll hear about most are summary administration and formal administration.
Summary Administration: Weeks, Not Months
Summary administration is the express lane. Under Florida Statutes § 735.201, an estate qualifies if the value of the probate assets (excluding exempt homestead) is $75,000 or less, or if the decedent has been dead for more than two years. There’s no personal representative appointed and no drawn-out administration. You file a Petition for Summary Administration, the judge enters an Order of Summary Administration directing who gets what, and you’re often done in two to eight weeks.
The catch with summary administration is that anyone who signs the petition can remain personally liable to creditors for two years after death. So “fast” doesn’t always mean “clean” — it means you’ve assumed some risk in exchange for speed.
Formal Administration: Six Months to a Year, Realistically
Formal administration is the standard process for most estates over $75,000 where the decedent died within the past two years. A personal representative (Florida’s term for executor or administrator) is appointed, receives Letters of Administration, marshals the assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes what’s left. Even a cooperative, uncontested formal administration rarely closes in under five or six months because of the creditor period I’ll explain below. A typical, clean case runs six to twelve months. A messy one runs longer.
Why the Three-Month Creditor Period Sets the Floor
Here’s the part most people don’t expect. You cannot rush probate past the creditor claims period, no matter how organized the family is.
Under Florida Statutes § 733.701 and § 733.2121, the personal representative must publish a Notice to Creditors in a local newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks and serve known or reasonably ascertainable creditors directly. Creditors then have a defined window to file claims:
- Three months from the first publication of the Notice to Creditors for the general public.
- Thirty days from being served for a known creditor who got direct notice late in the window.
The estate cannot safely make final distributions and close until that claims window runs and any filed claims are resolved or objected to under § 733.705. That statutory clock is why even the simplest formal administration almost never finishes faster than four to six months. The court isn’t being slow — the law is protecting creditors, and protecting the personal representative from later liability.
What Adds Months: The Real-World Delays
If the creditor period sets the floor, the following factors set the ceiling. I’ve seen each of these turn a routine matter into a multi-year ordeal.
- Will contests and disputed heirs. A challenge to the will’s validity — undue influence, lack of capacity, improper execution under § 732.502 — triggers litigation. Discovery, depositions, and a possible trial can add a year or more.
- Unwinding a guardianship. When the decedent was under a court-supervised guardianship at death, the guardian must first close out the guardianship — file a final accounting and obtain discharge — before probate assets move cleanly into the estate. This guardianship-to-probate handoff is where I see Palm Beach families lose the most time, especially when the prior guardian’s accountings are incomplete or contested.
- Estate tax returns. Large estates owing federal estate tax (the 2024 exemption is $13.61 million per person) must wait for an IRS closing letter before distributing, which alone can add a year.
- Real property and out-of-state assets. Selling Florida homestead, resolving title questions, or running an ancillary probate in another state stretches the timeline.
- An out-of-state or first-time personal representative. Distance, missed signatures, and learning-curve mistakes quietly add weeks at every step.
- Family conflict that isn’t formal litigation. Even without a filed contest, beneficiaries who won’t communicate or who object to the accounting can stall things for months.
How the Florida Timeline Compares to Other States
Probate is governed state by state, so the same family with assets in two states can face two very different clocks. New York, for example, runs probate through the Surrogate’s Court and uses different terminology and procedures. If you’re dealing with an estate that touches the Northeast, it helps to understand , because the appointment, notice, and accounting steps don’t map one-to-one onto Florida’s. The same is true of which procedure applies — just as Florida splits into summary and formal administration, there are with their own timelines and thresholds. When an estate spans both states, coordinating the two proceedings is often what determines the overall finish date.
A Realistic Month-by-Month Picture of Florida Formal Administration
To make this concrete, here’s roughly how a cooperative, uncontested formal administration tends to move:
- Weeks 1-4: File the petition, deposit the original will, and obtain Letters of Administration appointing the personal representative.
- Months 1-2: Publish and serve the Notice to Creditors; locate, secure, and value assets; file the inventory.
- Months 2-5: The three-month creditor window runs; review and pay or object to claims; file tax returns if required.
- Months 5-8: Resolve remaining claims, prepare the final accounting, distribute assets, and petition to discharge the personal representative.
That eight-month arc assumes no one fights. Insert a contested guardianship accounting at the front or a will challenge in the middle, and every stage after it shifts right.
Can You Speed Up Florida Probate?
Some of the timeline is fixed by statute, but a fair amount is within your control. The fastest cases I handle share a few traits: the personal representative responds to requests within days instead of weeks, the original will and asset records are organized up front, known creditors are identified early so their thirty-day clock starts running sooner, and the family resolves disagreements at the table rather than in a courtroom. Proper estate planning before death — funded revocable trusts, correct beneficiary designations, and clean wills — is the most reliable way to shorten or even avoid probate for your heirs.
If the estate also involves out-of-state property, working with counsel who can coordinate across jurisdictions matters. Our firm’s Florida probate team handles these locally, and you can read more about our or browse our overview of Florida probate procedures to see where your estate is likely to land.
When to Call a Palm Beach Probate Lawyer
You should speak with counsel early if the estate exceeds $75,000, if a guardianship has to be closed before probate can proceed, if anyone has hinted at challenging the will, or if assets sit in more than one state. Those are exactly the situations where the timeline balloons, and where early, careful handling saves months on the back end. If any of that describes your situation, reach out to our Palm Beach probate team and we’ll map out the realistic timeline for your specific estate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does probate take in Florida on average?
Most formal administrations in Florida take about six months to a year. Summary administration, used for estates of $75,000 or less or where the decedent died more than two years ago, can finish in just a few weeks to a couple of months. Contested cases or those involving guardianships or estate taxes can run well past a year.
Why can't probate close faster than a few months in Florida?
Florida Statutes require the personal representative to publish a Notice to Creditors and give creditors a three-month window (or thirty days after direct service) to file claims. The estate cannot make final distributions or close until that statutory creditor period runs and any claims are resolved, which sets a hard floor of roughly four to six months for formal administration.
What is the fastest type of probate in Florida?
Summary administration under Florida Statutes 735.201 is the fastest. It applies when probate assets are valued at $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. There is no personal representative appointed, and an Order of Summary Administration can often be entered within a few weeks.
Does a contested guardianship delay probate in Florida?
Yes. If the decedent was under a court-supervised guardianship at death, the guardian must first file a final accounting and obtain discharge before assets move cleanly into the estate. When those accountings are incomplete or disputed, the guardianship-to-probate transition can add many months before formal administration even gets underway.
Can a Florida probate be sped up?
Parts of the timeline are fixed by statute, but a responsive personal representative, organized asset and creditor records, early notice to known creditors, and a family that resolves disputes out of court can meaningfully shorten the process. Advance estate planning, such as funded trusts and correct beneficiary designations, is the most reliable way to reduce or avoid probate altogether.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of probate and estate administration in Florida. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .