Florida 2026 probate reform — what actually changed

The Florida legislature passed CS/SB 1500 (companion HB 1337) in the 2026 session, doubling the summary administration threshold from $75,000 to $150,000. That’s the headline. The detail every attorney we’ve spoken to is getting wrong: the new threshold only applies to deaths on or after July 1, 2026.

If your loved one died before July 1, 2026, the old $75,000 cap still controls — full stop. The “I qualify now!” celebration we keep seeing in social posts is, for many cases right now, premature.

What actually changed

The bill made three meaningful adjustments, all effective for deaths on or after July 1, 2026:

• Summary administration threshold: $75,000 → $150,000 in non-exempt assets (excluding the homestead). The two-year-since-death rule is unchanged.
• Disposition without administration thresholds: certain personal-property limits raised, including the spouse/child income tax refund cap from $2,500 to $5,000.
• Other small-estate procedures: certain affidavit limits lifted from $1,000 to $2,000.

For most families, the headline change is the only one that matters: more estates now qualify for the fast path.

Why the effective date matters

Florida summary administration is a substantive probate procedure, not a procedural one. Substantive law applies based on the date of death, not the date of filing. So an estate where the decedent died on June 15, 2026 with $120,000 of non-exempt assets still has to go through formal administration, even if you file the petition today (May 2026 — wait, actually you can’t, because June 15 is in the future — but you get the idea once we’re past July 1).

Practically, this means:

• Deaths January 1 – June 30, 2026: $75k cap. Estates between $75k and $150k still need formal administration.
• Deaths July 1, 2026 and after: $150k cap. Estates up to $150k can use summary.

If you’re at the $75k–$150k boundary, the date of death is everything.

What we’re telling clients

If a death is recent and the estate sits in the $75k–$150k window, we run the date-of-death calendar. For deaths after July 1, summary is now on the table — that’s a real saving (roughly $1,000 in attorney fees and 4–6 months of timeline versus formal administration). For earlier deaths, the old rules still apply and the conversation is the same as it was last year.

If you want a 30-second read on which path fits your specific case, our cost calculator and our Do I need probate? guide walk through the same logic we’d run on a free consult.

The reform is real and meaningful. The effective date is also real. Both matter when you’re trying to figure out which path your family is actually on.