Florida probate timeline 2026

The headline numbers: summary administration runs 4–8 weeks for clean cases, formal administration runs 6–12 months, ancillary administration runs 8–16 weeks. The 2026 reform that doubled the summary threshold from $75k to $150k means a lot more estates qualify for the fast path than they did before.

Below: realistic week-by-week and month-by-month timelines, what slows things down, and what actually speeds them up. These are honest numbers from cases we've worked, not the best-case fiction you'll find on competitor sites.

Summary administration — week by week

Summary administration is the fast path: no personal representative is appointed, no 90-day creditor notice, no inventory or accounting required. The court issues an order distributing the assets, and that order is what banks and title companies use to release them.

• Week 1–2: Intake call, document collection, draft Petition for Summary Administration. Most of this is gathering the death certificate, will (if any), and a rough asset list from you.
• Week 2–3: Petition filed with the clerk. Beneficiaries and heirs sign and notarize their joinders/consents. We chase signatures here — the most common bottleneck.
• Week 3–6: The court reviews the petition. Judges in some counties are faster than others — Sarasota and Manatee tend to issue orders in 4–5 weeks; Miami-Dade and Broward run 8–10 weeks for the same paperwork.
• Week 6–8: Order of Summary Administration issued. We send certified copies to banks and title companies; they release the assets directly to the named beneficiaries/heirs.

Total: 4–8 weeks for clean cases. We've closed summary admins in 3 weeks when the family is responsive and the county is fast; we've seen them stretch to 12 weeks when signatures lag or judges are slow. The variable is mostly judicial speed and family responsiveness, not the case complexity.

Formal administration — month by month

Formal administration is the standard path for estates over $150k or with complications (will contests, complex assets, missing heirs). A personal representative is appointed and runs the estate over a longer arc.

• Month 1: Petition filed, PR appointed via Letters of Administration, notice to creditors published. The 90-day creditor period starts now.
• Month 2–3: Inventory of assets prepared and filed. Tax IDs obtained. Estate accounts opened. Assets gathered or secured. Beneficiaries notified.
• Month 4: Creditor period closes (90 days from publication). Valid claims paid; invalid claims objected to.
• Month 5–6: Final accounting prepared. Beneficiaries review and sign waivers. Petition for discharge filed.
• Month 7+: Court approves final distribution. PR distributes assets and is discharged.

Total: 6–12 months for clean cases. Cases with disputes, real estate sales, or complex assets stretch to 12–24 months. The 90-day creditor period is the floor — formal admin cannot finish faster than that.

Ancillary administration — out-of-state decedents

Ancillary admin runs alongside the home-state probate. The Florida proceeding handles only the FL property; the home-state proceeding handles everything else.

• Week 1–4: Wait for the home-state probate to issue letters of administration (or equivalent). This is your gating item.
• Week 4–8: Florida petition filed using the home-state PR's authority. Notice and creditor publication run concurrently.
• Week 8–14: Florida court issues ancillary letters. FL property can now be sold, refinanced, or distributed. If a sale is involved, this often takes another 4–8 weeks.
• Week 14–16: Ancillary closing — typically faster than full formal because the home-state proceeding handles most of the heavy lifting.

What slows things down

• Missing or contested wills. A will contest pauses everything until the court resolves it. Add 6–12 months minimum.
• Missing heirs. If you can't locate a beneficiary or potential heir, the court won't let you close. Forensic genealogy and constructive notice procedures take 3–6 months.
• Real estate sales. Selling probate real estate adds 60–90 days for the sale process plus court approval if required.
• Tax issues. Estate tax returns (federal Form 706, FL Form DR-313) require closing letters before final distribution. Add 6–12 months for any estate over the federal exemption (~$13.6M).
• Slow counties. Some Florida counties run 2–3x slower than others on routine probate orders. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach are the slowest by reputation; Sarasota, Manatee, and Pinellas are among the fastest.
• Family disagreement. Even without a formal contest, family conflict slows everything. Signature chases, scheduling, and 'one more meeting' add weeks.

What actually speeds things up

• Pick the fast path if you qualify. Summary admin is 3–4x faster than formal. The 2026 reform expanded eligibility — many estates qualify that wouldn't have a year ago.
• Sign promptly. Beneficiaries returning notarized joinders within 48 hours instead of two weeks shaves real time off summary admin.
• Have documents ready at the consult. Death certificate, will, deed, account statements. We can draft same-week if we have the inputs.
• Clean assets. Estates with one bank account, one house, and three beneficiaries close fast. Estates with eight accounts at six banks, two houses, a business, and twelve beneficiaries take longer no matter what.
• E-filing. All Florida courts now accept e-filing through myflcourtaccess.com. We e-file every case; some firms still mail paper, which adds a week.

The 2026 reform — what changed

Effective January 1, 2026, Florida amended the Probate Code in three meaningful ways. Each one matters for timeline.

1. Summary administration cap raised from $75,000 to $150,000. Estates that previously triggered formal administration now qualify for the fast path. This is the biggest practical change — we estimate 30–40% of cases that were formal in 2025 are summary in 2026.

2. Disposition Without Administration eligibility expanded. Slightly higher exempt-property thresholds; more small estates skip even summary administration.

3. Updated digital-asset access provisions. Personal representatives now have clearer statutory authority to access cloud accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, and other digital assets. Doesn't change the timeline directly, but reduces post-administration cleanup.

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