Is There a Deadline
to File Probate in Florida?

This is one of the most common questions I hear, and it usually comes with some guilt attached. A parent died three years ago, nobody did anything, and now a bank or a buyer is asking for “letters” or a court order. Here is the honest picture: you have not missed a deadline, because there is not one. But the passage of time has changed which procedure applies and what it will cost, in some ways for the better.

The 10-Day Rule Is About the Will, Not the Probate

The one hard date in the statute belongs to the document, not the case. Whoever has custody of the original will must deposit it with the clerk of the court in the county where the decedent lived within 10 days after learning of the death (Fla. Stat. § 732.901). That is a filing of the will for safekeeping. It does not open a probate, it does not cost anything to speak of, and it does not commit you to any particular procedure. If you are holding a will right now, deposit it. Missing that window does not invalidate the will, but a custodian who sits on one can be compelled to produce it and can be liable for the costs of getting it.

There Is No Deadline to Open the Estate

Nothing in the Florida Probate Code says an estate must be opened within any period after death. Formal administration under Chapter 733 and summary administration under Chapter 735 can both be started years later. In my practice, the old estates almost always surface for the same reason: a house or a piece of land is still titled in the name of someone who died, and it cannot be sold, refinanced, or properly insured until a court says who owns it.

The Two-Year Mark Changes Everything

Two years after the date of death, Fla. Stat. § 733.710 bars every claim against the decedent that was not already filed. No creditor can come after the estate, the personal representative, or the beneficiaries for the decedent’s debts. That has two practical consequences.

• Summary administration opens at any size. The $150,000 limit applies only to recent deaths. Once the death is more than two years old, a $600,000 estate qualifies for the short-form procedure just as a $20,000 one does (Fla. Stat. § 735.201). The two-year rule is the single most useful fact for families with a stuck title.
• No creditor work. The petition simply states that claims are barred. There is no notice to creditors, no diligent search, and no negotiation over medical bills.

So for an old estate, waiting has already done part of the work. The procedure is shorter and cheaper than it would have been in the first year.

What Waiting Actually Costs

The law does not penalize delay, but life does. Some of what I see when families wait:

• Frozen accounts. A bank will hold a decedent’s account indefinitely, and dormant-account rules can eventually push the money to the state’s unclaimed property program.
• The house. Insurance carriers do not like insuring a home owned by a dead person, property taxes keep accruing, and a buyer’s title company will not close without a court order. Homestead tax exemptions are tied to the owner and can be lost.
• Heirs die too. If a beneficiary dies before the estate is settled, their share now has to pass through their own estate. One probate becomes two.
• Evidence disappears. Death certificates, account statements, and the addresses of distant relatives all get harder to assemble with every passing year.

When to File Now Rather Than Wait for Two Years

Some families, having read about the two-year rule, ask whether they should simply wait it out. Sometimes that is reasonable. Often it is not:

• If a house needs to be sold or a mortgage is in default, waiting is not free.
• If the estate is already under $150,000 in non-exempt assets, it qualifies today. There is nothing to wait for.
• If there are substantial debts, a formal administration lets the personal representative publish a notice that shortens the creditor window to three months (Fla. Stat. § 733.702) and resolves the estate on the estate’s terms instead of a creditor’s.

Related Reading

• The Two-Year Rule: summary administration for old estates and stuck titles.
• How Long Summary Administration Takes: week by week.
• The Florida Probate Process and Timeline: formal administration, step by step.
• Summary Administration by County: where it is filed and what each circuit requires.

This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Eligibility and procedure depend on the specific assets, creditors, and family circumstances. Consult a licensed Florida attorney regarding your situation. Arthur Simpson, Esq. is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Attorney advertising.