Florida Just Doubled the Small-Estate Probate Threshold — Here's What Changed

What Actually Changed on July 1, 2026

In my practice, one of the most common questions I get from families settling a loved one's estate is: "Do we really have to go through full-blown probate for this?" As of this July, the answer is no for a lot more Florida families than before.

Florida law now allows summary administration — the streamlined, no-personal-representative version of probate — for estates where the value of non-exempt probate assets is $150,000 or less, doubled from the prior $75,000 threshold. This change came out of legislation signed into law earlier this year, following a recommendation from a state courts workgroup studying how to reduce unnecessary court involvement in small, uncontested estates.

The new threshold applies to people who pass away on or after July 1, 2026. If your loved one died before that date, the estate is still measured against the old $75,000 limit — the date of death, not the date you file, controls which rule applies.

What Counts Toward the $150,000 Cap — and What Doesn't

This is where I see the most confusion, so let me be precise. The $150,000 ceiling applies only to non-exempt probate assets — property that actually has to pass through the court process. Certain things are carved out of that calculation entirely:

• Homestead property passing to a spouse or heirs is generally excluded from the calculation under Florida's homestead protections.
• Household furnishings and furniture up to a set exempt amount are excluded.
• Assets that never enter probate in the first place — like jointly titled property, payable-on-death accounts, or trust assets — were never part of the calculation and still aren't.

So an estate with a $400,000 homestead and $140,000 in a bank account titled solely in the decedent's name may still qualify for summary administration, because the homestead doesn't count toward the cap. This is exactly the kind of estate where I tell clients: don't assume you need formal administration just because the total number sounds large.

Summary vs. Formal Administration: Why the Difference Matters

Florida offers two main roads through probate, and which one you're on changes almost everything about cost, time, and hassle.

Summary administration is available under Florida Statutes Chapter 735 when the qualifying estate falls at or under the threshold, or when the decedent has been deceased for more than two years. It does not require appointing a personal representative, which is a big deal — no ongoing court supervision, no formal creditor claims period in the same way, and typically a matter of a couple of months from petition to distribution rather than the better part of a year.

Formal administration is required for larger estates, contested estates, or situations where a personal representative needs to be appointed with legal authority to act — for example, to sell real property, deal with ongoing business interests, or defend against creditor claims. Formal administration involves appointing and qualifying a personal representative, opening a mandatory three-month creditor claim window, and then handling final accounting and distribution. Realistically, most formal estates take somewhere in the range of six months to a year, sometimes longer if there are complications.

The upshot of the new threshold: many estates that used to be forced into formal administration purely because they were between $75,000 and $150,000 can now use the faster, less expensive summary track — even though nothing about the family's actual situation changed.

What This Means for Cost

Families always want to know what probate will cost, and I understand why — it feels like an unknown expense at an already difficult time. In general terms, formal administration in Florida tends to run in the range of a few percent of the gross estate value once you add up attorney fees, personal representative compensation, court filing costs, and required legal notice publication. Attorney fees for formal administration are often based on a percentage-of-estate framework under Florida law, though many attorneys — including our firm — will discuss flat or hourly alternatives for straightforward matters.

Summary administration, by contrast, is generally far less expensive precisely because there's no personal representative to compensate, no lengthy accounting process, and a much shorter timeline. For a modest, uncomplicated estate, the total cost of summary administration is typically a fraction of what formal administration would run.

The Personal Representative's Job Doesn't Disappear — It Shifts

For estates that still require formal administration, it's worth remembering that the personal representative's legal duties are serious and personal. Florida law holds a personal representative to a fiduciary standard comparable to that of a trustee, and they can be held personally liable for losses caused by a breach of that duty. That includes properly identifying and protecting estate assets, giving required notice to creditors, and — critically — not paying claims that are legally time-barred. Florida courts have not hesitated to surcharge personal representatives personally for paying stale claims that should have been rejected.

Even families lucky enough to qualify for summary administration should understand that skipping formal appointment doesn't mean skipping responsibility for handling the decedent's affairs correctly — it just means the court process to do so is simpler.

Avoiding Probate Altogether

None of this changes my long-standing advice: the best probate is often no probate at all. Florida families commonly avoid the court process through a properly funded revocable living trust, jointly titled property with rights of survivorship, tenancy by the entirety between spouses, payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations on financial accounts, and enhanced life estate deeds (sometimes called "Lady Bird" deeds) for real estate. Florida does not recognize a standard transfer-on-death deed for real property the way some other states do, which is why the enhanced life estate deed remains a popular tool here.

A well-funded revocable trust in particular avoids court involvement entirely — no filing, no waiting period, no published notice to creditors. The new summary administration threshold is a welcome improvement for families who do end up in probate, but for many of my clients, the real win is structuring their estate so their family never has to ask which kind of probate applies at all.

Sources

• Bucelo Diaz, P.A., "Florida's New $150,000 Summary Administration Threshold (CS/HB 1337): What Changes July 1, 2026," June 2026
• Kramer Green, "Florida Doubles Its Summary Administration Threshold to $150,000: What Families Need to Know," May 6, 2026
• The South Ron Firm, "Florida Summary Administration 2026: CS/SB 1500 Guide," April 27, 2026
• Zoecklein Law, P.A., "Florida Personal Representative Duties: Checklist & Deadlines," June 10, 2026
• The Kogan Firm, "What Does Probate Cost in Florida? Every Fee, Itemized," July 12, 2026

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, nor does reading it create an attorney-client relationship. Florida estate, elder, probate, and real estate law are fact-specific and change over time. Consult a licensed Florida attorney about your individual circumstances. Arthur Simpson, Esq. is licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Attorney advertising.