How Long Does Probate Take in Florida? The Real 2026 Timeline

Most Florida formal probate cases run six to twelve months. The realistic floor is about five to six months, because the estate has to stay open through a three month creditor claim period that cannot be skipped. Summary administration is much shorter and often finishes in a few weeks. Which track you land on decides almost everything.

Table of Contents

1. What actually sets the clock
2. The 2026 change that shortened a lot of timelines
3. Formal administration, stage by stage
4. Summary administration, stage by stage
5. The three tracks compared
6. Five things that stretch a South Florida case
7. Can you sell the house before probate closes?
8. Your options, including the ones that do not involve us
9. Frequently asked questions

What Actually Sets the Clock

People assume a judge sets the pace. Mostly a statute does.

Florida law gives creditors a window to come forward and file claims against the estate. Under section 733.702 of the Florida Statutes, a creditor has until the later of two deadlines: three months after the first publication of the notice to creditors, or thirty days after being served with a copy of that notice. The estate cannot safely close before that window shuts.

That is why a simple formal case still takes months. There is nothing to speed up. The clock just has to run.

A second deadline shapes the back half. The personal representative is generally expected to file a final accounting within twelve months after letters of administration are issued, according to The Florida Bar’s consumer guide to probate. Most cases are designed to land inside that year.

There is also a long stop date worth knowing. Section 733.710 says that two years after a death, the estate, the personal representative and the beneficiaries are generally not liable for claims against the person who died. Recorded mortgages and security interests are carved out and survive.

The 2026 Change That Shortened a Lot of Timelines

This is the part most pages have not caught up on.

Florida raised the summary administration ceiling. Under CS/HB 1337, chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2026, an estate can qualify for summary administration when the value subject to administration in Florida, minus property exempt from creditor claims, does not exceed $150,000. The old limit was $75,000.

The higher limit applies to people who died on or after July 1, 2026. Earlier deaths generally stay under the old cap.

Summary administration is also available with no value test at all when the person has been dead for more than two years.

Formal Administration, Stage by Stage

Here is where the months actually go in a typical uncontested case.

Stage	What happens	Typical elapsed time
Petition filed	Will deposited with the clerk, petition for administration filed, filing fee paid	Week 1 to week 4
Letters issued	Judge appoints the personal representative and issues letters of administration	Week 3 to week 8
Notice to creditors	First publication runs, known creditors served individually	Week 4 to week 10
Creditor window open	Three month statutory period runs and cannot be shortened	Three months from first publication
Inventory filed	Assets identified and valued, homestead status addressed	Month 2 to month 4
Claims resolved	Valid claims paid, objections filed where needed	Month 4 to month 8
Sale of real property	House sold, often while the case is still open	Any point after letters issue
Final accounting and distribution	Accounting filed, assets distributed, estate closed	Month 6 to month 12

Nothing in that table is a promise about your case. It is the shape of an ordinary one.

Summary Administration, Stage by Stage

Summary administration skips most of the machinery. There is no personal representative appointed in the usual sense and no long administration period.

1. Petition for summary administration is filed, signed by the people who are entitled to the assets.
2. The court reviews whether the estate qualifies, by value or by the two year rule.
3. Creditors are handled, either because debts are already paid or through a notice process.
4. The judge signs an order of summary administration naming who receives what.
5. That order is the document that moves title. For a house, it gets recorded.

Realistically this runs a few weeks to about two months, driven mostly by how quickly the court can review the file and how fast every heir signs.

There is a trade-off. People who receive assets through summary administration can stay exposed to the deceased person’s claims for up to two years after the death. A formal case with a properly run creditor period closes that exposure sooner.

The Three Tracks Compared

	Formal administration	Summary administration	Disposition without administration
Typical duration	Six to twelve months	A few weeks to two months	Days to a few weeks
Value limit	None	$150,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026, or dead more than two years	Very small, tied to funeral and final medical bills
Covers real estate	Yes	Yes	No, personal property only
Personal representative appointed	Yes	No	No
Attorney required	Yes, unless the personal representative is the sole interested person	Often yes in practice	No formal proceeding
Creditor exposure after closing	Shorter, window has run	Up to two years from death	Limited by what it covers

Disposition without administration is narrow. Section 735.301 limits it to personal property, and only where the non-exempt personal property is worth no more than preferred funeral expenses plus reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses from the last sixty days of the final illness. It will not transfer a house.

Five Things That Stretch a South Florida Case

The statute sets the floor. These push past it.

• Heirs in other states or other countries. Every signature has to be found, explained and notarized. One unreachable sibling can add months, and cross border situations are slower still.
• Homestead. The family home is treated differently from other assets and often needs a separate determination before anyone can transfer it cleanly.
• Open permits and code violations. A permit pulled in 2004 and never closed will stop a closing in 2026. Broward and Miami-Dade cities take real time to close them out.
• Condo and HOA balances. Estoppel letters, unpaid assessments and special assessments all have to be reconciled before title moves.
• An estate with a house and no cash. Court fees, publication, insurance and taxes still come due. This is the most common reason a family that wanted to hold the property ends up selling it.

Can You Sell the House Before Probate Closes?

Usually yes.

Once letters of administration are issued, the personal representative generally has authority to sell estate real property, subject to the will and to any order the court requires. In summary administration, the order itself can be the instrument that passes title, and a sale is often lined up to close right after it is signed.

The practical answer is that the sale and the probate case run on parallel tracks rather than one after the other. Families wait far longer than they need to because nobody told them that.

If the house sits empty while you wait, you are still paying insurance, taxes, lawn care and utilities on it. That is the hidden cost of a slow case.

Your Options, Including the Ones That Do Not Involve Us

Selling to a cash buyer is one route. It is not the only one, and it is not always the right one.

• Hire a Florida probate attorney and run the case properly. If the estate has cash and the heirs agree, this is usually the cleanest path. Many probate attorneys are paid from the estate rather than out of your pocket.
• Check whether you qualify for summary administration under the new $150,000 limit. If you do, the whole timeline question mostly goes away.
• List with an agent once you have authority to sell. If the house is in good condition and nobody is in a hurry, retail will usually net more than a cash offer.
• Keep the house. If one heir wants to live in it and the others can be bought out, a slow probate is not really a problem.
• Sell as-is to a buyer who can work alongside the probate case. This makes sense when the house needs work, when heirs are spread across states, or when nobody can carry the monthly costs.

We pay less than retail. What you get in exchange is a closing date that does not depend on a buyer’s lender, and a buyer who has sat through Broward probate cases before.

What To Do This Week

1. Find out the date of death. It decides whether the $150,000 or the $75,000 limit applies.
2. Add up the Florida assets subject to administration, excluding exempt property.
3. Call a Florida probate attorney and ask one question: formal or summary?
4. Pull the permit and code history on the property now, not later. This is the single most common surprise in South Florida estates.

Conclusion

Six to twelve months for formal administration. A few weeks to two months for summary. The three month creditor window is the piece nobody can compress, and the twelve month accounting deadline is what pulls most cases to a close.

The bigger news for 2026 is the jump to $150,000. If someone in your family died on or after July 1, 2026, the short track covers a lot more South Florida estates than it used to. Ask about it specifically, because plenty of published guidance still quotes the old number.

And whichever track you are on, the house does not have to sit there waiting.