What Assets Do and Don’t Have to Go Through Florida Probate

Florida probate will generally be necessary when a decedent:

• Owned real property held solely in their name or as tenants in common;
• Owned a life insurance policy in which no beneficiary was named, where the named beneficiary has already died or the estate is named as beneficiary;
• Owned an IRA or other retirement account in which no beneficiary was named or where the named beneficiary has already died.

Florida probate is usually not necessary when a decedent:

• Leaves an insurance policy payable to a living person;
• Had bank and brokerage accounts held jointly with another living person (the accounts pass automatically to the joint account holder);
• Owned an IRA or other retirement account that named a living person as the beneficiary;
• Owned real property held either in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship or as tenancy in the entirety in which the other owner(s) is still living;
• Had payable-on-death designations for bank accounts;
• Had transfer-on-death registration for securities;
• Had property held a living trust.

Probate Shortcut: Summary Administration

Florida has a probate “shortcut” known as summary administration. The eligibility requirements for summary administration include:

• The decedent passed away over two years ago, OR;
• The estate’s entire value does not exceed $75,000, excluding assets distributed for the purpose of reimbursing an heir who paid for final expenses.

The summary administration process is initiated either by a beneficiary or the person named as personal representative in the decedent’s will. If there is a surviving spouse, he or she must sign and verify the petition.

The petition will include proof that the estate meets the requirements for summary administration as well as a list of assets. Once it is filed and reviewed by the court and the other requirements for summary administration are met, there will be an order issued that distributes the assets to heirs immediately upon the entry of the order.