Guidance through the responsibilities of administering a Florida estate.
When someone dies leaving assets that require probate, the personal representative may be responsible for navigating a court-supervised process while also dealing with property, creditors, beneficiaries, deadlines, and practical family concerns.
The Law Offices of Brian Giaquinto represents personal representatives and families in Florida probate administration, providing guidance from the opening of the estate through administration, distribution, and closing.
Florida probate is generally opened in the county where the person had their primary home, so an estate from DeLand runs through Volusia, while one from Viera goes to Brevard. Personal representatives in Daytona Beach or Seminole County can meet with us at our Daytona Beach office. For Brevard estates, we meet by appointment; see our Melbourne, Viera & Suntree page.
Schedule a free consultation →Determining the appropriate form of administration, preparing and filing the necessary probate pleadings, addressing the original will when applicable, and seeking appointment of the personal representative.
Identifying probate assets, gathering information concerning the decedent's property and obligations, and addressing the documentation needed to administer the estate.
Providing required notice, addressing creditor claims and deadlines, and helping the personal representative evaluate how estate obligations affect administration and distribution.
Addressing Florida homestead considerations, beneficiary interests, exempt property, family allowances, and other issues that may affect how particular assets are treated during administration.
Preparing for distributions, resolving remaining administration matters, obtaining appropriate receipts or approvals where applicable, and completing the steps necessary to close the estate.
At the start, we give you a written outline of these steps and the key deadlines for your estate, and we update you as each step is completed. Every estate moves at its own pace, but you'll always know where things stand.
A personal representative acts in a fiduciary role and may be responsible for safeguarding estate property, providing required notices, addressing claims, maintaining records, communicating with interested persons, making appropriate distributions, and complying with court orders and Florida law.
The lawyer's role is not merely to prepare court filings. Effective probate counsel helps the personal representative understand what must be done, what decisions require care, and how the administration process fits together from beginning to end.
Florida law provides different forms of probate administration. Formal administration generally involves appointment of a personal representative and an ongoing court-supervised administration. Summary administration may be available in qualifying estates and follows a different procedure.
Which process is appropriate depends on the circumstances of the estate, the assets involved, the time since death, creditor issues, homestead, beneficiaries, and other considerations.
Florida homestead property can raise issues that differ significantly from other estate assets. The decedent's family circumstances, how the property was owned, who survives the decedent, and constitutional and statutory protections can affect descent, devise, creditor treatment, and the probate proceedings needed to establish the property's status.
Homestead should therefore be identified early rather than treated as just another asset on an estate inventory.
Asset ownership, beneficiary designations, trust funding, homestead, outdated documents, and changes in family circumstances can determine which assets require probate and how administration unfolds.
Probate administration therefore provides a practical view of how estate-planning decisions operate after death—and where coordination among documents and asset ownership matters.
No. Whether probate is required depends on what the decedent owned, how the assets were titled, whether they pass through beneficiary designations or other nonprobate arrangements, and the circumstances of the estate. Some assets may require probate while others pass outside the probate estate.
Formal administration generally involves appointment of a personal representative and an ongoing probate proceeding. Summary administration is a different procedure that may be available when the estate satisfies applicable statutory requirements. Which procedure is appropriate depends on the facts of the particular estate.
There is no single timeline for every estate. The length of administration can depend on the type of probate, creditor periods, the nature of the assets, homestead issues, tax matters, disputes, required sales or transfers, and how quickly necessary information and documents are available.
A personal representative is the fiduciary appointed to administer the probate estate. Responsibilities can include identifying and protecting estate assets, providing notices, addressing creditor claims, maintaining records, handling administration expenses, making authorized distributions, and completing the steps required to close the estate.
A Florida probate inventory is more than a list of assets. It identifies property under administration, establishes date-of-death values, raises homestead and valuation issues, and provides beneficiaries with important information during the estate.
Florida increased the principal summary-administration threshold from $75,000 to $150,000 in 2026. The change means more estates may qualify for a streamlined probate procedure, but qualification does not necessarily make summary administration the best fit.
Florida expanded its curator statute in 2026, giving probate courts broader flexibility to protect estate property when delay creates risk and a permanent personal representative is not yet in place.
If you have been named personal representative, need to determine whether probate is required, or are trying to understand the next steps after a death, legal guidance can help identify the appropriate process and the responsibilities involved.
