Circuit Civil
PROBATE of Estates
For filing fees, please see Fees & Costs.
Probate Case Types:
Caveat by Creditor/Interested Party - Florida Statute 731.110
If any creditor or interested party of an estate is apprehensive that an estate may be administered or that a will may be admitted to probate without their knowledge, they may file a caveat with the court. This document assures that if a Probate administration has been filed or is ever filed for a decedent, the Clerk shall notify the Caveator.
Notice of Trust - Florida Statute 737.308
Upon the death of a settlor of a trust, the trustee must file a Notice of Trust with the court. If a probate proceeding has already commenced for the decedent or a caveat has been filed, the Notice of Trust is filed in the existing case. The clerk sends a copy of the notice to the petitioner for the probate administration or the caveator and a notice of the administration or caveat to the trustee. If there is no existing case, the proper notices are sent when an administration or caveat is filed.
Formal Administration - Florida Statute 733
In a Formal administration, the judge appoints a personal representative to be in charge of the estate and issues Letters of Administration, giving authority to the personal representative to act.
Summary Administration - Florida Statute 735.210
This administration is a probate proceeding when the value of the entire estate, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditor, does not exceed $75,000 or the decedent has been dead for more than two years and the decedent's will, if any, does not direct a formal administration.
Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration - Florida Statute 735.301
As the name suggests, this is a process disposing of property but requiring no administration or formal proceedings. The estate may consist solely of exempt personal property, as defined by law, and non exempt personal property with a total value not to exceed up to $10,000 in funeral expenses plus reasonable medical and hospital expenses incurred the last 60 days of the last illness. The Clerk's office provides the necessary form for this proceeding and assists the filer in completing the form.
Petition to Admit Foreign Will
This procedure is initiated when there is property of a decedent here in Palm Beach County and an estate is opened in another state of domicile and allows the personal representative to pass title to real property.
Trust Proceedings (Complaint) - Florida Statute 737
A trust is any arrangement whereby property is transferred with the intention that it be administered by a trustee for another's benefit. Although trusts are not filed with the Probate Court, the court becomes involved when there is an adversarial issue such as the appointment of a successor trustee.
Curatorship - Florida Statute 733.501
The court may appoint a curator and issue Letters of Curatorship to take charge of an estate until letters of administration are granted.
Deposited Wills - Florida Statute 732.901
Even though there are no probate proceedings initiated, a decedent's last will and testament may be filed with the clerk for safe keeping purposes only. If an administration is opened at later date, the deposited will is placed in the probate administrative file at that time. There is no filing fee for this process.