Florida gives you two main ways to probate an estate: formal administration and summary administration. Families almost always want the short one. Sometimes they’re right. Here’s how to tell.
Summary administration: the short form
Summary administration is available in two situations: the probate estate is worth $75,000 or less (not counting exempt property like the homestead), or the person has been dead for more than two years — any size estate qualifies after the two-year mark.
There’s no personal representative. The petition describes every asset and its value, the beneficiaries sign on, and the court enters an order distributing everything directly. For a small, clean estate — a bank account, a car, a cooperative family — it’s faster and cheaper, and it’s the right tool.
The traps nobody mentions
Summary administration trades away protections, and the trade is invisible until it bites:
- You stay on the hook for debts. Whoever receives assets under the order remains personally liable for the decedent’s lawful claims, up to the value of what they received. And the claims can surface after the money is spent.
- You give up the right to fight claims. In a formal administration, the estate can object to weak or inflated creditor claims. In summary administration, timely claims are what they are.
- Every asset must be found and valued first. The petition has to describe all the assets. Find one later and you’re reopening the administration.
Formal administration: the full process
Formal administration appoints a personal representative, runs a defined creditor-claim window, and supervises the payment of debts and the distribution of what remains. It takes longer — the creditor period alone is three months — and it costs more. What you get for that: claims get cut off, weak claims can be contested, title comes out clean, and a non-cooperative beneficiary gets formal notice instead of veto power.
How we actually decide
The eligibility test is arithmetic; the decision isn’t. Rough heuristic from our practice: summary administration when the decedent has been gone more than two years, the assets are simple and fully known, and everyone is signing. Formal administration when there’s meaningful debt (medical bills, credit cards, the IRS), a business, uncertain assets, a possible will contest, or a family member who won’t cooperate. If there’s doubt, formal is the conservative call — the extra months are cheaper than personal liability.
More on the whole process — timelines, costs, the personal representative’s job — on our Florida probate page. If you’re facing this decision now, call (954) 839-8705 and we’ll tell you which one fits, usually in one conversation.