Who can serve as Personal Representative (Executor) in Florida?

Jill Ginsberg and David Shulman discuss who can serve as a Personal Representative in Florida.

 

Jill: [00:00:00] You know, David, we get a lot of questions about who the people are who can serve and what their roles are after somebody passes away. We hear a lot about this word executor or personal representative and in Florida, it’s called a personal representative. Can you tell us a little bit about what a personal representative does, and who can serve as personal representative.

David: Right, Jill, as you said, the personal representative is the term used in Florida, what other states call executor, they’re really synonymous, but we use the term personal representative, the personal representative is the person you appoint or nominate after you die, who’s in charge of your estate, they gather they Marshall your assets.
They identify any creditors, people you may owe money to, they get appointed by the court, and they’re in charge of finding, of finding your assets, paying creditors, and then distributing, paying any taxes, and the distributing money to the [00:01:00] beneficiaries. Now there’s some rules about who can serve as personal representative in Florida.
It has to be either a Florida resident or a relative who may or may not live outside Florida. So anyone who lives in Florida, assuming they’re not a felon, felons can’t serve, but anyone who lives in Florida can serve. Plus if your cousin in New York or your brother in Iowa wants to serve, they can serve too.
But if your best friend from back home growing up who still lives in Philadelphia who isn’t related to you, they can’t serve.

Legal clarification: A person who is not domiciled in Florida can serve only if related to the decedent in one of the ways listed in §733.304, Fla. Stat.: a legally adopted child or adoptive parent; a lineal relative such as a parent, grandparent, child, or grandchild; a spouse, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew, or a lineal relative of one of those; or the spouse of a person who qualifies. A nonresident first cousin qualifies because the cousin is a lineal descendant of the decedent’s aunt or uncle; other cousin relationships require checking the actual family relationship against the statutory categories. A convicted felon cannot serve (§733.303). The video records the original conversation.

Jill: How about an in law, like a brother in law, something like that?

David: They can serve, provided you’re still married at the time of your death. But if you’re no longer married, it gets a little confusing.

Jill: Sounds like a plan. Thanks, David.

David: Thank you.

Questions about serving as personal representative? Our Fort Lauderdale probate attorneys guide personal representatives through every step of Florida probate.

Reviewed by David A. Shulman, Florida Bar Board Certified in Wills, Trusts and Estates. Last reviewed July 20, 2026.