The short version
- Even the simplest formal estate stays open at least 3 months, because creditors get 3 months after the notice to creditors is first published.
- Summary administration covers Florida estates up to $150,000 (since July 1, 2026) or deaths more than 2 years ago. Usually no personal representative is appointed.
- With a power of sale in the will, the personal representative can usually sell once Letters are issued. Without one, a judge must approve the sale first.
- Title companies commonly want an order determining homestead before a homestead sells. The owners that order names usually all sign.
- If the owner lived in another state, the Florida house needs its own Florida case, called ancillary administration.
How long does probate take in Florida?
A simple formal probate often takes about 5 or 6 months, according to The Florida Bar. Summary administration is often faster. Estates with a will contest, disputed claims or missing heirs often take a year or more.
No law sets a total time. Probate is a set of legal clocks, and the slowest one usually decides when the estate can close. Here are the main ones.
| Step | The clock | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit the original will | Within 10 days after the person holding it learns of the death | Fla. Stat. 732.901 |
| Notice to creditors | Published once a week for 2 weeks in a row in a local newspaper | Fla. Stat. 733.2121 |
| Creditor claims | Due 3 months after the notice is first published, or 30 days after a creditor is served, if that is later | Fla. Stat. 733.702 |
| Challenges to the will | Due 3 months after the notice of administration is served | Fla. Stat. 733.212 |
| Spouse's homestead choice | 6 months after the death to choose a half share instead of a life estate | Fla. Stat. 732.401 |
| Spouse's elective share | 6 months after the notice of administration is served, or 2 years after the death, whichever comes first | Fla. Stat. 733.212 |
| Closing papers | Due 12 months after Letters are issued when no federal estate tax return is needed. The court can extend this. | The Florida Bar |
| Outside limit on claims | Most claims are barred 2 years after the death. Recorded mortgages and liens are not. | Fla. Stat. 733.710 |
Treat every range on this page as an estimate, not a rule. The Florida Bar notes that selling real estate, a disputed claim or a will contest tends to make probate longer. Summary administration often takes a few weeks to a few months, depending on the court and whether every beneficiary signs.
Is probate faster with summary administration, or with a will?
Summary administration is usually the faster path when the law allows it, because usually no personal representative is appointed and publishing a creditor notice is optional. A will helps mostly by naming who is in charge and, often, by giving a power to sell the house without a court order.
Summary administration is open in two cases (Fla. Stat. 735.201). One is when the Florida estate, minus property exempt from creditors, is worth $150,000 or less. The other is when the owner died more than 2 years ago. The limit was $75,000 until CS/HB 1337 took effect on July 1, 2026, so some court forms still show the old number. If the death was before July 1, 2026, ask the attorney which limit applies.
A protected homestead is shielded from most creditors, so its value may not count toward that limit. A family whose main asset is the homestead may still qualify. The estate's attorney makes that call.
- Signatures. The surviving spouse and the beneficiaries generally must sign the petition, and anyone who does not join must get formal notice (Fla. Stat. 735.203). One heir who will not cooperate can slow things down.
- Creditors. Before the order, the person filing must search for creditors, serve them and provide for paying them (Fla. Stat. 735.206). Publishing a notice is optional, but if it runs, unknown creditors are barred 3 months after it first appears (Fla. Stat. 735.2063).
| With a will | Without a will | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs the estate | The person the will names, if they qualify | The surviving spouse has the first right, then someone most of the heirs choose (The Florida Bar) |
| Selling the house | With a power of sale, no court order is needed (Fla. Stat. 733.613) | The court must authorize or confirm the sale before title passes (733.613) |
| Extra steps | The original will must be filed and proved, and it can be challenged for 3 months after notice | Florida law decides who inherits. Every heir has to be found, and selling takes a court step. |
Want to know what we would pay?
Tell us about the house. Matan reviews it himself and calls you back.
When can the house be sold during probate?
As soon as someone has legal authority to sign, which is often well before the estate closes. Who that is, and whether a judge must approve, depends on the path.
| Path | The house can usually close | What can add time |
|---|---|---|
| Formal, will gives a power of sale | After the court issues Letters of Administration | The title company's review |
| Formal, no will or no power of sale | After the court authorizes or confirms the sale | The petition and, in some courts, a hearing |
| Summary administration | After the order names who receives the house | Every beneficiary's signature; the creditor search |
| Protected homestead | After an order determining homestead, with every named owner signing | The court's requirements for that order (see below) |
| Owner lived in another state | After the Florida court issues ancillary Letters | Getting official copies of the home-state case |
A buyer who purchases under a will's specific power to sell real estate, or under a court order, takes title free of the estate's creditor claims. Existing mortgages and liens still have to be paid, usually at closing (733.613). So in many cases the sale does not have to wait for the creditor period to end. The title company decides what it needs to insure the sale.
For a homestead, the court's order names who now owns the house and each person's share. Pasco's clerk checklist for that petition lists proof that the notice to creditors was published as a court requirement (Pasco Clerk). Our probate and inherited house guide explains who signs in each case and how homestead rules can override a will.
How long does ancillary probate take if the owner lived outside Florida?
Ancillary administration is a Florida case for Florida property of someone who lived in another state. It runs on the same Florida clocks, including the 3-month creditor period, but it can start later because the court wants papers from the home-state case first.
It is filed in a Florida county where the property is (Fla. Stat. 733.101). The petition must include authenticated (official) copies of the home-state probate case. If no case was needed there, it includes the will, or a statement that there is no case elsewhere (Hillsborough Clerk). The ancillary personal representative publishes and serves a notice to creditors under the usual Florida rules, unless claims are already barred (Fla. Stat. 734.102).
- Small estates with a will. If the Florida property is worth $50,000 or less, the home-state personal representative can file a shorter proceeding within 2 years after the death (Fla. Stat. 734.1025).
- Summary administration. It works for an out-of-state owner's estate too, under the same $150,000 or 2-year test (735.201).
- Later on. If no Florida case was opened, a will probated in another state can be recorded in Florida to pass title. This is allowed 2 years after the death, or once the home-state personal representative is discharged (Fla. Stat. 734.104).
If the person named to run the estate does not live in Florida, Florida law allows only certain relatives and their spouses to serve (Fla. Stat. 733.304). If that person does not qualify, finding someone else adds time.
What speeds probate up, and what slows it down?
Agreement and complete paperwork speed it up. Disputes, missing people and missing documents slow it down.
Things that often help:
- Finding the original will and depositing it with the clerk within the 10 days the law allows.
- A will that names a personal representative who qualifies and gives a power to sell real estate.
- Every heir agreeing, signing the papers and waiving notice where the rules allow it.
- Gathering what the court looks for: a certified death certificate, a list of assets with estimated values, and a list of known debts. The Pasco Clerk's summary administration checklist shows the details.
Things that often add months:
- No will, and heirs who are hard to find.
- A challenge to the will, which can be filed up to 3 months after notice of administration is served.
- A creditor claim that the personal representative disputes.
- A minor heir. The Hillsborough Clerk says a guardianship is filed when a child inherits more than $15,000.
- A personal representative who lives outside Florida and does not qualify.
- A federal estate tax return. It is due 9 months after the death, and the closing papers are due 12 months after that, counting any extension (The Florida Bar). Few estates need one. The filing threshold is $15,000,000 for deaths in 2026 (IRS).
- A busy court calendar. Pasco's clerk notes that a hearing may be required before the court signs orders (Pasco Clerk).
Where are probate cases heard in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco?
Pinellas and Pasco are in Florida's Sixth Judicial Circuit, and Hillsborough is the Thirteenth (Fla. Stat. 26.021). Each county's Clerk of Court takes the filings and keeps the case records.
| County | Where cases go | Useful for timing |
|---|---|---|
| Pinellas | Sixth Circuit. Estate cases go to Probate Section 3 in Clearwater or Section 4 in St. Petersburg, based on the ZIP code of the petitioner's attorney, or of the petitioner if there is no attorney (Admin. Order 2025-035). Filings go through the Pinellas Clerk. | ZIP codes the order does not list are split between the two sections to even out the workload. Your attorney can tell you which judge has the case. |
| Hillsborough | Thirteenth Circuit. Petitions can be filed at the George Edgecomb Courthouse in downtown Tampa or the Plant City Courthouse (Hillsborough Clerk). | Check a case's docket on HOVER. The clerk's probate page also links a list of probate cases filed in the past 30 days and each probate judge's preferred formats for papers. |
| Pasco | Sixth Circuit. The Pasco Clerk has probate offices in Dade City and New Port Richey, and new estate cases must be filed electronically (Probate Electronic Filing). | The clerk's probate checklists cover summary and formal administration, homestead, extensions and discharge. Its summary checklist still shows the old $75,000 limit. |
Should you sell during probate or wait until the estate closes?
It depends on the house, the heirs and the bills. Here is an honest comparison of the realistic choices.
| Option | Often fits when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| List with an agent during probate | The house shows well and the estate can carry the costs for a few months | Usually the highest price for a house in good shape, minus commission and closing costs. Any court approval has to fit the buyer's timeline. |
| Sell as-is to a cash buyer during probate | The house needs work, the heirs live far away, or a set closing date matters | Cash offers are usually below what a fully repaired house would bring. Check that the buyer closes in its own name at a title company. |
| Wait until the estate closes, then sell | No one needs the money soon and the house is easy to carry | Taxes, insurance and upkeep keep running. Every heir who owns a share must sign. |
| Rent it out until the estate settles | The house is rentable now and someone will manage it | Landlord duties and repairs. Ask the estate's attorney who can sign a lease. |
| One heir keeps the house | An heir wants to live there and can buy out the others | Needs everyone's agreement and a fair value. Property taxes often rise after the owner's death. |
To see what a cash offer would leave the estate compared with listing, use our cash offer vs. listing comparison.
How does Tao Home Buyers fit into a probate timeline?
We buy inherited houses as-is for cash in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco. We can only buy from someone with legal authority to sell, so the closing follows the court's timeline, not ours.
The estate picks the closing date, so it can come after Letters, a court order approving the sale, or an order determining homestead. Once the title is clear, we can close in as few as 10 days. Tao Builders LLC is the end buyer: it buys in its own name, closes at a licensed title company, and does not assign or wholesale contracts. Earnest money goes to the title company the same day the contract is signed, or the next business morning if it is signed after hours.
Our cash offer will usually be below what the house would bring fully repaired. Matan, the owner, has bought houses around Tampa Bay for 4 years and has personally bought more than 50. He is a licensed Florida real estate sales associate with Jay Alan Real Estate, buying for his own company as a principal, not as anyone's agent.
Sources
Official sources we checked for this page. Rules change, so confirm anything important with the source or a Florida attorney.
- Probate in Florida, consumer pamphlet (The Florida Bar)
- Fla. Stat. 735.201, summary administration (Florida Legislature)
- CS/HB 1337 (2026), ch. 2026-57, effective July 1, 2026 (Florida Senate)
- Fla. Stat. 733.702, deadlines for creditor claims (Florida Legislature)
- Fla. Stat. 733.212, notice of administration and objections (Florida Legislature)
- Fla. Stat. 733.613, personal representative's right to sell real property (Florida Legislature)
- Fla. Stat. 734.102, ancillary administration (Florida Legislature)
- Fla. Stat. 734.1025, nonresident estates with Florida property of $50,000 or less (Florida Legislature)
- Probate, Guardianship and Trust (Hillsborough County Clerk of Court)
- Probate/Estates (Pasco County Clerk and Comptroller)
- Case Maintenance Reference Guide on Petition to Determine Homestead (Pasco County Clerk and Comptroller)
- Admin. Order 2025-035, assignment of probate cases in Pinellas County (Sixth Judicial Circuit)