In short: Several, and some start right away. Whoever has the original will must deposit it with the clerk within 10 days after learning of the death under section 732.901, and every claim against the decedent is cut off 2 years after death under section 733.710, whether or not probate is ever opened. Most of the other deadlines start running once the personal representative serves the notice of administration and publishes the notice to creditors: 3 months to object to the will, 3 months for most creditors, and up to 6 months for a surviving spouse’s elective share.
The Rule
Florida probate runs on deadlines, and most of them are short. Some run from the date of death. Most run from a notice: the notice of administration served on the family, or the notice to creditors published in the newspaper. Missing one usually means losing the right for good, not paying a late fee.
Courts are also pushing estates to move. As Matt Weidner says in the video, some judges are now calling lawyers in to explain why probate cases are not moving along. The personal representative’s job under section 733.602 is to settle and distribute the estate as expeditiously and efficiently as is consistent with the best interests of the estate.
First: The Original Will (10 Days)
Under section 732.901, the custodian of a will must deposit it with the clerk of the court having venue of the estate within 10 days after receiving information that the testator is dead. The clock runs from learning of the death, and it applies to anyone holding the original: a lawyer, a family member, a friend.
A will that someone does not like is still a will. If a custodian sits on it, a court can compel production and deposit, and when the custodian had no just or reasonable cause for failing to deposit it, the court must award the petitioner costs, damages and a reasonable attorney’s fee against the custodian.
Someone worried about what will happen in the estate can file a caveat under Probate Rule 5.260. Once an interested person (other than a creditor) files one, the court will not admit a will to probate or appoint a personal representative without formal notice to the caveator. Under Probate Rule 5.040, a person served with formal notice has 20 days after service to serve written defenses, or the court may proceed without them.
Opening Probate and Notifying Creditors
Florida sets no fixed number of days to open probate, but waiting rarely helps. Under section 733.202, any interested person may petition for administration, so a named personal representative who sits on the case can find someone else opening it first.
Once letters issue, the personal representative must promptly publish a notice to creditors once a week for 2 consecutive weeks under section 733.2121, and must make a diligent search for reasonably ascertainable creditors and promptly serve them. If the decedent was 55 or older, the notice and death certificate must also be served on the Agency for Health Care Administration within 3 months after first publication.
Deadlines That Start With the Notice of Administration
The personal representative must promptly serve a notice of administration on the surviving spouse, the beneficiaries, persons who may be entitled to exempt property and certain trustees under section 733.212. That notice starts several clocks for the people who receive it:
- Objecting to the will, venue or jurisdiction: 3 months. Under section 733.212, an interested person served with the notice must file any objection to the validity of the will, the venue or the court’s jurisdiction within 3 months after service, or the objection is forever barred. The time can be extended only for estoppel based on a misstatement by the personal representative about the deadline, and the outer limit is the earlier of the order of discharge or 1 year after service.
- Elective share: up to 6 months. Under section 732.2135, a surviving spouse must file the election by the earlier of 6 months after service of the notice of administration or 2 years after the date of death. The court can extend the time for good cause if the spouse petitions within that period, and an election can be withdrawn within 8 months after death and before the court orders contribution.
- Exempt property: 4 months. Under section 732.402, the surviving spouse (or, if there is none, the children) waives exempt property unless a petition to determine it is filed by the later of 4 months after service of the notice of administration or 40 days after any proceeding over the will or the estate ends. Exempt property includes household furniture and appliances up to $20,000, two personal vehicles and 529 college savings plans.
- Family allowance: no fixed deadline, but it is for the administration period. Section 732.403 lets the court award a reasonable allowance, up to $18,000 in total, to the surviving spouse and dependent lineal heirs for their maintenance during administration. The statute sets no filing deadline, but the right to any unpaid part ends if the person entitled to it dies, so it should be asked for early.
Creditor Deadlines and the 2-Year Bar
Under section 733.702, a creditor’s claim is barred unless it is filed in the probate case by the later of 3 months after the first publication of the notice to creditors or, for a creditor who had to be served, 30 days after service. A late claim is barred even if no one objects, unless the court extends the time for fraud, estoppel or insufficient notice.
Claims can be fought. Under section 733.705, the personal representative or another interested person may object to a claim by the later of 4 months after first publication or 30 days after the claim was filed. The creditor then has 30 days after service of the objection to file a separate lawsuit on the claim, or the claim is barred, unless the time is extended by written agreement or by the court.
Over all of this sits section 733.710. Two years after death, the estate, the personal representative and the beneficiaries are not liable for any claim against the decedent, whether or not letters were ever issued. Florida courts treat it as a statute of repose, not an ordinary statute of limitations. The exceptions are a creditor who timely filed a claim that has not been resolved, and recorded mortgages, security interests and possessory liens.
The Inventory and Closing the Estate
Under Probate Rule 5.340, the personal representative must file a verified inventory within 60 days after letters issue and serve it on the surviving spouse, each heir in an intestate estate, each residuary beneficiary in a testate estate and anyone else interested who asks in writing. Under section 733.604, the inventory is confidential, but interested persons can see it, and a beneficiary can ask in writing how a value was determined or for a copy of any appraisal. If assets turn up later, the personal representative must file an amended or supplemental inventory.
Estates cannot stay open forever. Under Probate Rule 5.400, in an estate that does not have to file a federal estate tax return, the final accounting and petition for discharge must be filed and served within 12 months after letters issue, unless the court extends the time for cause. Beneficiaries then have 30 days after service to object under Probate Rule 5.401.
When There Is a Trust
Many Florida families use a revocable trust, and the settlor’s death starts the trustee’s own clock. Under section 736.0813, within 60 days after learning that a revocable trust has become irrevocable, the trustee must notify the qualified beneficiaries of the trust’s existence, the settlor’s identity, their right to request a copy of the trust and their right to accountings. After that, the trustee must give each qualified beneficiary an accounting at least once a year.
Under section 736.05055, the trustee of a trust that is liable for the settlor’s estate expenses and debts must also file a notice of trust with the court in the county of the settlor’s domicile and the court with jurisdiction over the estate. The statute sets no fixed number of days, but any estate proceeding that happens before the notice is filed binds the trustee.
Common Mistakes
- Waiting to grieve before dealing with the paperwork. The deadlines do not pause, and several start the day the notice is served.
- Holding onto the original will because you do not like it. The law requires deposit within 10 days after learning of the death and can make you pay the other side’s lawyer if you refuse.
- Reading the notice of administration and setting it aside. The 3-month objection period and the spouse’s 4-month and 6-month deadlines run from service, not from when you get around to it.
- Assuming a creditor can wait out the probate. Most claims die 3 months after publication, and all of them die 2 years after death except as the statute allows.
- Assuming the estate can stay open as long as it takes. Most estates must file the final accounting within 12 months after letters unless the court extends it.
Lessons
- Find and deposit the original will within 10 days after learning of the death.
- If you think you might contest the will or claim a spouse’s rights, calendar the date you were served with the notice of administration and count from there.
- Creditors get about 3 months after publication, and 2 years after death is the outside limit.
- Beneficiaries should expect an inventory within about 60 days after letters, and can ask how the values were set.
- If there is a trust, expect a trustee’s notice within 60 days and an accounting at least once a year.
Source: Sections 732.2135, 732.402, 732.403, 732.901, 733.202, 733.212, 733.2121, 733.602, 733.604, 733.702, 733.705, 733.710, 736.05055 and 736.0813, Florida Statutes (2025); Florida Probate Rules 5.040, 5.260, 5.340, 5.400 and 5.401.
Watch the Short Videos
The first video is a four-minute walk through the Florida probate deadlines. The short clips after it are 10-second reels on the same point: the legal clock starts with the loss, not when the family is ready. The statutes and rules are linked above.
Probate Deadlines in Florida: Miss One And It's Over! (LITERALLY)
Grief Doesn’t Stop the Paperwork
Loss Doesn’t Come With Instructions
Grief Was Never Meant to Be a To-Do List
The Clock Doesn’t Care About Grief
Grief Doesn’t Pause the Paperwork
The Part No One Warns You About
Read the Law on FloridaRules.net
The statutes and court rules discussed in this article, free to read on FloridaRules.net:
- § 732.901, Fla. Stat.
- § 733.710, Fla. Stat.
- § 733.602, Fla. Stat.
- Fla. Prob. R. 5.260
- Fla. Prob. R. 5.040
- § 733.202, Fla. Stat.
- § 733.2121, Fla. Stat.
- § 733.212, Fla. Stat.
- § 732.2135, Fla. Stat.
- § 732.402, Fla. Stat.
- § 732.403, Fla. Stat.
- § 733.702, Fla. Stat.
- § 733.705, Fla. Stat.
- Fla. Prob. R. 5.340
- § 733.604, Fla. Stat.
- Fla. Prob. R. 5.400
- Fla. Prob. R. 5.401
- § 736.0813, Fla. Stat.
- § 736.05055, Fla. Stat.
Go Deeper
- What Happens While Probate Is Pending in Florida? The Steps and the Deadlines
- Florida Probate Rules Explained: Depositing a Will, Electing the Elective Share, Removing a PR (Rules 5.043, 5.360, 5.440)
- Florida Trust Accounting Deadlines: 60-Day Notices, Annual Accountings and the 6-Month Bar
- Can You Reopen a Closed Probate Estate in Florida? Missed Deadlines, Late Challenges, and the 30-Day Appeal Rule
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do you have to file a will after someone dies in Florida?
Under section 732.901, whoever has the original will must deposit it with the clerk of the court within 10 days after learning that the person died. A custodian who refuses without a good reason can be compelled to produce it and ordered to pay the costs, damages and attorney’s fees of the person who had to go to court.
How long do creditors have to file a claim against an estate in Florida?
Under section 733.702, generally 3 months after the first publication of the notice to creditors, or 30 days after service for a creditor who was served, whichever is later. Under section 733.710, claims against the decedent are cut off 2 years after death even if no probate was ever opened, with narrow exceptions for timely filed claims and recorded liens.
How long does a surviving spouse have to claim the elective share in Florida?
Under section 732.2135, the election must be filed by the earlier of 6 months after the spouse is served with the notice of administration or 2 years after the date of death. The court can extend the time for good cause, but only if the spouse asks within that period.
Is there a deadline to open probate in Florida?
No statute sets a fixed number of days to open probate. But any interested person may petition under section 733.202, creditor claims are barred 2 years after death under section 733.710, and the deadlines for objections, the elective share and exempt property do not start until the notice of administration is served, so delay usually helps no one.
Talk to a Florida probate litigation lawyer
Weidner Law, P.A. handles Florida probate disputes and probate appeals from St. Petersburg. If you need a probate litigation lawyer, call (727) 954-8752 or email weidner@mattweidnerlaw.com.
Read the law yourself, free: the full Florida Probate Code and Probate Rules and the Florida Trust Code are on floridarules.net.
This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your situation. Reading it, watching the videos, or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements.
