From Knox Law
What Does a Palm Beach Probate Attorney File to Open Formal Administration?
A Palm Beach probate attorney files the petition for administration, the original will, an oath, and a designation of resident agent. The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit also requires its own formal administration checklist. A judge then appoints the personal representative, and the clerk issues letters. Chapter 733 governs, and Probate Rule 5.030 requires a lawyer.
Knox Law is a Pompano Beach based probate firm serving families throughout Florida, including the barrier island towns of Palm Beach County. Rachel M. Knox has practiced law in Florida since 1997. The firm represents personal representatives, beneficiaries, heirs and trustees, and many of them live in New York, Boston or Chicago while the property sits on the island. This guide walks through every document a formal administration needs and what the court does with it.
If someone in your family died owning a home or condominium in Palm Beach, call Knox Law at 954-613-6740 to discuss your matter.
Why a Palm Beach Estate Usually Needs Formal Administration
Choosing between formal and summary administration starts with the estate’s assets, the date of death, and the will, if there is one. Knox Law helps families review these details before deciding which Florida probate process may fit.
Under section 735.201, Florida Statutes, summary administration may be available when the value of the entire estate subject to administration in Florida, less the value of property exempt from creditors’ claims, does not exceed $150,000, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. In an estate with a will, the will must not direct administration as required by Chapter 733.
The review includes three statutory factors:
- Which assets are subject to administration in Florida, and which property is exempt from creditors’ claims.
- Whether the decedent has been dead for more than two years, which is an alternative to the value limit.
- Whether a will directs administration as required by Chapter 733.
Chapter 2026-57 increased the value limit from $75,000 to $150,000 effective July 1, 2026. The value and timing alternatives do not make every estate automatically eligible; the will-related condition and other applicable requirements still need to be considered.
The Value Line That Decides the Path
Section 735.201 measures the estate subject to administration in Florida, not the family’s total wealth. Exempt property comes out of the math first. A protected homestead is not counted, which surprises families who assume the house alone disqualifies them. Even so, a second unit, a brokerage account or a vehicle collection usually carries the number past $150,000 on its own. Ask a Florida formal probate lawyer to run that calculation before you assume either path applies.
When a Will Directs Administration Under Chapter 733
Read the will before you read the balance sheet. Section 735.201 bars summary administration in a testate estate when the will directs administration as required by Chapter 733. Estate planning lawyers write that clause on purpose, often because the client held assets that needed a personal representative with real authority. The dollar value stops mattering the moment that language appears. A $90,000 estate with that clause still goes formal.
Where a Palm Beach Probate Case Gets Filed in Palm Beach County
So where does the paperwork actually go? Every Palm Beach estate is a Fifteenth Judicial Circuit case, and the circuit runs seven separate probate divisions. Filing is electronic through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, so nobody drives across the Royal Park Bridge with a folder. The probate administration team in Palm Beach handles that portal work from the first petition forward.
Five courthouses serve the circuit. The Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley Courthouse at 205 North Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach is the main courthouse, a short drive off the island. The North County Courthouse sits at 3188 PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens, and the South County Courthouse at 200 West Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. Which site hears a particular estate depends on the division assignment, not on the decedent’s street address.
Venue Under Section 733.101 When the Decedent Lived on the Island
Section 733.101 sets venue in the county where the decedent was domiciled. A year round Town of Palm Beach resident is domiciled in Palm Beach County, so the case belongs there. That sounds obvious until you remember the town’s numbers. The 2020 census counted 9,245 residents, and the population climbs toward 25,000 between November and April. Domicile and winter address are not the same thing, and the court cares about the first one.
Ancillary Administration When a Seasonal Owner Was Domiciled Elsewhere
Now take the harder case. Your father kept a Connecticut driver license, voted in Greenwich, and spent five months a year in a condominium on South Ocean Boulevard. He is a nonresident who died owning Florida property. Section 734.102 puts that Florida property through ancillary administration in Palm Beach County, running alongside the Connecticut estate. The Florida case is its own proceeding with its own letters.
Who May Serve as Personal Representative From Outside Florida
Section 733.304 blocks most nonresidents from serving. The exceptions are close family, including a spouse, a sibling, a lineal relative, an adopted child or adoptive parent, and an aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. The spouse of a qualified person also counts. A longtime friend in Greenwich does not qualify, no matter what the will says, and that gap sends families back to the drawing board at the worst moment.
Why the Florida Case Still Runs on Chapter 733 Deadlines
Ancillary does not mean simplified. Section 734.102 requires the ancillary personal representative to serve and publish a notice to creditors under Chapter 733. It also requires a bond the way any other Florida personal representative gives one. Claims that miss the Chapter 733 deadlines are barred under section 733.702. The out-of-state probate case running in another state does nothing to protect the Florida property.
The Documents a Palm Beach Probate Attorney Files First
What actually lands on the docket in week one? A formal administration opens with a stack of filings that the court reviews together. Miss one and the clerk holds the file, which costs weeks on a case that already moves slowly. Families handling large Florida estates feel that delay hardest, because banks and title companies will not move without letters.
These filings open the estate.
- The verified petition for administration, signed by the petitioner and by the attorney of record.
- A copy of the death certificate, filed without redacting the social security number.
- The original will deposited with the clerk, with a copy filed electronically.
- The oath of personal representative and the designation of resident agent.
- A list of beneficiaries with birthdates for any minors and the names of any trustees.
Two of those items cause more trouble than the rest combined.
The Original Will and the 10-Day Deposit Rule
Section 732.901 requires anyone holding an original will to deposit it with the clerk within 10 days after learning of the death. Families routinely leave the will in a safe deposit box or a desk drawer for a month. Nothing else moves during that month. A petition to admit a will cannot proceed on a photocopy, and a lost will forces a separate petition with consents from the people who would inherit without it.
What the Fifteenth Circuit Checklist Requires Before Letters Issue
Palm Beach County adds a step that many families never see coming. The circuit publishes separate formal administration checklists for testate and intestate estates, and the petitioner’s lawyer completes one with the opening filings. The checklist asks whether the will is self proved, whether the personal representative meets the statutory qualifications, and whether the estate assets are listed with approximate values. You can read the circuit’s own formal administration checklist before your first meeting.
Certification A and Certification B on the Checklist
The form ends with two certifications, and the difference matters. Certification A says every item on the list is satisfied. Certification B flags a missing item, and the lawyer has to explain it. A file that comes in under Certification B may get set for hearing before the judge signs anything. That is the difference between letters in days and letters after a docket wait.
The Oath, the Resident Agent Designation and Probate Rule 5.320
Probate Rule 5.320 requires the personal representative to designate a resident agent for service in Florida. The oath and the designation are filed together with the petition. Both are short documents that get overlooked, and both stop the file cold when they are missing. The circuit’s checklist calls for them by name.
Why the Criminal History Affidavit Matters for a Self Represented Petitioner
The Fifteenth Circuit requires an Affidavit Regarding Criminal History from a petitioner appearing without counsel. Section 733.305 exempts trust companies and banks from that filing. The affidavit connects to the qualification rules, because a felony conviction disqualifies a person from serving as personal representative. It is one more reason self representation stalls out fast in a formal case.
How the Resident Agent Keeps Notice Flowing to an Out-of-State Family
A resident agent gives the court and every interested party a Florida address for service. Think about a personal representative living in Boston with a Palm Beach estate open. Papers served on a Florida agent reach counsel the same day instead of sitting in a forwarding queue. Deadlines in probate run from service, so that difference protects the estate.
Why Florida Requires a Lawyer for Formal Administration
Can you file this yourself? Almost never. Florida Probate Rule 5.030(a) states that every personal representative, unless the personal representative remains the sole interested person, shall be represented by an attorney admitted in Florida. That is a rule of court, not a suggestion from the bar. The clerk will not process a formal administration filed by an unrepresented personal representative who has co-beneficiaries.
The rule has exactly two ways out, and neither one fits a typical family estate. Understanding both saves an argument with the clerk’s office.
- A personal representative who is also the only interested person may proceed without counsel.
- A personal representative who is a Florida admitted attorney may represent herself in that role.
- Every other formal administration, including any estate with a second beneficiary, needs a Florida lawyer of record.
So what does that lawyer cost, and who decides?
The Sole Interested Person Exception, and How Rarely It Fits
Sole interested person means nobody else holds a stake in the outcome. One surviving child who inherits everything under a will might qualify. Add a sibling, a charitable gift or a creditor with a live claim, and the exception disappears. Most Palm Beach estates involve several beneficiaries and at least one institutional creditor, which is why the exception almost never carries a real case.
Fees Under Section 733.6171 Are Presumed Reasonable, Not Fixed
Section 733.6171 sets a schedule that is presumed reasonable for the personal representative’s attorney. It starts at $1,500 for an estate of $40,000 or less and moves up through tiers, reaching a percentage above $100,000. Presumed reasonable is not the same as mandatory. The statute lets the parties agree to different terms, and many families do. Ask for the fee arrangement in writing at the first meeting.
Creditor Claims and the Two-Year Bar in a Palm Beach Estate
Why can a clean estate take a year to close? Creditors get their window first, and no judge shortens it. The notice to creditors starts a clock that controls the rest of the case. Knox Law’s guidance on creditor claims in a Florida estate begins with that notice for exactly that reason.
Two statutes do the work here, and they operate independently. One sets the ordinary claim deadline inside an open estate. The other cuts off claims entirely after two years, whether an estate was ever opened or not. A family that misreads the second one can lose a defense worth six figures.
The Three-Month Window After First Publication
Under the claim deadline in section 733.702, a creditor must file by the later of two dates. One is 3 months after first publication of the notice to creditors. The other is 30 days after the creditor was served with a copy. A claim filed late is barred even if nobody objects, unless the court extends the time for fraud, estoppel or insufficient notice.
The Two-Year Absolute Bar Under Section 733.710
Section 733.710 is the stronger rule. Two years after a death, the estate, the personal representative and the beneficiaries are not liable for any claim against the decedent. Letters do not matter. An open probate case does not matter. Two exceptions survive. The bar does not reach a creditor who already filed a claim within those two years under section 733.702 and has not been paid. It also leaves a recorded mortgage or lien on the property untouched.
Here is what that means for a family sitting on an unopened estate.
- Waiting past two years can extinguish old medical and credit card claims entirely.
- Two years also unlocks summary administration under section 735.201, whatever the estate is worth.
- A recorded mortgage survives all of it and keeps accruing interest.
That tradeoff deserves a real conversation before anyone decides to wait.
Homestead Rules on the Palm Beach Barrier Island
Homestead is where Palm Beach estates get complicated. Article X, section 4 of the Florida Constitution shields a homestead from most creditors and limits who can inherit it. Knox Law covers the ground rules on its page about homestead property in a Florida estate. The protection is generous, and it comes with restrictions that catch families by surprise after a death.
Geography adds pressure. The town sits on an 18-mile barrier island between the Lake Worth Lagoon and the Atlantic, and the island is never wider than three quarters of a mile. Parcels are scarce, values are high, and a single homestead determination can swing an estate by millions. That is why the homestead question gets answered early rather than at closing.
The Surviving Spouse’s Six-Month Election Under Section 732.401
Section 732.401 controls when a homestead is not validly devised. If a spouse and one or more descendants survive, the spouse takes a life estate with a vested remainder to the descendants. The spouse may instead elect an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common. That election must be made within 6 months after the death and during the spouse’s lifetime, and once made it is irrevocable. The notice of election gets recorded in the county records with the legal description.
Homestead and the Palm Beach County Records That Prove It
Proving homestead status takes documents, not assertions. The county’s public records carry most of what a court wants to see, and every one of them is available before you file anything. Pulling them early tells you whether you are looking at a protected homestead or an ordinary estate asset. That answer changes who inherits, whether creditors can reach the property, and how fast a sale can close.
Checking the Property Appraiser’s Exemption History
The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser publishes exemption history parcel by parcel. A homestead exemption on the decedent’s record is strong evidence of permanent residence and intent to make the property a home. A seasonal owner who never claimed the exemption faces a much harder argument. Check that record before you tell a family their house is protected.
Valuing an Oceanfront Parcel for the Estate Inventory
Section 733.604 requires each estate asset to be listed at its estimated fair market value on the date of death. The appraiser’s assessed value gives you a starting point and nothing more. Oceanfront and lakefront parcels on the island trade far apart from assessed figures, so most of these estates need a licensed appraisal. Beneficiaries can ask in writing how any listed value was set.
Common Questions About Formal Probate in Palm Beach
These are the questions families ask in the first phone call, usually within a week of a death. The answers below are general, because every estate turns on its own documents and its own facts. Bring the will, the deed and the last few account statements to your first meeting, and you will get much better answers.
How long does formal administration take in Palm Beach County?
Most uncontested formal administrations run close to a year from the date letters issue. The 3-month creditor period under section 733.702 sets the floor. A contested will, a property sale or a disputed claim can push the case well past that.
Can I avoid probate if the Palm Beach house was jointly owned?
Property held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entireties passes outside probate. A deed in the decedent’s name alone does not. Pull the recorded deed and read the vesting language before you assume anything.
What happens if a beneficiary objects to the will?
An interested person served with the notice of administration has 3 months to file an objection to the will, the venue or the court’s jurisdiction under section 733.212. An objection moves the file to a contested track with scheduled hearings. Knox Law handles estate litigation in Palm Beach when a case turns that direction.
Does the estate have to file an inventory?
Yes. The personal representative files an inventory listing every asset at date of death value under section 733.604. It goes to the surviving spouse, the heirs or residuary beneficiaries, and anyone else who requests it in writing.
My mother died three years ago and we never opened probate. What now?
Section 735.201 allows summary administration when the decedent has been dead more than 2 years, whatever the estate is worth. Section 733.710 has also barred most claims by then. You still need a court order, and title companies will still want one before a sale closes.
Talk With a Palm Beach Probate Attorney at Knox Law Today
Formal administration is not complicated because Florida wants it to be. It is complicated because the statutes, the probate rules and the Fifteenth Circuit’s own requirements all have to line up before a judge signs anything. Get the first filing right and the estate moves. Get it wrong and you wait.
Knox Law handles Florida probate and estate matters only. Rachel M. Knox has practiced law in Florida since 1997, and the firm works with personal representatives, beneficiaries, heirs and trustees whether they live in Palm Beach County or three states away. Contact the office to discuss your matter.
Bring what you have, even if it is only a death certificate and a deed. A short call with a Palm Beach probate attorney will tell you whether the estate qualifies for summary administration, whether formal administration is required, and what has to be filed first.
Call Knox Law at 954-613-6740 or reach the firm through the contact page to get started. Every week you wait is a week the creditor clock and the homestead election deadline keep running.