Probate - How much does it cost in Florida?

Introduction

In Florida, there are two primary means of probating the estate of a deceased person. 1) Summary Administration and 2) Formal Administration. This blog focuses entirely on the costs of Formal Administration of an estate. While some estates do qualify for summary administration, many do not for a wide variety of reasons (e.g. over the 75k asset cap, a contested estate, variety of creditors to deal with, etc.).

Who's Involved?

There are two primary roles to be played when administering an estate in Florida. Those are:

1) Personal Representative

This person is either a) Designated in the last will of the decedent, or b) selected based on the Florida Probate Code, or c) selected by the mutual agreement of the beneficiaries. This person’s job is to effectively administer the estate. This includes collecting and inventorying all of the assets, settle any relevant debts, and eventually distribute the estate to the entitled beneficiaries.

2) Attorney for the Personal Representative

The attorney for the PR handles most of the heavy lifting related to the “legal” elements of the estate, and ensures that things operate smoothly. They also handle drafting a variety of required legal documents, negotiating with creditors/beneficiaries or their attorneys as applicable, and advising the Personal Representative on matters pertaining to their activities.

How much does the Attorney get paid?

While attorneys fees are set by the individual attorney, Florida Statute 733.6171 sets forth the “presumed reasonable fees” that the attorney may charge in any given case. Those fees are allowed to increase (or decrease on occasion) based on the complexity of the estate. The presumed reasonable fees are as follows:

  • $1500 for estates of $40,000 or less;

  • $2250 for estates greater than $40,000, but less than $70,000;

  • $3000 for estate greater than $70,000 but less than $100,000;

  • 3% of an estate valued between $100,000 and $1M;

  • 2.5% of an estate valued between $1M and $3M;

  • 2% of an estate valued between $3M and $5M;

  • 1.5% of an estate valued between $5M and $10M;

  • 1% of an estate valued above $10M.

For the sake of example, an estate valued at $750,000, presumed reasonable attorneys fees would be $22,500.

How is the Estate Value determined?

The “compensable value of the estate, which is the inventory value of the probate estate assets and the income earned by the estate during the administration…” - Florida Statute 733.6171(3)

“Compensable Value” - The value of the estate less an “exempt assets”, the largest of which is the homestead property of the deceased. Some additional personal property is included in the “exempt” category as well.

EXAMPLE (ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY)

Let’s say that an estate is composed of the following:

  • $1M Homestead Property (EXEMPT)

  • $150K in cash (Checking/Savings)

  • $300K in stocks & bonds

  • 5 Cars, each valued at $20K (2 Cars Exempt)

  • Misc. Personal property valued less than $5k (Exempt)

In this instance, after subtracting the exempt assets, the total value of the estate would be $450K + $60K for the non-exempt cars for a total of $510,000. Thus, the total presumed reasonable attorneys fees in this case would be $15,300.

Can this be avoided?

In short, YES. With some creative estate planning while you are alive, you can significantly reduce the size of your estate. Speak with your attorney about these strategies today!

Other Costs

Other than the attorneys fees discussed above, formal probate generally includes between $500-$1000 in associated hard costs associated with the administration. These costs typically include the filing fee, mailing costs, publication costs, and others of this sort.