How much does it cost to probate an estate in florida?

For both standard summary and formal probate administrations, Wilkerson Law Firm P.A. charges a "flat fee," which means you pay a lump sum attorney's fee that you know up front instead of an hourly rate and instead of the attorney taking a percentage of your estate value.  The attorney's fee depends, in large part,  on whether you need a summary or formal administration.

A summary administration process may be possible when the value of the estate does not exceed $75,000.00.  When calculating the value of the estate, the value of any exempt property (most often a family residence) is not included in the $75,000.00 limit.  So, if there is a $250,000 homestead going to heirs and a $5,000 bank account, this estate will likely qualifty for summary administration even though the value of the house is over $75,000.00. A summary administration is also permitted, regardless of the estate value, if the decedent passed away two years ago or more.

For summary administration in which the decedent passed away over two years ago, and there are no special or extraordinary issues and all interested parties are in agreement, our attorney’s fee is a flat fee of $1000.00 plus costs (costs are not included and will be addressed below).

For summary administration in which the decedent passed away less than two years ago, and there are no special or extraordinary  issues and all interested parties are in agreement, our attorney’s fee is a flat fee of $1,500.00 plus costs (costs are not included and will be detailed below).

If the estate does not qualify for summary administration, then formal administration will be necessary.  

For Formal Administration, Florida Statutes sets out what is deemed to be a reasonable attorney's  fee if there are no extraordinary circumstances, but we can usually beat the statutory fee, so make sure you keep reading to the end of this section.  Here is what the statutes say:

“(1) Attorneys for personal representatives shall be entitled to reasonable compensation payable from the estate assets without court order.
(2) The attorney, the personal representative, and persons bearing the impact of the compensation may agree to compensation determined in a different manner than provided in this section. Compensation may also be determined in a different manner than provided in this section if the manner is disclosed to the parties bearing the impact of the compensation and if no objection is made as provided for in the Florida Probate Rules.
(3) Compensation for ordinary services of attorneys in formal estate administration is presumed to be reasonable if based on 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 as provided in the following schedule:
(a) One thousand five hundred dollars for estates having a value of $40,000 or less.
(b) An additional $750 for estates having a value of more than $40,000 and not exceeding $70,000.
(c) An additional $750 for estates having a value of more than $70,000 and not exceeding $100,000.
(d) For estates having a value in excess of $100,000, at the rate of 3 percent on the next $900,000.
(e) At the rate of 2.5 percent for all above $1 million and not exceeding $3 million.
(f) At the rate of 2 percent for all above $3 million and not exceeding $5 million.
(g) At the rate of 1.5 percent for all above $5 million and not exceeding $10 million.
(h) At the rate of 1 percent for all above $10 million.”

--  From Florida Statutes section 733.6171

However, Wilkerson Law Firm P.A. routinely offers fees lower than the above statutory reasonable fees.  If there are no extraordinary circumstances in the case, all interested parties are in agreement, and the estate value is under $750,000, we can likely offer you a flat rate attorney’s fee of $1,750 down and $1,000 before the case closes, for a total flat fee of $2,750 (not including costs).   

For estates with assets over $750,000 and less than 1.5 million in value, the fee is $2,500 down and $2,500 before the case closes for a total flat fee of $5,000 (not including costs).   For estates valued between 1.5 million and 3 million, the fee is $2,500 down and $7,500 before the estate closes for a total flat  fee of $10,000 (not including costs). 

The above formal administration rates do  not apply to cases wherein the estate includes extraordinary circumstances, litigation, spousal elective share issues, tax deferred acccount issues, selling a business, etc.   Any estate over 3 million in value would need to be discussed before a fee estimate can be provided.  

Costs – Costs are always in addition to the attorney's fee; costs are the expenses of the case that must be paid out to move the case forward.  While, the attorney usually collects the costs, the attorney does not keep costs money.  Rather, it goes directly to the source of the cost. In a typical probate proceeding, costs would include items such as the court’s filing fee (usually about $350 to $432), certified postage (usually depends on the number of creditors and beneficiaries that will need notices), and, in formal administrations, the costs charged by the newspaper to publish a required legal notice to creditors (usually around $100 – $150), etc.   There can also be costs related to appraisals and formal accountings if that is necessary, thus estates with very significant assets often have more costs.  For example, an estate with an expensive art collection would likely require an expert art appraisal. . . 

For standard summary probates, costs in the amount of $400.00 must be paid in advance.

For formal probates, costs in the amount of $600.00 must be paid in advance.    Depending on how the case goes, these might be the only costs.  The attorney will communicate with the client prior to incurring any additional costs greater than $25.00.

For solvent estates in formal administration cases, any attorney's fees and costs paid directly by the client/pesonal representative can frequently be reimbursed to the personal representative from the estate.

Probate Bonds - Even when a will states that the nominated personal representative does not need to post a bond, it is within the discretion of the probate judge to require a personal representative to post a bond to protect the estate assets for all beneficiaries and creditors in a formal administration.   Bonds are very often required when there are multiple beneficiaries and when there are assets that are easy to liquidate.  Additionally, there is a very high probability of a bond being required when the personal representative appplicant is not a Florida resident.  The judge will determine the bond amount based, in large part, on the amount of assets of the estate.  When the judge requires a bond, typically, the personal representatve purchases the services of an insurance company/bonding company to post the bond and pays a fee to the insurance company/bonding company for that.  While your attorney will guide you through this process, the personal representative/client will enage the bond/insurance company of his or her choice and pay the the company directly.   This is not a cost that the attorney collects and distributes; however, as this is an expense of probate in some cases, it should be mentioned when discussing the potential cost of a probate.  How much an insurance company charges for a Florida probate bond can vary.  As just an example, for a bond of approximately $150,000.00, as of the time of drafting this, several companies were charging in the $500 to $800 range.  The charge can also depend on the applicant's history, credit-worthiness, etc.