Florida Small Estate Affidavit

Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: Florida lets a small estate be settled with two separate tracks — an affidavit and a court petition, usable not stated in the text we read, and it is filed with the court (or the office that holds probate authority). Real estate: not established.

Provisional. Published at medium confidence; the points we could not confirm are listed below rather than smoothed over.

The verdicts

What the statute actually says

the court may enter an order of summary administration allowing immediate distribution of the assets to the persons entitled to them … Upon informal application by affidavit, letter, or otherwise…the court, by letter or other writing under the seal of the court, may authorize the payment, transfer, or disposition of the personal property, tangible or intangible, belonging to the decedent to those persons entitled.

— Fla. Stat. §§ 735.201-735.206, 735.301

The dollar limit

Summary administration: $150,000 as of July 1, 2026 (Fla. Stat. §735.201, amended by CS/HB 1337, Ch. 2026-57, signed April 29, 2026; was $75,000), or death more than 2 years ago regardless of value; exempt homestead not counted. Disposition without administration (§735.304): raised $10,000 → $20,000 of exempt personal property by the same act.

All 51 limits, compared.

The form

We did not locate an official free state form. That does not mean none exists — many states publish forms through individual county or probate offices rather than a single statewide page, and several court websites blocked automated access entirely. Ask the probate court or register of wills in the county where the person lived before paying anyone for a form.

The waiting period is the part that voids transfers

Using the instrument before its waiting period has run is the most common way one of these fails. A bank can refuse it, and a transfer made on a defective affidavit can be unwound — with the person who signed it personally exposed, because these are sworn statements made under penalty of perjury. Wait the full period and count from the date of death.

What could not be verified

Could not confirm or rule out real-property coverage under Summary Administration from the statute text retrieved (no explicit ‘real property’/’homestead’ language found in §§735.201-735.2065, though Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration under §735.301 is explicitly personal-property-only). flcourts.gov self-help probate pages returned 404 on every URL tried, and the Florida Probate Rules Form 5.520 link resolved to an unrelated administrative order (AOSC14-60) rather than the actual form, so no verified official form URL is provided.

When this route is the wrong one

• The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
• There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
• Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
• Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.

Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.

General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.