The Florida Senate

The bill amends various provisions of state law relating to uncontested probate proceedings. Probate is the court-supervised process for identifying and gathering a decedent’s assets, paying the decedent’s debts, and distributing the decedent’s remaining assets to his or her beneficiaries.

Specifically, the bill:

• Increases the value of estates eligible for summary administration from $75,000 to $150,000.
• Increases the value of intestate estates consisting only of certain personal property that may be disposed of without administration from $10,000 to $20,000.
• Increases the maximum income tax refund that may be claimed by a decedent’s spouse or child without administration of the decedent’s estate from $2,500 to $5,000.
• Increases the maximum amount of funds in a qualified account held by a financial institution which may be distributed to a family member using affidavit procedures from $1,000 to $2,000.
• Requires financial institutions to grant a personal representative access to a decedent’s safe deposit box if the personal representative provides a copy of his or her letters of administration to the financial institution and allows the personal representative to pay any accumulated charges for and terminate the safe deposit box lease.
• Authorizes personal representatives to initiate legal proceedings to enforce their authority under the Florida Probate Code and to recover any associated costs, including attorney fees.

In 2024, the Florida Supreme Court established the Workgroup on Uncontested Probate

Proceedings (Workgroup) within the Judicial Management Council to make recommendations

and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Florida’s processes and procedures for

uncontested probate proceedings. The bill implements the Workgroup’s recommendations.

If approved by the Governor, or allowed to become law without the Governor's signature, these provisions take effect on July 1, 2026.

Vote: Senate 37-0; House 110-0