Blue Line Law Firm
☎
Florida · Probate

Someone died, and now nothing will move without a court order.

The bank won't release the account. The title company won't close. That court order is called probate — and in Florida, for most families, it takes less than you're bracing for.

Florida probate, filed in your county — handled remotely from anywhere in the state.

Probate · Partition · Estate Planning

Based in West Palm Beach & LaBelle · Serving Florida statewide

Ask first

Not sure where to start? Ask.

Ask the firm that files Florida probate every week — you'll get a straight answer before you ever pick up the phone.

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Serving Florida statewide · Every Florida county on request.

4.8188 Google reviews

Which kind of probate does this estate need?

Seven questions — the same triage we run on every intake. We'll tell you exactly which Florida procedure fits, or when you need none at all.

Step 1 of 7

Did the person own anything in their name alone?

Solo-titled bank accounts, houses, cars, or investments — not joint accounts, POD/TOD accounts, or things in a trust.

This week's list

The first moves we walk every family through — the ones that protect the estate before a single document is filed.

  • Talk to an attorney first — before you assume you need probate.

    A short call can tell you whether probate is even required, and which track fits, before anyone spends time or money.

  • Find the original will.

    Whoever has it must deposit it with the Clerk of the Circuit Court within 10 days of the death — Fla. Stat. §733.201. Check safes, safe-deposit boxes, and the drafting attorney.

  • Order five certified death certificates.

    The funeral home orders them from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics. They come in long form and short form — ask for short-form certified copies, which is what most banks, title companies, and institutions now require.

  • Secure the residence, but don't clean it out.

    Change the locks, forward the mail, keep the utilities on, and photograph the contents before anything moves. Personal property is part of the estate until the court says otherwise.

  • Do not pay the credit cards from your own money.

    Unsecured debts belong to the estate, and many of them extinguish if the creditor misses the 90-day claim window under Fla. Stat. §733.702. Paying them personally can waive that protection.

  • Freeze the accounts — don't drain them.

    Withdrawing from a solo-titled account after death, even to pay funeral costs, can create personal exposure. Joint and beneficiary-designated accounts pass separately; leave the rest alone until we're appointed.

  • Write down every asset you know about.

    Bank, brokerage, retirement, life insurance, vehicles, real estate (in any state), business interests, safe-deposit boxes. Rough is fine — the inventory becomes a filed document later.

At a glance

Every Florida probate path in one view — and how we know which one an estate actually needs.

  • Situation

    Nothing in the decedent's sole name

    Likely path

    Probate usually not required

  • Situation

    Died more than 2 years ago

    Likely path

    Summary Administration (Fla. Stat. §735.201)

  • Situation

    Small estate under $150,000

    Likely path

    Summary Administration (Fla. Stat. §735.201)

  • Situation

    Florida resident with a larger estate

    Likely path

    Formal Administration

  • Situation

    Non-Florida resident with Florida real estate

    Likely path

    Ancillary Administration

  • Situation

    Non-Florida resident who owned a Florida home

    Likely path

    Ancillary Administration (Fla. Stat. §734.102)

  • Situation

    Only minimal assets + limited final expenses

    Likely path

    Disposition Without Administration

  • Situation

    Family disagreement or contested will

    Likely path

    Contested probate — needs a litigation-ready firm

The four Florida tracks

The four ways a Florida estate gets settled — and how we handle each one, week in and week out.

Formal Administration

The standard Florida probate under Chapter 733. A Personal Representative ("PR") is appointed, creditors are noticed, an inventory is filed, valid claims are paid, and assets are distributed under the will or Florida intestacy.

Typical timeline: 6–12 months.

Why Blue Line

Blue Line Law Firm files formal probate throughout the judicial circuits across Florida — statewide — every week. Kevin's team handles the Personal Representative appointment, creditor notice, inventory, and closing order without bouncing you between paralegals.

Summary Administration

The shortened track under Fla. Stat. §735.201, available in most cases when the estate is under $150,000, or the decedent has been gone more than two years. No PR is appointed — the court enters a distribution order directly.

Typical timeline: 3–6 months.

Why Blue Line

We know when summary actually saves time and when it costs you a second filing. If your case fits, we file it. If it doesn't, we tell you — no pushing you into the wrong track.

Disposition Without Administration

No case is opened at all. Reserved for very small estates where the assets do not exceed reimbursement of final expenses. Handled by petition, not by opening a probate case.

Typical timeline: less than three months.

Why Blue Line

Rare, but when it fits, it fits. We'll tell you on the discovery call whether your estate qualifies — and if it doesn't, we'll tell you the smallest track that does.

Ancillary Administration

For non-Florida residents who owned Florida property. A Florida case runs alongside the home-state probate to transfer that Florida asset. Governed by Fla. Stat. §734.102.

Typical timeline: 6–12 months, similar to formal.

Why Blue Line

Out-of-state families are half of what we do. Work with us entirely through our secure online portal — no Florida trip, no forwarded PDFs, and we coordinate directly with your home-state counsel.

Who can serve

Florida's rules on who can serve as personal representative — including the out-of-state trap we clear for families every week.

The personal representative ("PR") — what most states call an executor — is the person the court appoints to gather the estate's assets, notify creditors, pay valid debts and taxes, and distribute what remains. In Florida the will's nomination is usually honored, but the court still has to confirm the appointment and issue Letters of Administration before the PR has any authority to act.

Under Fla. Stat. §733.302–.303 the PR has to be 18 or older, mentally and physically capable, and not a convicted felon. The PR does not have to be a lawyer, and does not necessarily have to be in the same county as you. But Florida has one restriction that surprises most out-of-state families.

What happens to the house

Homestead follows its own rules — and getting it determined early is often how we unstick a stalled title fast.

A Florida homestead is treated differently from every other asset. Under Article X, §4 of the Florida Constitution it passes outside the probate estate to the surviving spouse and lineal descendants under Florida's homestead rules, and it's protected from most creditors of the estate. Getting the homestead determined by the court early is often the fastest way to unstick a title. Be aware that certain things are not exempt from homestead — such as liens, a mortgage, or a reverse mortgage — so an heir doesn't always receive the property free and clear.

Non-homestead real estate — condos on the beach, rentals, vacant lots, family land — behaves like any other probate asset when it's held in the decedent's sole name. If it was held jointly with right of survivorship, in a revocable trust, or by a ladybird (enhanced life estate) deed under Fla. Stat. §689.15, it usually transfers without a court order.

When siblings or co-heirs inherit a house together and can't agree on whether to sell, keep, or rent it, that's a separate proceeding called a partition action. We handle both sides of that problem in the same practice — so the estate and the co-ownership fight don't get resolved twice.

Related practice

Inherited a house with siblings who can't agree? Florida partition, explained →

How a case moves

The exact sequence we run — with honest timing — on the cases we file most in Florida courts.

Summary administrations often finish in three to six months. Formal administrations typically close in six to twelve months — longer if the estate is complex, has out-of-state real estate, or is contested.

  1. 1

    File in the correct county

    The petition is filed in the Circuit Court of the county where the decedent lived at the time of death (Fla. Stat. §733.101).

  2. 2

    Court appoints the personal representative

    The court reviews the will (if any) and the proposed personal representative ("PR"), then issues Letters of Administration — the document banks and title companies require as proof of authority.

  3. 3

    Notice to Creditors is published

    Once the PR is appointed, a Notice to Creditors is published in the applicable county's legal newspaper and served on known creditors. First publication after appointment starts the 90-day claim window under Fla. Stat. §733.702 — 30 days if a creditor was served directly, whichever is later.

  4. 4

    Inventory the estate

    We assist the personal representative in identifying and valuing every probate asset — real property, accounts, vehicles, business interests, personal property — as of the date of death, and file the inventory with the court.

  5. 5

    Pay valid claims, object to invalid ones

    Creditor claims are reviewed one by one. Valid claims are paid in the statutory priority order out of estate funds. Invalid or untimely claims are objected to and, if needed, litigated.

  6. 6

    Handle taxes and any disputes

    Final personal tax return, any estate-level filings, and any will contest, homestead determination, or elective-share election are resolved before distribution.

  7. 7

    Marshalling assets

    We assist the personal representative in pursuing legal action against anyone who has taken from the estate — asset recovery, financial-exploitation and undue-influence claims, elder financial abuse, and recovery of appropriated assets.

  8. 8

    Distribute and close the estate

    Remaining assets are distributed under the will or Florida intestacy, a final accounting is filed, the PR is discharged, and the court enters an order closing the case.

Ready when you are

Tell us the county and what's stuck. We'll write back today.

☎ (561) 783-6923

Kevin Drummond

Former law enforcement officer and prosecutor — now focused entirely on Florida probate, partition, and estate planning.

Kevin Drummond, founding attorney at Blue Line Law Firm

Blue Line Law Firm · West Palm Beach & LaBelle

Kevin spent his career showing up for people in high-pressure situations before law school — serving in a law enforcement capacity with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, and various police departments, and then as an Assistant State Attorney within the state of Florida.

He founded Blue Line Law Firm to do three things and do them well: probate, partition, and estate planning — in Florida and federal courts. Between Kevin and the firm's other attorneys, that's more than 60 years of combined experience in Florida and federal courts — a lot of it in the same probate divisions where these cases live.

You'll get an attorney who over-explains rather than leaves you guessing, a firm that's structured for real response times, and a secure online portal so out-of-state heirs can handle everything without a visit to our office. Set up your discovery call.

What current and former clients say

4.8 stars across 188 Google reviews. A few of them, in the families' own words.

4.8188 Google reviews
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16 questions we answer constantly

Backed by the Florida statutes that govern them.

Get started

Tell us what you need, and we'll write back today.

Tell us a little about your situation and we'll point you to the right track — summary, formal, ancillary, or none. Set up your discovery call. No upsell.

4.8188 Google reviews

60+ years combined Florida & federal court experience · Former prosecutor & law enforcement officer