Florida Probate Costs and Attorney Fees Explained (Palm Beach Guide)

Florida probate costs typically run from roughly $3,000 for a small summary administration to tens of thousands of dollars for a contested or creditor-heavy formal administration. The two biggest line items are court and administrative costs (filing fees, publication, accounting, and appraisals) and attorney fees, which Florida law presumes reasonable when calculated on a statutory percentage of the estate value under Fla. Stat. §733.6171. In Palm Beach County, where estates often carry mortgages, medical liens, and active creditor claims, the cost of handling those claims correctly is frequently what separates a clean probate from an expensive one.

I’ve handled estates across Palm Beach for years, and the question I hear first is almost never “how long does this take?” It’s “what is this going to cost me?” Fair question. Below is a straight answer, with the actual statutes that govern the numbers — and the places where a creditor-heavy estate can quietly run up the tab.

What Drives the Cost of Probate in Florida

There is no single flat “probate fee” in Florida. The total bill is a stack of separate costs, and which ones apply depends on the type of administration your estate qualifies for and how complicated the assets and debts turn out to be.

The cost categories break down like this:

• Court filing fees — Paid to the Clerk of the Circuit Court (the Palm Beach County Clerk for estates in our jurisdiction). Filing a formal administration generally costs around $400; a summary administration is less.
• Attorney fees — Governed by Fla. Stat. §733.6171, discussed in detail below.
• Personal representative compensation — The executor is entitled to a fee under Fla. Stat. §733.617, on a percentage scale similar to the attorney schedule.
• Creditor and claims costs — Statutory notice publication, certified mailings to known creditors, and the cost of objecting to or litigating disputed claims.
• Third-party costs — Appraisals, accountants, real-estate carrying costs, bond premiums (if a bond is required), and recording fees.

The mistake people make is assuming attorney fees are the whole story. In an estate with aggressive creditors, the claims process can cost as much as the attorney’s base fee — which is exactly why this firm pays such close attention to it.

Florida Attorney Fees for Probate: The Statutory Schedule

Florida is one of the few states that publishes a presumed-reasonable fee schedule for probate attorneys directly in statute. Under Fla. Stat. §733.6171, a fee is presumed reasonable if it follows this percentage of the estate’s “compensable value” — generally the inventory value of the probate assets plus income earned during administration:

• $1,500 for estates with a value of $40,000 or less
• Plus $750 for estates above $40,000 and up to $70,000
• Plus $750 for estates above $70,000 and up to $100,000
• 3% of the value between $100,000 and $1 million
• 2.5% of the value between $1 million and $3 million
• 2% of the value between $3 million and $5 million
• 1.5% of the value between $5 million and $10 million
• 1% of the value above $10 million

So a $500,000 probate estate produces a presumed attorney fee of roughly $15,000 ($3,000 base for the first $100,000, plus 3% of the next $400,000). That is a starting point, not a ceiling or a floor. The statute lets the personal representative and the attorney agree to a different reasonable fee, and it expressly allows additional fees for “extraordinary services.”

Extraordinary Services — Where Creditor Estates Get Expensive

This is the part most online cost calculators ignore. Section 733.6171 authorizes extra compensation, on top of the base schedule, for work that goes beyond ordinary administration. The statute specifically lists things like:

• Will contests and other estate litigation
• Tax advice and the preparation of estate or fiduciary tax returns
• The sale of real property
• Litigation over creditor claims — defending the estate against a claim or pursuing claims on its behalf
• Carrying on the decedent’s business

For the creditor-heavy estates we focus on in Palm Beach, that creditor-claim line is the one to watch. If a hospital, a credit-card issuer, or a private lender files a claim and the estate has to object, the resulting litigation is billed as extraordinary service — usually hourly. Handling that phase efficiently is the single biggest cost lever in this kind of estate.

Court Costs and Third-Party Expenses

Separate from anyone’s fee, the estate pays its own hard costs. In a typical Palm Beach formal administration you should budget for:

1. Clerk filing fee — approximately $400 to open a formal administration.
2. Publication of Notice to Creditors — required by Fla. Stat. §733.2121; typically $100–$200 depending on the newspaper. This runs once a week for two consecutive weeks.
3. Certified mail to known creditors — the personal representative must serve a copy of the notice on reasonably ascertainable creditors directly.
4. Letters of Administration and certified copies — small per-copy clerk charges.
5. Appraisals and valuations — for real estate, business interests, or unusual personal property.
6. Accounting fees — for the final accounting and any tax returns.
7. Bond premium — only if the will does not waive bond and the court requires one.

These costs are statutory and largely unavoidable. The publication and notice expenses in particular are not optional — they’re what starts the creditor-claim clock, and skipping them is how estates end up exposed to late claims years later.

The Creditor Claims Process and Why It Affects Cost

Here’s the mechanism that makes notice worth every dollar. Once the Notice to Creditors is published, creditors generally have three months from the first publication to file a claim, under Fla. Stat. §733.702. A creditor who was reasonably ascertainable but never served directly gets a shorter alternative window — 30 days from the date of service. And under the absolute backstop of Fla. Stat. §733.710, no claim may be filed against the estate more than two years after the decedent’s death, regardless of notice.

Why does this drive cost? Because every claim that comes in is a decision point:

• If the claim is valid, it gets paid out of estate assets — reducing what beneficiaries receive but not generating much legal expense.
• If the claim is questionable, the personal representative can file an objection under Fla. Stat. §733.705. That forces the creditor to file an independent lawsuit within 30 days or lose the claim.
• If the creditor sues, you’re now in litigation — billed as extraordinary services.

A well-run claims process can save an estate far more than it costs. I’ve seen six-figure claims evaporate because they were filed one day past the statutory deadline, or because a timely, properly-served objection was never answered. That is the difference good handling makes, and it’s the core of how we approach these files.

Summary Administration vs. Formal Administration

The cheapest probate is the one you qualify out of needing in full. Florida offers summary administration under Chapter 735 when the value of the probate estate (excluding exempt homestead) is $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. Because the two-year mark wipes out most creditor claims under §733.710, that older-estate path is often dramatically simpler and cheaper.

Summary administration skips the appointment of a personal representative and the formal claims period, so attorney fees are usually a flat, modest figure rather than the percentage schedule. Formal administration — required for larger estates, ongoing creditor disputes, or when an active personal representative is needed to manage assets — is where the §733.6171 schedule and extraordinary-fee provisions come into play.

If you’re weighing your options, the distinction between probate types is worth understanding in depth. While the specifics differ by state, our colleagues’ overview of is a useful primer on why the procedural path matters so much to cost.

How to Keep Florida Probate Costs Down

You can’t make probate free, but you can keep it from getting expensive. The estates that cost the most are the ones that drift — claims left unanswered, deadlines missed, assets left to depreciate. Practical levers:

• Open the estate promptly so the creditor clock starts running and the two-year nonclaim period works in your favor.
• Serve every ascertainable creditor by certified mail — it triggers the short 30-day claim window for those creditors and forecloses later challenges.
• Object early to weak claims rather than negotiating; the burden shifts to the creditor to sue.
• Avoid unnecessary litigation — the percentage fee covers ordinary work, but every contested motion adds extraordinary fees.
• Consider whether summary administration applies before defaulting to a full formal administration.

For families dealing with out-of-state assets — a New York co-op, a brokerage account, a second home up north — coordination matters too. If part of the estate touches New York, the firm’s affiliated team explains the , which often runs in parallel with a Florida administration through ancillary probate.

Our Florida practice handles these creditor-heavy estates day in and day out; you can read more about our approach on our . For Palm Beach families, the goal is always the same: pay what the estate legitimately owes, defeat what it doesn’t, and close the matter without burning assets on avoidable fights.

Talk to a Palm Beach Probate Attorney

Every estate is different, and a real cost estimate requires looking at the assets, the will, and — critically — who the creditors are. If you’ve been named personal representative or you’ve lost a loved one with debts, mortgages, or pending claims, get the claims strategy right from day one. Learn more about your options on our Florida probate and wills and estates pages, or contact our Palm Beach office for a consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does probate cost in Florida?

It varies widely. A summary administration may cost a few thousand dollars in total, while a formal administration follows the statutory attorney-fee schedule in Fla. Stat. §733.6171 — for example, roughly $15,000 in presumed attorney fees on a $500,000 estate — plus court costs, publication, and personal representative compensation. Creditor litigation can add extraordinary fees on top.

Are Florida probate attorney fees set by law?

Florida law provides a presumed-reasonable fee schedule under Fla. Stat. §733.6171, based on a percentage of the estate’s compensable value. It is a presumption, not a mandate — the personal representative and attorney can agree to a different reasonable fee, and the statute allows additional charges for extraordinary services like creditor-claim litigation, tax work, and real-estate sales.

Who pays the attorney fees and costs in a Florida probate?

The estate pays. Probate attorney fees, court costs, publication, and personal representative compensation are all paid out of estate assets before the remaining property is distributed to beneficiaries. Beneficiaries do not pay out of pocket; the costs reduce the net amount they ultimately inherit.

How long do creditors have to file claims against a Florida estate?

Generally three months from the first publication of the Notice to Creditors under Fla. Stat. §733.702. A known, reasonably ascertainable creditor served directly has only 30 days from service. Under Fla. Stat. §733.710, no claim may be filed more than two years after the decedent’s death, regardless of whether notice was given.

Can I reduce probate costs by avoiding formal administration?

Sometimes. If the probate estate (excluding homestead) is $75,000 or less, or the decedent died more than two years ago, you may qualify for summary administration under Chapter 735, which is faster and cheaper. A probate attorney can confirm whether your estate qualifies before committing to a full formal administration.