Personal representative duties in Florida: what the job requires, step by step

Florida calls the executor a personal representative. To serve, a person must be an adult with legal capacity and a Florida resident at the time of death (Fla. Stat. 733.302), or a close relative who lives elsewhere (Fla. Stat. 733.304). A person convicted of a felony, or who is mentally or physically unable to do the work, can't serve (Fla. Stat. 733.303).

When more than one person could serve, the court follows a set order of preference (Fla. Stat. 733.301):

The process starts with a petition for administration in the county where the person lived. Once the will, if any, is admitted, the court appoints the personal representative and decides whether a bond is needed. The personal representative files an oath to faithfully administer the estate, and a nonresident also designates a resident agent. Then the clerk issues letters of administration (Fla. Prob. R. 5.235; Fla. Prob. R. 5.320).

Letters are the personal representative's proof of authority. Banks, brokerages and title companies will ask for a certified copy before they release information or money. Until letters issue, a person named in the will has no power to act for the estate.

Notice of administration. The personal representative must promptly serve it on the surviving spouse, the beneficiaries, certain trustees and anyone who may be entitled to exempt property (Fla. Stat. 733.212). A person served generally has 3 months to object to the will's validity, the personal representative's qualifications, venue or jurisdiction.

Notice to creditors. It's published once a week for 2 consecutive weeks. The personal representative must also make a diligent search for creditors who are reasonably ascertainable and serve them (Fla. Stat. 733.2121). Within 4 months after first publication, the personal representative files a verified statement that the search was made (Fla. Prob. R. 5.241(d)).

Inventory. Within 60 days after letters, the personal representative files an inventory listing the estate's assets with their estimated fair market value at death. Real property that appears to be protected homestead is listed and labeled but not valued. Copies go to the Department of Revenue, the surviving spouse, each heir in an intestate estate, each residuary beneficiary and anyone else who asks in writing (Fla. Prob. R. 5.340).

Creditors generally must file claims by the later of 3 months after first publication or 30 days after being served (Fla. Stat. 733.702). If there isn't enough to pay everyone, Florida sets the order: administration costs and fees first, then funeral expenses up to $6,000, then certain federal debts, taxes and Medicaid's claim, then medical bills from the last 60 days, and so on down the list (Fla. Stat. 733.707).

That order matters. A personal representative who pays a lower class, or hands out inheritances, before a higher-class claim is resolved can end up answering for the shortfall. If a parent received Medicaid, read Medicaid estate recovery in Florida before paying anything.

A home that qualifies as protected homestead usually passes outside the creditor process and isn't valued in the inventory. Title companies often want a court order confirming its status before a sale, and any interested person can petition for that determination (Fla. Prob. R. 5.405). The rules on who inherits the home are explained in probate in Florida. If several children inherit it together and disagree, see partition of inherited property.

Keep estate money in an estate account, never mixed with your own, and keep receipts for every payment. Florida accountings must be written so that people unfamiliar with probate can follow them, and must show all cash and property transactions plus a closing schedule of assets (Fla. Prob. R. 5.346). Interim accountings are optional unless the court orders one (Fla. Prob. R. 5.345).

When everything but distribution is done, the personal representative files a final accounting and a petition for discharge with a plan of distribution. Interested persons have 30 days after service to object. An objection is treated as abandoned unless a notice of hearing is served within 90 days after it's filed (Fla. Prob. R. 5.400; Fla. Prob. R. 5.401). After distribution, the court's discharge order releases the personal representative and bars most later claims against them (Fla. Stat. 733.901).

For ordinary services, compensation is presumed reasonable at 3% of the first $1 million, 2.5% from $1 million to $5 million, 2% from $5 million to $10 million and 1.5% above that (Fla. Stat. 733.617). Many family members waive it. Fee waivers and attorney fees are covered in probate in Florida.

A personal representative who breaches their fiduciary duty is liable to interested persons for the resulting damage or loss, and the court can order costs and attorney's fees paid from that person's share (Fla. Stat. 733.609). The common traps are paying debts out of order, distributing too early, letting a vacant house go uninsured and mixing funds.

Rosa's father died in Greenacres in March with a will naming her personal representative, a condo and two bank accounts. A routine formal administration might run like this: