Florida Probate Costs and Attorney Fees Explained (2026 Guide)

Florida probate costs fall into two broad buckets: hard costs paid to the court and third parties (filing fees, publication, certified copies, bonds, appraisals) and professional compensation paid to the attorney and personal representative. For a typical formal administration, hard costs usually run a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars, while attorney fees are governed by a statutory schedule in Fla. Stat. §733.6171 that presumes roughly 3% of a $100,000–$1,000,000 estate is reasonable. Together, total probate cost for an average Florida estate commonly lands somewhere between 3% and 5% of the estate’s value, though that figure moves with complexity, conflict, and whether the decedent left a will.

That last point matters more than most people expect. When someone dies in Miami without a will — what Florida law calls dying intestate — the process does not get cheaper by default. It often gets more expensive, because more questions have to be answered before a single asset can move. This guide explains where the money actually goes.

What “Florida Probate Cost” Actually Includes

People tend to picture one big bill. In reality, the cost of probating a Florida estate is a stack of smaller line items, and they accrue at different stages. Here is the honest breakdown of what a personal representative should expect to pay out of estate assets:

• Court filing fee — Clerks in Miami-Dade and most counties charge in the range of $230–$400 to open a formal administration, depending on the petition and county schedule.
• Notice to creditors publication — Florida requires publishing a notice in a local newspaper (often $100–$250) so unknown creditors have their three-month window to file claims.
• Certified copies and recording — Letters of Administration, certified death certificates, and recorded documents add modest per-page and per-copy charges.
• Bond premium — If the court requires the personal representative to post a bond (common when there’s no will waiving it), the annual premium is a real cost.
• Appraisal and valuation fees — Real estate, a business interest, or unusual personal property may need a professional appraisal to set the inventory value.
• Attorney fees — Almost always the largest single component in a formal administration.
• Personal representative compensation — The executor is legally entitled to a commission, even a family member who serves.

Two of these — attorney fees and personal representative compensation — are large enough and statute-driven enough to deserve their own sections.

How Florida Attorney Fees Are Calculated: §733.6171

Florida is unusual. Unlike many states where probate lawyers simply bill hourly, Florida’s legislature wrote a presumptive fee schedule directly into the statute. Under Fla. Stat. §733.6171(3), the attorney for the personal representative in a formal estate administration is entitled to compensation that is presumed reasonable when calculated on the “compensable value” of the estate — the inventory value of the probate assets plus income earned during administration.

The presumed-reasonable schedule works in graduated tiers:

1. $1,500 for estates valued at $40,000 or less.
2. An additional $750 for the portion above $40,000 up to $70,000.
3. An additional $750 for the portion above $70,000 up to $100,000.
4. 3% of the next $900,000 (the portion from $100,000 to $1,000,000).
5. 2.5% of the portion above $1 million up to $3 million.
6. 2% of the portion above $3 million up to $5 million.

Above $5 million, the percentages continue to step down for $5M–$10M and beyond. A worked example helps. On a $400,000 Miami home that passes through probate, the presumed fee is the first $3,000 (covering up to $100,000) plus 3% of the remaining $300,000, which is $9,000 — roughly $12,000 total. That is the number the statute treats as reasonable without anyone having to fight about it.

The Schedule Is a Presumption, Not a Mandate

This is the part clients most often misunderstand. The §733.6171 schedule is a safe harbor, not a ceiling and not a floor. The statute expressly allows the attorney, the personal representative, and the people who bear the financial impact of the fee to agree to a different arrangement — hourly, flat, or a blend — as long as it is disclosed and unobjected to under the Florida Probate Rules. Many Miami probate attorneys, including ours, will quote a flat or hourly fee for a straightforward estate when that produces a lower number than the percentage schedule. Always ask which method your lawyer is using before you sign the engagement.

“Extraordinary” Services Cost Extra

The schedule above covers ordinary services. §733.6171(4) separately allows additional reasonable compensation for extraordinary services — and these are exactly the things that show up when an estate is contested. Will challenges, will construction suits, tax controversies, litigation over homestead, sale of real property, and dealing with adversary proceedings all qualify. If heirs go to war, the bill grows. (For a sense of how those fights unfold elsewhere, our New York colleagues explain , and the strategic principles travel well across state lines.)

Personal Representative Compensation Under §733.617

The executor — in Florida, the “personal representative” — is also entitled to be paid. People who volunteer to serve for a parent or sibling are frequently surprised by this, and sometimes waive it. But the statutory right exists. Fla. Stat. §733.617 sets a presumed-reasonable commission on the compensable value of the estate:

• 3% on the first $1 million.
• 2.5% on the value above $1 million up to $5 million.
• 2% on the value above $5 million up to $10 million.
• 1.5% on everything above $10 million.

So on a $400,000 estate, the personal representative’s presumed commission is roughly $12,000. Stack that beside the attorney fee and you can see why total professional compensation alone can approach 6% before a single contested issue arises. When a family member serves and waives the commission, the estate keeps that money — one of the few levers heirs genuinely control.

Why Intestate (No-Will) Estates Often Cost More in Miami

Here is where our practice focus matters. Dying without a will doesn’t eliminate probate; it removes the roadmap. The court still administers the estate, but now under Florida’s intestate succession statutes (Fla. Stat. §§732.101–732.111) rather than the decedent’s instructions. That shift drives cost up in several concrete ways:

• Heir identification. Without a will naming beneficiaries, the personal representative must establish who the legal heirs are — spouse, children, and more distant relatives if needed. In a blended Miami family or one with relatives abroad, that investigation takes time and sometimes formal proof.
• No nominated executor. Florida §733.301 sets a priority order for who may serve. When relatives disagree about who that should be, the dispute itself generates billable extraordinary-services work.
• Mandatory bond. A will often waives the personal representative’s bond. Intestate estates frequently don’t, adding a recurring premium cost.
• Spousal and homestead complexity. Florida’s elective share and homestead protections can reshape who gets what, and litigating those entitlements is classic extraordinary-services territory.

None of this means an intestate estate is doomed to be expensive — many resolve cleanly. But the absence of a will reliably adds friction, and friction is what converts ordinary fees into extraordinary ones. If you’re reading this before a death has occurred, the cheapest probate is the one a good estate plan prevents; see our overview of wills and estate planning.

Formal Administration vs. Summary Administration vs. Disposition

Florida offers cheaper procedural lanes for smaller estates, and choosing the right one is itself a cost-control decision.

Summary Administration

Under Fla. Stat. §735.201, an estate may qualify for summary administration if the non-exempt probate assets are worth $75,000 or less, or if the decedent has been dead for more than two years. Summary administration skips the appointment of a personal representative and most of the formal timeline, which meaningfully lowers both attorney fees and court costs. The §733.6171 percentage schedule does not bind summary cases the same way, so fees here are typically negotiated flat.

Disposition Without Administration

For very small estates where assets only cover final expenses and certain exempt property, §735.301 allows disposition without any formal administration — often achievable with minimal or no attorney involvement. This is the rare probate that can cost almost nothing.

Formal Administration

Most estates with real property, larger balances, or any whiff of dispute land in formal administration under Chapter 733 — the lane where the full fee schedule applies. For a deeper look at how that machinery operates, this walkthrough of maps closely to the Florida process, and our affiliated Florida team details its own approach to .

Who Actually Pays — and How to Keep Costs Down

Probate costs are paid from estate assets, not out of the heirs’ pockets up front, which is why the question is really “how much of the inheritance gets consumed first.” A few practical levers genuinely move the number:

• Ask your attorney whether a flat or hourly fee beats the percentage schedule for your specific estate.
• Have the personal representative consider waiving the commission when family is serving.
• Avoid avoidable litigation. Most extraordinary-services fees come from disputes, and disputes are cheaper to settle early.
• Check whether the estate qualifies for summary administration before defaulting to the formal track.
• Keep clean records so the attorney spends less time reconstructing the estate.

If you’ve lost someone in Miami-Dade and you’re staring at an estate — especially one with no will — the most expensive mistake is guessing. A short consultation can tell you which procedural lane applies and what your realistic out-the-door cost looks like before you commit. You can reach our Miami probate team here, or read more on our Florida probate overview.

This article is general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Probate cost depends on the specific facts of your estate; consult a licensed Florida attorney about your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does probate cost in Florida on average?

Most Florida estates spend somewhere between 3% and 5% of the estate’s value on total probate costs. That figure combines hard costs (filing fees of roughly $230–$400, publication, certified copies, and any bond or appraisal) with professional compensation. Attorney fees follow the presumed-reasonable schedule in Fla. Stat. §733.6171 — about 3% of an estate valued between $100,000 and $1 million — and the personal representative is separately entitled to a commission under §733.617. Contested or intestate estates run higher because of extraordinary-services fees.

Are Florida probate attorney fees set by law?

Florida law provides a presumed-reasonable fee schedule in Fla. Stat. §733.6171, but it is a safe harbor, not a mandate. The attorney, personal representative, and those bearing the financial impact may agree to a different arrangement — hourly, flat, or blended — as long as it’s disclosed and unobjected to under the Florida Probate Rules. For straightforward estates, a negotiated flat or hourly fee is often lower than the percentage schedule, so always ask which method your lawyer is using.

Is probate more expensive if there is no will in Florida?

Often, yes. Dying intestate doesn’t eliminate probate; it removes the decedent’s instructions, so the estate is administered under Florida’s intestate succession statutes (§§732.101–732.111). That typically adds cost through heir identification, disputes over who serves as personal representative under §733.301, a mandatory bond premium that a will might have waived, and potential homestead or spousal-share litigation — all of which can convert ordinary fees into extraordinary-services fees.

How is the personal representative paid in a Florida probate?

Under Fla. Stat. §733.617, the personal representative (executor) is entitled to a presumed-reasonable commission on the compensable value of the estate: 3% on the first $1 million, 2.5% on $1–5 million, 2% on $5–10 million, and 1.5% above that. A $400,000 estate yields roughly a $12,000 commission. Family members who serve frequently waive this commission, which keeps that money in the estate for the heirs.

Can a small Florida estate avoid full probate costs?

Yes. If non-exempt probate assets are $75,000 or less, or the decedent died more than two years ago, the estate may qualify for summary administration under Fla. Stat. §735.201, which skips much of the formal process and lowers fees. Very small estates that only cover final expenses and exempt property may use disposition without administration under §735.301, sometimes with little or no attorney involvement.