What Assets Must Go Through Probate in Florida (and What Skips It)

In Florida, an asset must go through probate when it was owned in the decedent’s name alone, with no surviving co-owner and no valid beneficiary designation directing where it goes. Assets that carry a built-in transfer mechanism — joint ownership with survivorship, a named beneficiary, or a funded trust — skip probate and pass directly to the new owner. So the real question isn’t “did the person die with assets?” but “how was each asset titled, and who, if anyone, was named to receive it?”

That distinction decides whether a family spends six months in a Florida courtroom or settles an estate in an afternoon. It also decides where a will contest can actually reach. When relatives come to us angry about being “cut out,” the first thing we do is sort the assets into two piles — what the probate court controls and what it can’t touch. The answer surprises people on both sides of a dispute.

How Florida Decides What Counts as a Probate Asset

Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will (if there is one), paying the decedent’s debts and taxes, and transferring what’s left to the rightful heirs. Florida’s rules live in Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes, and the procedures are spelled out further in the Florida Probate Rules.

The trigger for probate is title. If the asset was titled solely in the decedent’s name and contained no instruction for passing on death, the probate court is the only legal mechanism to move it to someone living. A dead person can’t sign a deed or endorse a check. Probate exists to supply that signature through a court-appointed personal representative (Florida’s term for an executor or administrator).

Whether there’s a will or not, those solely owned assets still go through the same court. A will doesn’t avoid probate — it directs probate. Without one, Florida’s intestacy statutes (Chapter 732, Part I) decide who inherits, in a fixed order that often shocks blended families.

Assets That Typically Must Be Probated

The following almost always require probate in Florida when held in the decedent’s sole name with no beneficiary:

• Real estate titled only in the decedent’s name — a house, condo, or vacant lot in the decedent’s name alone. (A primary residence may qualify as protected homestead, which has its own rules — more below.)
• Bank and brokerage accounts with no payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary and no joint owner.
• Vehicles, boats, and aircraft titled solely to the decedent (some can transfer through simplified procedures).
• Personal property of value — jewelry, art, collections, business equipment, livestock — owned individually.
• Ownership interests in a business, such as LLC membership units or corporate shares held individually with no operating-agreement transfer provision.
• Money owed to the decedent — uncollected wages, a personal-injury claim, a loan the decedent made to someone.

One quiet trap deserves a mention. A life insurance policy or retirement account that names a beneficiary skips probate — but if the named beneficiary died first and no contingent was listed, or if the estate itself is the beneficiary, that money drops back into the probate estate. We see this constantly with ex-spouses, lapsed beneficiaries, and “I’ll update it later” policies that never got updated.

What Skips Probate in Florida

A large share of a typical Floridian’s wealth passes outside probate, often without the family realizing it until they read the account statements. These are the non-probate assets.

Assets With a Surviving Co-Owner

Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship or, for married couples, tenancy by the entirety, passes automatically to the surviving owner the instant the other dies. The deed or account already names the next owner; no court is needed. A married couple’s jointly titled Florida home is the classic example. Be careful, though — property held as tenants in common has no survivorship feature, so the decedent’s fractional share does go through probate.

Assets With a Named Beneficiary

These contracts pay directly to whoever is named on the form, bypassing both the will and the court:

• Life insurance with a living named beneficiary.
• IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement accounts with a designated beneficiary.
• Annuities and certain pension survivor benefits.
• POD bank accounts and TOD brokerage accounts.
• Florida “Lady Bird” enhanced life estate deeds, which pass real estate to a named remainderman at death while letting the owner keep full control during life.

Assets Owned by a Living Trust

If the decedent created and properly funded a revocable living trust — meaning assets were actually retitled into the trust’s name — those assets are governed by the trust document and administered by the successor trustee under Florida’s Trust Code (Chapter 736), not by the probate court. The word that does the work is funded. An unfunded trust, sitting in a drawer with the house still titled to the individual, accomplishes nothing. We’ve reviewed many estates where a couple paid for a trust years ago and never moved a single asset into it, so probate happened anyway.

Florida Homestead: The Asset That Plays by Its Own Rules

Florida’s homestead is its own creature, and it confuses lawyers from other states. The Florida Constitution (Article X, Section 4) protects a primary residence from most creditors and restricts how it can be devised when the owner leaves a surviving spouse or minor child.

Constitutionally protected homestead is generally not a probate asset available to pay the decedent’s creditors, and it passes to heirs outside the normal estate. But families still usually need a court order — a Petition to Determine Homestead Status — to confirm the protection and clear title. So homestead “skips” the creditor side of probate while often still requiring a probate-court determination. If you’re disputing who gets the family home, this is where many South Florida fights begin.

Small Estates: When Florida Lets You Skip the Long Process

Even when assets are technically probate assets, Florida offers shortcuts for smaller estates under Chapter 735:

• Summary Administration — available when the value of the estate subject to administration (less property exempt from creditors) does not exceed $75,000, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. It’s faster and cheaper than formal administration, with no appointed personal representative running the show.
• Disposition Without Administration — a narrow option for very small estates where the only assets are exempt property or where final expenses (funeral costs and last-illness medical bills) consume what little is there.

Larger or contested estates fall under formal administration, which requires a personal representative, formal notice to creditors, and ongoing court supervision — and which is where most genuine will contests unfold.

Exempt Property and the Family’s Protected Share

Separate from non-probate assets, Florida shields certain items even inside a probate estate. Under Florida Statute 732.402, a surviving spouse or children can claim exempt property free from most creditor claims, including household furniture, furnishings, and appliances up to a net value of $20,000, two personal-use motor vehicles, and qualified tuition (529) plan funds. Florida law also grants a surviving spouse and dependents a family allowance (up to $18,000 under F.S. 732.403) and protects the spouse’s elective share — currently 30% of the elective estate — so a spouse cannot simply be disinherited by a will. These protections frequently change the math in a dispute and are often overlooked by heirs negotiating without counsel.

Why Probate vs. Non-Probate Matters in a Will Contest

Here’s the hard truth families learn too late: a will only controls probate assets. You can win a will contest outright and still recover nothing if the wealth left through beneficiary designations and joint accounts you never challenged. The bank account that named one child as POD, the house deeded jointly to a caretaker, the IRA that listed a new spouse — none of those are governed by the will, and none are fixed by overturning it.

That’s why a serious challenge looks past the will. When undue influence, fraud, or a lack of capacity is in play, the same conduct that tainted the will often tainted the beneficiary changes and the deeds signed in the same period — and those can be attacked directly, but through different legal theories. Untangling that requires reading every title and designation, not just the will. If you’re weighing a challenge, our overview of explains how these claims are built and proven. Florida’s process shares the same architecture even where the statutes differ — and Florida itself recognizes several procedural tracks, much like the available in other states.

If your matter sits in South Florida, our Florida team handles these disputes locally; you can learn more on our . To understand how a properly drafted estate plan prevents these fights in the first place, see our guide to wills and estate planning, and for a deeper walkthrough of the court process, visit our Florida probate resource.

The Practical Takeaway

Sort every asset by one question: does it carry its own instruction for transfer at death? Joint title, a named beneficiary, a funded trust — those skip probate. A solely owned account, a house in one name, an uncollected debt — those go through it. Get that map right, and you’ll know exactly what the probate court can decide, what the will can reach, and where a dispute can actually win or lose.

If you’re facing a contested estate or simply trying to understand what your family will have to probate, talk to a Florida probate attorney before assuming the will tells the whole story. Contact our South Florida office to review how each asset is titled and what your options are.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does having a will avoid probate in Florida?

No. A will does not avoid probate — it directs how the probate court distributes assets that are subject to probate. Any asset titled solely in the decedent’s name with no beneficiary still goes through the Florida probate court, whether or not there is a will. To skip probate entirely, assets must pass through joint ownership with survivorship, a named beneficiary (POD/TOD, life insurance, retirement accounts), or a properly funded living trust.

Do bank accounts have to go through probate in Florida?

It depends on titling. A bank account held jointly with right of survivorship passes automatically to the surviving owner, and an account with a payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary pays directly to that person — both skip probate. An account in the decedent’s sole name with no joint owner and no POD beneficiary is a probate asset and must be administered through the court.

Is a Florida house considered a probate asset?

A home titled solely in the decedent’s name is generally a probate asset, though if it qualifies as constitutionally protected homestead it passes to heirs outside the reach of most creditors and may require a Petition to Determine Homestead Status. A home held jointly with right of survivorship, as tenancy by the entirety between spouses, or transferred by a Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed passes outside probate.

What is the dollar limit for summary administration in Florida?

Under Chapter 735 of the Florida Statutes, summary administration is available when the value of the estate subject to administration — less property exempt from creditor claims — does not exceed $75,000, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. It is a faster, less expensive alternative to formal administration.

Can a will contest recover assets that passed outside probate?

Not directly. A will only controls probate assets, so overturning a will does not affect funds that passed by beneficiary designation, joint account, or funded trust. However, if undue influence, fraud, or lack of capacity tainted those beneficiary changes or deeds during the same period, they can often be challenged separately under different legal theories. This is why a thorough dispute reviews every title and designation, not just the will.