Short answer: Probate in Florida typically costs a few thousand dollars for smaller estates and scales with estate value for larger ones. The main components are the court filing fee (roughly $235 for summary administration and around $400 for formal administration, varying slightly by county), attorney fees (Florida law sets a “presumed reasonable” schedule starting at $1,500 for estates up to $40,000 and 3% of value between $100,000 and $1 million), plus smaller expenses such as publication of notice to creditors and document certification. All of these costs are normally paid from the estate itself — not from the heirs’ own pockets.
The Three Main Cost Categories
When foreign heirs ask us what a Florida probate will cost, we break it into three buckets:
- Court costs — filing fees, certified copies, and (in some cases) publication of the notice to creditors in a local newspaper.
- Attorney fees — usually the largest component, governed by Florida Statute § 733.6171.
- Administrative expenses — the personal representative’s compensation, accountant fees if tax returns are needed, appraisals, and translation or apostille costs that are specific to international heirs.
Court Filing Fees in 2026
Filing fees are set by county clerks and are broadly similar across Florida:
- Summary administration (the fast-track process for estates within the statutory limit): approximately $235–$350 depending on the county and estate size.
- Formal administration: approximately $400–$410 in most counties.
- Certified copies and recording: usually a few dollars per page — heirs abroad often need several certified copies for foreign banks and authorities.
Attorney Fees: Florida’s Statutory Schedule
Florida Statute § 733.6171 sets out attorney fees that are presumed reasonable for ordinary probate services. Important: this schedule is not mandatory — fees are negotiable, and since 2021 attorneys must disclose this in writing before using the schedule. The presumed-reasonable amounts are:
| Estate value | Presumed reasonable fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $40,000 | $1,500 |
| $40,001 – $70,000 | $2,250 |
| $70,001 – $100,000 | $3,000 |
| $100,001 – $1,000,000 | $3,000 + 3% of the value above $100,000 |
| $1,000,001 – $3,000,000 | $30,000 + 2.5% of the value above $1 million |
| $3,000,001 – $5,000,000 | $80,000 + 2% of the value above $3 million |
| Over $5,000,000 | $120,000 + 1.5% of the value above $5 million (declining further above $10 million) |
Example: for a $300,000 estate — say, a Florida condo and a bank account — the presumed reasonable fee is $3,000 + 3% × $200,000 = $9,000. Many attorneys, including our office, offer flat fees or hourly arrangements that can come in below the schedule for straightforward estates, which is why it always pays to ask.
Litigation, will contests, selling real estate, and tax work count as extraordinary services and may be billed in addition to the ordinary fee.
Other Costs to Budget For
- Personal representative’s compensation: Florida law also presumes a commission for the personal representative (3% of the first $1 million of estate value), though family members frequently waive it.
- Publication of notice to creditors: typically in the low hundreds of dollars, depending on the newspaper.
- For foreign heirs specifically: apostilles, certified translations of death certificates and inheritance documents, and international courier fees. These are modest individually but worth budgeting a few hundred dollars for.
- Tax-related costs: if the estate must file U.S. tax returns (for example, a non-resident estate tax return), accountant fees apply. See our separate guide on U.S. inheritance tax for non-residents.
How to Keep Probate Costs Down
- Check whether summary administration applies. Smaller estates qualify for a faster, significantly cheaper process with lower filing fees and less attorney time.
- Negotiate the attorney fee. The statutory schedule is a presumption, not a price list. Ask about flat fees for uncomplicated estates.
- Respond quickly to document requests. Delays — especially in gathering foreign documents, apostilles, and heir identification — add attorney time and cost.
- Consolidate communication. When multiple heirs in different countries each contact the attorney separately, fees climb. Appointing one family spokesperson keeps costs predictable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pays the probate costs — the heirs or the estate?
The estate. Filing fees, attorney fees, and administrative expenses are paid from estate assets before distributions are made to heirs. Foreign heirs normally do not need to send money to the U.S. to fund the process, though in small estates with illiquid assets an advance arrangement is sometimes agreed.
How much does probate cost for a typical foreign-heir case?
For a straightforward formal administration involving a Florida property or bank account worth a few hundred thousand dollars, total costs commonly land in the range of several thousand to roughly ten thousand dollars, driven mostly by the attorney fee. Summary administration cases cost meaningfully less. Every estate is different, so ask for a written estimate up front.
Is probate cheaper if there is a will?
Not by much. A valid will simplifies questions about who inherits, but the court process and its cost structure are largely the same. What actually reduces cost is how the assets were titled — assets with beneficiary designations or held in trust may skip probate entirely.
Does ancillary probate cost extra?
Ancillary probate — needed when the deceased lived abroad but owned Florida assets — follows the same fee framework, but coordinating with the home-country estate proceeding adds document and translation work. Our guide to ancillary probate in Florida covers the process in detail.
This article is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice; fees and court costs change over time and vary by county and case. If you are an heir living outside the United States and need help with a Florida estate, contact our office — we represent foreign heirs remotely and provide clear, written fee estimates before any engagement.
