Summary administration: usually one to three months
Because there is no personal representative, no creditor period, and no inventory, summary administration comes down to how quickly the petition can be prepared, signed by all the heirs, and reviewed by the judge. In most Florida counties that means a few weeks to a few months. What stretches it: heirs who are hard to locate or slow to sign, a will that was never deposited, and a homestead petition that has to be filed alongside.
Formal administration: usually six to twelve months
| Stage | Typical time | What’s happening |
|---|---|---|
| Petition filed → Letters issued | 2–6 weeks | Attorney drafts the petition, gathers consents/waivers from heirs, judge signs the order appointing the personal representative. |
| Notice to creditors | 3 months after first publication | Published two consecutive weeks; creditors have three months to file claims (§ 733.702). The estate can sell the house during this window. |
| Inventory | Within 60 days of Letters | List of assets filed with the court (Fla. Prob. R. 5.340). |
| Sale of the house | Any time after Letters (and court order if needed) | Closing happens mid-probate; proceeds go into the estate account. |
| Claims, taxes, accounting | 1–3 months after the claim period | Pay or object to claims, final tax returns, accounting to heirs. |
| Distribution and discharge | 2–6 weeks | Heirs receive their shares; the personal representative is discharged. |
Add it up and a clean formal administration lands in the six-to-nine-month range; many run closer to a year because of ordinary delays — a court’s backlog, a missing death certificate from another state, an heir who moved. Contested estates (a will challenge, a dispute over who serves) can take years.
Short version: if you want the house sold, we pay for the probate and get the attorney working within 24 hours — call or text (727) 353-6206, or use the form.
You do not have to wait for probate to end to sell the house
This is the part most families don’t know. The personal representative can sell the house during formal administration, as soon as the Letters are issued (and the court has authorized the sale if the will doesn’t already grant that power). The sale proceeds go into the estate’s account, claims are paid from them, and the rest is distributed at the end. The buyer closes months before the estate closes. See selling a house during probate.
In summary administration the house is transferred by the court’s order itself, so the sale can close soon after the order is signed and recorded — often within a few weeks.
What actually makes probate faster
- An attorney who does this every week. A petition that is complete the first time — correct heirs, every consent and waiver attached, the homestead issue addressed — gets signed instead of bounced.
- Heirs who respond. Most delays are waiting on a signature. We help by explaining the documents to each heir and arranging mobile notaries.
- Paying the costs immediately. Estates stall when nobody wants to write the retainer check. We pay it the day the agreement is signed.
- Starting now. A petition filed this week is a house closed months sooner. Our commitment is that the estate’s attorney is engaged and working within 24 hours of signing with us.
Deadlines that matter
- 10 days to deposit a will with the clerk after learning of the death (§ 732.901).
- 3 months for creditors to file claims after first publication (§ 733.702).
- 2 years after death: all creditor claims are barred (§ 733.710), and summary administration becomes available at any estate value.
- Reverse mortgages and property-tax delinquency run on their own clocks that have nothing to do with the probate court — see inherited house problems.
Questions people ask
Can probate in Florida be done in 30 days?
Summary administration sometimes closes within a month when the estate is simple and every heir signs promptly, but there is no guaranteed timeline — the judge’s schedule controls. Formal administration cannot finish in 30 days because of the three-month creditor period. What can happen within days is the start: with us, the estate’s attorney is engaged within 24 hours and your sale price is locked in.
Why is our probate taking so long?
The usual reasons: waiting on an heir’s signature, a creditor period that hasn’t run, a petition that was rejected for missing paperwork, a contested will, or an attorney who isn’t being paid. If your estate has been open for more than a year with no clear next step, call us — we’ll look at the docket with you and tell you what we see.
How long after probate can you sell a house?
Immediately. Once the order (summary) or the Letters plus any order authorizing sale (formal) are in hand, the house can close as fast as the title company can run title — usually one to three weeks.