Estates

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An act relating to estates; amending ss. 655.933 and 2
655.936, F.S.; revising the responsibilities a lessor 3
of a safe-deposit box has to certain persons; amending 4
s. 733.603, F.S.; revising the issues a court may 5
resolve for a personal representative; amending s. 6
733.612, F.S.; revising the list of transactions a 7
personal representative may make if acting reasonably 8
for the benefit of certain persons; creating s. 9
733.6125, F.S.; requiring the court to award taxable 10
costs and attorney fees in certain proceedings; 11
authorizing the court to direct such payment from 12
certain persons; providing that such payment may be 13
satisfied from certain property; amending s. 733.6171, 14
F.S.; revising what constitutes an extraordinary 15
service of an attorney; making technical changes; 16
amending s. 735.201, F.S.; revising when summary 17
administration proceedings may commence for either a 18
resident or nonresident decedent's estate; amending s. 19
735.302, F.S.; revising the sum at which an 20
overpayment of taxes by a decedent may be refunded by 21
the United States Treasury Department; amending s. 22
735.303, F.S.; revising the sum for funds certain 23
financial institutions may make payable to a 24
decedent's family member; conforming provisions to 25

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changes made by the act; amending s. 735.304, F.S.; 26
revising the prohibition against certain proceedings 27
for a decedent when he or she dies intestate and 28
leaves only certain personal property worth a 29
specified sum; reenacting s. 655.937(1)(b), F.S., 30
relating to access to safe-deposit boxes leased in two 31
or more names, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 32
655.933, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting s. 33
734.101(4), F.S., relating to foreign personal 34
representatives, to incorporate the amendment made to 35
s. 655.936, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting 36
s. 733.106(4), F.S., relating to costs and attorney 37
fees, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 38
733.6171, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 39
effective date. 40
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 42
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Section 1. Section 655.933, Florida Statutes, is amended 44
to read: 45
655.933 Access by fiduciaries.—If a safe-deposit box is 46
made available by a lessor to one or more persons acting as 47
fiduciaries, the lessor may, except as otherwise expressly 48
provided in the lease or the writings pursuant to which such 49
fiduciaries are acting, allow access thereto as follows: 50

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(1) Must allow access to the safe-deposit box by any one 51
or more of the persons acting as personal representatives who 52
present the lessor with a copy of the letters of administration; 53
and. 54
(2) May allow access to the safe-deposit box by: 55
(a) Any one or more of the persons otherwise acting as 56
fiduciaries if authorized in writing, which writing is signed by 57
all other persons so acting; or. 58
(b)(3) By Any agent authorized in writing, which writing 59
is signed by all persons acting as fiduciaries. 60
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 655.936, Florida 61
Statutes, is amended to read: 62
655.936 Delivery of safe-deposit box contents or property 63
held in safekeeping to personal representative.— 64
(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3), the 65
lessor shall: 66
(a) Immediately deliver to a personal representative 67
appointed by a court in this state, upon presentation of a 68
certified copy of his or her letters of authority, all property 69
deposited with it by the decedent for safekeeping;, and shall 70
(b) Grant the personal representative access to any safe-71
deposit box in the decedent's name and allow permit him or her 72
to remove from such box any part or all of the contents thereof; 73
and 74
(c) Allow the personal representative or the personal 75

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representative's attorney to pay the accumulated charges and 76
terminate the lease. 77
Section 3. Section 733.603, Florida Statutes, is amended 78
to read: 79
733.603 Personal representative to proceed without court 80
order.—A personal representative shall proceed expeditiously 81
with the settlement and distribution of a decedent's estate and, 82
except as otherwise specified by this code or ordered by the 83
court, shall do so without adjudication, order, or direction of 84
the court. A personal representative may invoke the jurisdiction 85
of the court to resolve questions concerning the estate or its 86
administration or to enforce the authority of a personal 87
representative conferred by this code. 88
Section 4. Subsection (28) is added to section 733.612, 89
Florida Statutes, to read: 90
733.612 Transactions authorized for the personal 91
representative; exceptions.—Except as otherwise provided by the 92
will or court order, and subject to the priorities stated in s. 93
733.805, without court order, a personal representative, acting 94
reasonably for the benefit of the interested persons, may 95
properly: 96
(28) Institute a proceeding to enforce his or her 97
authority as personal representative as conferred by this code. 98
Section 5. Section 733.6125, Florida Statutes, is created 99
to read: 100

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733.6125 Proceedings to enforce authority.—In any 101
proceeding to enforce the authority of a personal representative 102
as conferred by this code, the court shall award to a prevailing 103
personal representative taxable costs as in chancery actions, 104
including attorney fees. When awarding taxable costs and 105
attorney fees under this section, the court may direct payment 106
from any person whose action or inaction necessitated the 107
enforcement proceeding or from any person having an interest in 108
the estate and may enter a judgment that may be satisfied from 109
other property. 110
Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) and subsection 111
(6) of section 733.6171, Florida Statutes, are amended, and 112
paragraph (l) is added to subsection (4) of that section, to 113
read: 114
733.6171 Compensation of attorney for the personal 115
representative.— 116
(2) 117
(b) An attorney representing a personal representative in 118
an estate administration who intends to charge a fee based upon 119
the schedule set forth in subsection (3) shall make the 120
following disclosures in writing to the personal representative: 121
1. There is not a mandatory statutory attorney fee for 122
estate administration. 123
2. The attorney fee is not required to be based on the 124
size of the estate, and the presumed reasonable fee provided in 125

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subsection (3) may not be appropriate in all estate 126
administrations. 127
3. The fee is subject to negotiation between the personal 128
representative and the attorney. 129
4. The selection of the attorney is made at the discretion 130
of the personal representative, who is not required to select 131
the attorney who prepared the will. 132
5. The personal representative is shall be entitled to a 133
summary of ordinary and extraordinary services rendered for the 134
fees agreed upon at the conclusion of the representation. The 135
summary must shall be provided by counsel and must shall consist 136
of the total hours devoted to the representation or a detailed 137
summary of the services performed during the representation. 138
(4) Subject to subsection (2), in addition to fees for 139
ordinary services, the attorney for the personal representative 140
shall be allowed further reasonable compensation for any 141
extraordinary service. What is an extraordinary service may vary 142
depending on many factors, including the size and complexity of 143
the estate. Extraordinary services may include, but are not 144
limited to: 145
(l) Involvement in any proceeding to enforce the authority 146
of a personal representative as conferred by this code. 147
(6) If a separate written agreement regarding compensation 148
exists between the attorney and the decedent, the attorney must 149
shall furnish a copy to the personal representative before prior 150

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to commencement of employment, and, if employed, must shall 151
promptly file and serve a copy on all interested persons. A 152
separate agreement or a provision in the will suggesting or 153
directing that the personal representative retain a specific 154
attorney does not obligate the personal representative to employ 155
the attorney or obligate the attorney to accept the 156
representation, but if the attorney who is a party to the 157
agreement or who drafted the will is employed, the compensation 158
paid may shall not exceed the compensation provided in the 159
agreement or in the will. 160
Section 7. Subsection (2) of section 735.201, Florida 161
Statutes, is amended to read: 162
735.201 Summary administration; nature of proceedings.—163
Summary administration may be had in the administration of 164
either a resident or nonresident decedent's estate, when it 165
appears: 166
(2) That the value of the entire estate subject to 167
administration in this state, less the value of property exempt 168
from the claims of creditors, does not exceed $150,000 $75,000 169
or that the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years. 170
Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 735.302, Florida 171
Statutes, is amended to read: 172
735.302 Income tax refunds in certain cases.— 173
(1) In any case when the United States Treasury Department 174
determines that an overpayment of federal income tax exists and 175

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the person in whose favor the overpayment is determined is dead 176
at the time the overpayment of tax is to be refunded, and 177
notwithstanding irrespective of whether the decedent had filed a 178
joint and several or separate income tax return, the amount of 179
the overpayment, if not in excess of $5,000 $2,500, may be 180
refunded as follows: 181
(a) Directly to the surviving spouse on his or her 182
verified application; or 183
(b) If there is no surviving spouse, to one of the 184
decedent's children who is designated in a verified application 185
purporting to be executed by all of the decedent's children over 186
the age of 14 years. 187
188
In either event, the application must show that the decedent was 189
not indebted, that provision has been made for the payment of 190
the decedent's debts, or that the entire estate is exempt from 191
the claims of creditors under the constitution and statutes of 192
the state, and that no administration of the estate, including 193
summary administration, has been initiated and that none is 194
planned, to the knowledge of the applicant. 195
Section 9. Subsection (2), paragraph (c) of subsection 196
(3), and subsection (4) of section 735.303, Florida Statutes, 197
are amended to read: 198
735.303 Payment to successor without court proceedings.— 199
(2) A financial institution in this state may pay to the 200

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family member of a decedent, without any court proceeding, 201
order, or judgment, the funds on deposit in all qualified 202
accounts of the decedent at the financial institution if the 203
total amount of the combined funds in the qualified accounts at 204
the financial institution do not exceed an aggregate total of 205
$2,000 $1,000. The financial institution may not make such 206
payment earlier than 6 months after the date of the decedent's 207
death. 208
(3) In order to receive the funds described in subsection 209
(2), the family member must provide to the financial institution 210
a certified copy of the decedent's death certificate and a sworn 211
affidavit that includes all of the following: 212
(c) A statement attesting that the total amount in all 213
qualified accounts held by the decedent in all financial 214
institutions known to the affiant does not exceed an aggregate 215
total of $2,000 $1,000. 216
(4) The family member may use an affidavit in 217
substantially the following form to fulfill the requirements of 218
subsection (3): 219
220
AFFIDAVIT UNDER 221
SECTION 735.303, FLORIDA STATUTES, 222
TO OBTAIN BANK PROPERTY OF DECEASED 223
ACCOUNT HOLDER: ...(Name of decedent)... 224
State of ............ 225

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County of ............ 226
227
Before the undersigned authority personally appeared ...(name of 228
affiant)..., of ...(residential address of affiant)..., who has 229
been sworn and says the following statements are true: 230
(a) The affiant is (initial one of the following 231
responses): 232
.... The surviving spouse of the decedent. 233
.... A surviving adult child of the decedent, and the 234
decedent left no surviving spouse. 235
.... A surviving adult descendant of the decedent, and the 236
decedent left no surviving spouse and no surviving adult child. 237
.... A surviving parent of the decedent, and the decedent 238
left no surviving spouse, no surviving adult child, and no 239
surviving adult descendant. 240
(b) As shown in the certified death certificate, the date 241
of death of the decedent was ...(date of death)..., and the 242
address of the decedent's last residence was ...(address of last 243
residence).... 244
(c) The affiant is entitled to payment of the funds in the 245
decedent's depository accounts and certificates of deposit held 246
by the financial institution ...(name of financial 247
institution).... The total amount in all qualified accounts held 248
by the decedent in all financial institutions known to the 249
affiant does not exceed an aggregate total of $2,000 $1,000. The 250

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affiant requests full payment from the financial institution. 251
(d) A personal representative has not been appointed to 252
administer the decedent's estate, and no probate proceeding or 253
summary administration procedure has been commenced with respect 254
to the estate. 255
(e) The affiant has no knowledge of any last will and 256
testament or other document or agreement relating to the 257
distribution of the decedent's estate. 258
(f) The payment of the funds constitutes a full release 259
and discharge of the financial institution regarding the amount 260
paid. 261
(g) The affiant understands that he or she is personally 262
liable to the creditors of the decedent and other persons 263
rightfully entitled to the funds under the Florida Probate Code, 264
to the extent the amount paid exceeds the amount properly 265
attributable to the affiant's share. 266
(h) The affiant understands that making a false statement 267
in this affidavit may be punishable as a criminal offense. 268
269
By ...(signature of affiant)... 270
271
Sworn to and subscribed before me this .... day of 272
.... by ...(name of affiant)..., who is personally 273
known to me or produced .... as identification, and 274
did take an oath. 275

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...(Signature of Notary Public - State of Florida)... 277
...(Print, Type, or Stamp Commissioned Name of Notary 278
Public)... 279
My commission expires: ...(date of expiration of 280
commission)... 281
282
Section 10. Subsection (1) of section 735.304, Florida 283
Statutes, is amended to read: 284
735.304 Disposition without administration of intestate 285
property in small estates.— 286
(1) No Administration is not shall be required and or 287
formal proceedings may not be instituted upon the estate of a 288
decedent who has died intestate leaving only personal property 289
exempt under the provisions of s. 732.402, personal property 290
exempt from the claims of creditors under the State 291
Constitution, and nonexempt personal property the value of which 292
does not exceed the sum of $20,000 $10,000 and the amount of 293
preferred funeral expenses and reasonable and necessary medical 294
and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness, 295
provided the decedent has been deceased for more than 1 year and 296
no administration of the decedent's estate is pending in this 297
state. 298
Section 11. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 299
made by this act to section 655.933, Florida Statutes, in a 300

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reference thereto, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 301
655.937, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 302
655.937 Access to safe-deposit boxes leased in two or more 303
names.— 304
(1) Unless specifically provided in the lease or rental 305
agreement to the contrary, if a safe-deposit box is rented or 306
leased in the names of two or more lessees, access to the safe-307
deposit box will be granted to: 308
(b) Subject to s. 655.933, those persons named in s. 309
655.933. 310
Section 12. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 311
made by this act to section 655.936, Florida Statutes, in a 312
reference thereto, subsection (4) of section 734.101, Florida 313
Statutes, is reenacted to read: 314
734.101 Foreign personal representative.— 315
(4) Except as provided in s. 655.936, all persons indebted 316
to the estate of a decedent, or having possession of personal 317
property belonging to the estate, who have received no written 318
demand from a personal representative or curator appointed in 319
this state for payment of the debt or the delivery of the 320
property are authorized to pay the debt or to deliver the 321
personal property to the foreign personal representative after 322
the expiration of 90 days from the date of appointment of the 323
foreign personal representative. 324
Section 13. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 325

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made by this act to section 733.6171, Florida Statutes, in a 326
reference thereto, subsection (4) of section 733.106, Florida 327
Statutes, is reenacted to read: 328
733.106 Costs and attorney fees.— 329
(4) If costs and attorney fees are to be paid from the 330
estate under this section, s. 733.6171(4), s. 736.1005, or s. 331
736.1006, the court, in its discretion, may direct from what 332
part of the estate they shall be paid. 333
(a) If the court directs an assessment against a person's 334
part of the estate and such part is insufficient to fully pay 335
the assessment, the court may direct payment from the person's 336
part of a trust, if any, if a pour-over will is involved and the 337
matter is interrelated with the trust. 338
(b) All or any part of the costs and attorney fees to be 339
paid from the estate may be assessed against one or more 340
persons' part of the estate in such proportions as the court 341
finds to be just and proper. 342
(c) In the exercise of its discretion, the court may 343
consider the following factors: 344
1. The relative impact of an assessment on the estimated 345
value of each person's part of the estate. 346
2. The amount of costs and attorney fees to be assessed 347
against a person's part of the estate. 348
3. The extent to which a person whose part of the estate 349
is to be assessed, individually or through counsel, actively 350

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participated in the proceeding. 351
4. The potential benefit or detriment to a person's part 352
of the estate expected from the outcome of the proceeding. 353
5. The relative strength or weakness of the merits of the 354
claims, defenses, or objections, if any, asserted by a person 355
whose part of the estate is to be assessed. 356
6. Whether a person whose part of the estate is to be 357
assessed was a prevailing party with respect to one or more 358
claims, defenses, or objections. 359
7. Whether a person whose part of the estate is to be 360
assessed unjustly caused an increase in the amount of costs and 361
attorney fees incurred by the personal representative or another 362
interested person in connection with the proceeding. 363
8. Any other relevant fact, circumstance, or equity. 364
(d) The court may assess a person's part of the estate 365
without finding that the person engaged in bad faith, 366
wrongdoing, or frivolousness. 367
Section 14. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 368