Learning you’ve been named personal representative in someone’s will usually happens at the worst possible moment. You’re grieving, you’re fielding calls from family, and somewhere in the back of your mind a question keeps surfacing: what exactly am I supposed to do now? Most people assume the role is mostly paperwork and phone calls. Florida law sees it differently. The personal representative is a fiduciary, held to the same standard as a trustee, with specific deadlines, defined authority, and real personal liability if things go wrong. With more than 2,400 probate cases behind us, we’ve guided personal representatives through every stage of this process, and we know how quickly the learning curve can feel overwhelming.
The good news is that Florida’s probate statutes are specific. They set exact deadlines, define your authority, establish your compensation, and tell you how to protect yourself from personal liability. Understanding those rules before you act is the most important thing you can do in the first days after your appointment.
What a Florida Personal Representative Actually Is (and Isn’t)
A personal representative isn’t simply a family organizer who sorts through belongings and signs off on paperwork. Under Florida Statute 733.602(1), a personal representative is a fiduciary held to the same standard of care as a trustee. That distinction matters enormously.
The Third District Court of Appeal addressed exactly how demanding that standard is in Wohl v. Lewy, 505 So. 2d 525 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987), holding that a personal representative must act as a prudent trustee would, but isn’t an absolute insurer of estate assets. In plain terms: you’re held to a high standard of care, but you aren’t personally responsible for every market fluctuation or unavoidable loss the estate experiences. Acting carefully, documenting your decisions, and following the statutory deadlines is what protects you.
These duties apply in formal administration. Not every estate requires it. Smaller estates may qualify for summary administration instead, with no personal representative appointed at all, when nonexempt assets don’t exceed $150,000 (a threshold that rose from $75,000 effective July 1, 2026, for decedents who die on or after that date) or the decedent has been dead more than two years. Whether your estate qualifies for that simpler path is one of the first questions worth asking.
Your First Obligations: Securing the Estate & Filing the Inventory
Before any formal authority exists, one obligation already applies. Whoever holds the original will must deposit it with the clerk of court within 10 days of learning of the death under Florida Statute 732.901. There’s no fee for depositing the will itself, and this step happens before any petition is filed.
Here’s the constraint most people don’t anticipate: until the court issues Letters of Administration, you have no legal authority to pay bills, access bank accounts, or sell property. Acting before Letters issue is one of the most common early mistakes, and it can create real liability. Once Letters do issue, open a dedicated estate bank account, obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS for the estate, and keep all estate funds entirely separate from your personal finances.
Once the court grants Letters of Administration, the clock starts. Florida Probate Rule 5.340 requires a verified inventory of all estate property within 60 days, listing each asset and its fair market value as of the date of death. This inventory is the foundation for everything that follows: distributions, creditor claims, and your own commission are all calculated against it.
Handling Creditors & Knowing When It’s Safe to Distribute
Publishing a notice to creditors is one of your earliest affirmative obligations. Once published, known or reasonably ascertainable creditors have the later of three months from the date of first publication or 30 days after being personally served to file a claim under Florida Statute 733.702. Florida Statute 733.710 adds an important backstop: regardless of whether notice was ever given, no creditor can bring a claim more than two years after the decedent’s date of death.
The creditor process also controls when you can safely distribute assets. Under Florida Statute 733.801, a personal representative isn’t required to distribute property to beneficiaries until five months after Letters of Administration are granted. Distributing before the claims period closes is one of the actions most likely to create personal liability. Waiting out that window isn’t a delay. It’s protection.
Who Can Serve & What the Job Pays
Not everyone named in a will can legally serve. Florida Statute 733.302 qualifies any Florida resident who is sui juris (legally competent to manage their own affairs) to serve as personal representative. Non-residents may serve only if they’re related to the decedent in one of the ways defined in Florida Statute 733.304, including a spouse, sibling, parent, child, or other lineal relative. Florida Statute 733.303 disqualifies anyone convicted of a felony or found unable to perform the duties of the role.
Compensation is set by statute, not negotiation. Florida Statute 733.617 establishes the presumed reasonable commission:
- 3% of the first $1 million of estate value
- 2.5% of all above $1 million and not exceeding $5 million
- 2% of all above $5 million and not exceeding $10 million
- 1.5% above $10 million
You’re entitled to that compensation. Many personal representatives don’t realize it’s available or assume taking it would create family conflict. Both conversations are worth having before you begin the work.
One more procedural requirement many people miss: in most formal administrations, Florida Probate Rule 5.030(a) requires the personal representative to be represented by a Florida-licensed attorney throughout the process. The only exception is when the personal representative is the estate’s sole interested person.
Administering an Estate in Palm Beach County
If the decedent was a Boca Raton resident, the estate falls under the 15th Judicial Circuit. Probate matters for Palm Beach County are handled across three courthouses, and cases originating in the southern part of the county are commonly administered at the South County Courthouse, 200 West Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach.
The original will and your opening petition are filed with the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller’s office, currently led by Clerk Mike Caruso, who was sworn in on August 19, 2025. The clerk’s office receives deposited wills under Florida Statute 732.901 and handles the intake of probate filings for matters throughout the county.
Where Personal Representatives Get Into Trouble
Most personal liability in probate doesn’t come from bad intentions. It comes from a handful of specific mistakes made under time pressure. Commingling estate funds with personal accounts is the most common and most avoidable. Distributing assets to beneficiaries before the creditor claims period closes is the second. Acting on verbal instructions from beneficiaries without court authority is a third. Other situations that regularly create problems include failing to file the inventory within the 60-day window and failing to identify and notify known creditors separately from the published notice. Each of these has a statutory basis, which means there’s a clear standard against which your conduct will be measured.
Understanding the timeline before you act, not after, is what separates a smooth administration from a contested one. At LEEP LAW GROUP, we guide personal representatives through every deadline in the process, from the first deposit of the will through final distribution. Complimentary consultations are available virtually or in person, so you can ask your questions before committing to any course of action. Reach us at (561) 760-9685.
