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Small estate affidavit in Florida (2026)

In Florida, heirs can collect up to $2,000 without probate with a sworn affidavit (Affidavit to obtain bank property of deceased account holder (Fla. Stat. 735.303)). You must wait 6 months after the death. Real estate: not covered. Last checked .

Florida at a glance

Affidavit cap
$2,000
Applies to
payments on or after 2026-07-01 (effective date of ch. 2026-57; the act states no date-of-death rule)
Value counted
Gross value (debts not subtracted)
Waiting period
6 months
If there is a will
Special rule — see below
File with a court
No
Real estate
Not covered
Court shortcut
Summary administration (Fla. Stat. 735.201-735.2063) (up to $150,000)

Can you use it?

Enter the date of death and the value. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Enter the date of death and the value

    Florida cap for this date of death

    $2,000

    A worked example for Florida

    Say a parent who lived in Florida died on March 1, 2026, leaving $1,600 in a bank account in their name only and no house. $1,600 is within the $2,000 cap for that date of death, so the family can use the affidavit from September 1, 2026.

    The rules in Florida

    • The affidavit. Florida's only no-court affidavit is narrow: a family member gives a bank a death certificate and a sworn affidavit to collect the decedent's sole-name bank accounts and CDs (no POD) totaling $2,000 or less. Nothing is filed with a court. All other small-estate routes in Florida (disposition without administration, summary administration) need a court order.
    • Cap. A bank may pay up to $2,000 in total from the decedent's sole-name accounts to one family member on affidavit. Before July 1, 2026 the cap was $1,000.
    • What counts. Only 'qualified accounts': deposit accounts or CDs in the decedent's sole name with no pay-on-death or survivor designation, combined at that bank (affiant also swears all such accounts at all known banks total $2,000 or less).
    • What doesn't count. Everything that is not a sole-name bank account or CD: real estate, vehicles, securities, POD/joint accounts and all other property are outside this procedure.
    • Earlier caps. $1,000: before 2026-07-01 (original 2020 version, ch. 2020-110)
    • Waiting period. The bank may not pay earlier than 6 months after the date of death.
    • Conditions. No personal representative appointed and no probate or summary administration started; affiant must know of no will or other document governing distribution; certified death certificate attached. The bank may pay but is not required to.
    • Who can sign. Only a 'family member' in this order: surviving spouse; if none, an adult child; if none, an adult descendant; if none, a parent.
    • Court filing. The 735.303 affidavit goes only to the bank. The other Florida small-estate routes (735.301, 735.304, summary administration) require a court filing.

    Houses, land and vehicles

    • Real estate. No affidavit transfers Florida land. Real property not passing outside probate needs summary administration (estate up to $150,000, or decedent dead over 2 years) or formal administration.
    • Vehicles. Heirs can retitle with FLHSMV without a probate order by filing an affidavit that the estate owes no debts and the heirs agree on division (intestate), or with a sworn copy of an unprobated will and a no-debt affidavit (testate).

    When the affidavit isn't enough

    Court proceeding without appointing a personal representative, used when the estate subject to administration in Florida, less exempt property, is $150,000 or less, or the decedent has been dead over 2 years, and any will does not require full administration. The court enters an order distributing the assets. The cap rose from $75,000 to $150,000 on July 1, 2026 (ch. 2026-57). For very small estates, disposition without administration needs only a court letter: personal property no greater than preferred funeral costs plus last-60-day medical expenses (735.301), or, for intestate deaths over 1 year old, up to $20,000 plus those costs (735.304, raised from $10,000 on 2026-07-01).

    Good to know in Florida

    • Decision on affidavit.available: set true because 735.303 is a genuine no-court affidavit, but it is limited to $2,000 of sole-name bank accounts after a 6-month wait. For almost every other estate Florida requires a court step (disposition without administration, summary administration, or formal administration).
    • ch. 2026-57 (HB 1337), approved 2026-04-29, effective 2026-07-01, raised: 735.303 bank affidavit $1,000 to $2,000; summary administration $75,000 to $150,000; 735.304 intestate disposition $10,000 to $20,000; 735.302 tax refund $2,500 to $5,000. The act has no date-of-death rule.
    • The 735.303 affiant is personally liable to creditors and others entitled to the funds to the extent the payment exceeds the affiant's share; a knowingly false affidavit is theft.
    • Disposition without administration under 735.304 must be served on the Agency for Health Care Administration if the decedent was over 55.
    • Some county clerk packets still show the old $75,000 summary administration limit; the statute now says $150,000.
    • Self-help/forms links are a county clerk (Orange County) because Florida has no statewide official probate self-help page.

    Official help and forms

    Sources

    Legal information, not legal advice. Caps and forms change — confirm with the court or the statute before you sign. How we check: methodology.

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