Letter to a bank or other holder in Florida

A letter that presents the small estate affidavit you have already signed. It says what you enclose and asks the holder to release the property.

Required when you mail the letter.

It goes into the letter only. It is never saved or sent to us.

Papers you are enclosing

Check what you will include. Only checked items go in the letter.

It goes into the letter as you type it. You can add a ready-made sentence:

Other formats

Do not send original documents unless the holder asks; keep copies. Sign the letter and keep a copy.

Official forms (linked, not reproduced here)

This site does not write the affidavit. Use the official form or the holder's own form:

Before you send it

Some banks have their own form or ask for a notary. Call the bank's estates department first and ask what it needs. Keep a copy of everything you send.

Disposition Without Administration of Intestate Property in Small Estates (heir's affidavit)

When there is no will and more than 1 year has passed, an heir can file an affidavit with the court asking it to authorize the transfer of a small amount of personal property.

Limit

The non-exempt personal property cannot be worth more than $20,000 plus the funeral expenses and the medical and hospital bills of the last 60 days of the last illness. The $20,000 amount took effect July 1, 2026; before that it was $10,000. It applies only if there is no will.

What counts

Only personal property. Exempt property and property exempt under the Florida Constitution are left out. The other (non-exempt) personal property cannot be worth more than $20,000 plus the preferred funeral expenses and the reasonable medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness.

Waiting period

The person must have been dead for more than 1 year, and no probate case can be pending in Florida.

Who can use it

Any heir entitled to a share under Florida's inheritance law when there is no will. The affidavit must be signed and verified by the surviving spouse, if any, and the heirs, except an heir who will receive a full share under the proposed distribution.

Court or where to file

Circuit court (probate division) in the county where the person lived.

Notary

The affidavit is signed and verified (sworn).

Papers to attach
  • Certified copy of the death certificate
  • Description and value of all the assets to be distributed
  • Amount of the funeral expenses and the medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days
  • Names, addresses and relationship of the spouse and heirs
  • A statement about creditors and how they will be paid, or their consent
  • Proof of formal notice to heirs who did not sign, to known creditors and, if the person was older than 55, to the Agency for Health Care Administration
Steps
  1. Wait until more than 1 year after the death.
  2. Make a diligent search for the person's creditors and provide for paying them (or get their consent).
  3. Fill in the affidavit with the statements rule 5.425 requires; the spouse and heirs sign and verify it.
  4. Serve it by formal notice on heirs who did not sign, on known creditors and, if the person was older than 55, on the Agency for Health Care Administration.
  5. File it with the clerk of the circuit court.
  6. If the judge approves, the court issues a letter under seal authorizing the transfer.
Fee

The clerk's fee for disposition of personal property without administration is up to $230. Ask the clerk for the exact amount.

If you can't pay

If you cannot afford the fee, ask the clerk about applying for civil indigent status.

Debts and responsibility

People who receive property this way are personally liable for a share of all lawful claims against the estate, up to the value of what each received on the date of distribution (not counting exempt property). A known creditor who did not consent and was not provided for can still collect, with costs and attorney's fees. After 2 years from the death, claims are generally barred. An heir left out can sue the people who signed the affidavit.

What the bank or holder must do

Anyone who pays, transfers or delivers property under the court's authorization is forever discharged from liability for it. Good-faith buyers from the people who received it take it free of creditors' claims.

Law: Fla. Stat. 735.304 (as amended by ch. 2026-57, Laws of Fla.); Fla. Prob. R. 5.425

Source: Official page

Bank accounts after a death in Florida

A payable-on-death (POD) account goes to the named beneficiary, and a joint account with survivorship goes to the surviving owner, without probate. For accounts in the person's name alone, a spouse, adult child, adult descendant or parent can collect a total of up to $2,000 with a sworn affidavit after 6 months. Larger amounts need a court order, such as an order of summary administration.

Law: Fla. Stat. 735.303; Fla. Stat. 655.82, 655.79, 735.303

Source: Official page

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Florida

Bank account (POD)

Yes

Law: Fla. Stat. 655.82

Source: Official page

Death certificates in Florida

Anyone 18 or older can order a death certificate without the cause of death. Copies with the cause of death (for deaths less than 50 years ago) are limited to the spouse, parent, adult child, grandchild or sibling, someone with a will or insurance policy showing an interest in the estate, or their representative. By mail or walk-in from the state office, the fee is $5 for the search and one certified copy and $4 for each additional copy ordered at the same time; online orders and county offices charge more.

Law: Fla. Stat. 382.0255

Where to get it
Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics (Jacksonville), or a county health department
Official page
Official page

Surviving spouse in Florida

A surviving spouse is first in line to collect up to $2,000 from sole-name bank accounts with an affidavit after 6 months. The spouse, or the children if there is no spouse, can claim exempt property: household furniture and appliances up to $20,000 net and two family cars. In a probate case the spouse and dependent family can get a family allowance of up to $18,000. A spouse pays no title fee to take a car out of the deceased spouse's name. If there are also descendants, the spouse takes a life estate in the homestead or may elect a one-half interest within 6 months of the death.

Law: Fla. Stat. 735.303; Fla. Stat. 732.402; Fla. Stat. 732.403; Fla. Stat. 319.32(7); Fla. Stat. 732.401

Who inherits with no will in Florida

If there is no will, the surviving spouse gets everything if the person had no descendants, or if all the person's descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other descendants. Otherwise the spouse gets one-half and the descendants share the other half. With no spouse, everything goes to the descendants; if none, to the parents; then to brothers and sisters and their descendants; then to grandparents, aunts, uncles and their descendants. Homestead follows special rules.

Law: Fla. Stat. 732.401; Fla. Stat. 732.102, 732.103, 732.401

Source: Official page

Good to know in Florida

  • Since July 1, 2026, summary administration is available for estates up to $150,000 (after subtracting property exempt from creditors), up from $75,000.
  • Summary administration is available for an estate of any size if the person has been dead for more than 2 years.
  • A Florida probate case for summary administration ends with a court order, not a personal representative's letters; banks and others who follow the order are protected.

Changes in 2024–2026

Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida, approved April 29, 2026, effective July 1, 2026: summary administration limit raised from $75,000 to $150,000; bank payment to a family member without court raised from $1,000 to $2,000; intestate small-estate affidavit amount raised from $10,000 to $20,000 plus funeral and last-illness expenses; federal tax refund to spouse or child raised from $2,500 to $5,000. Florida Probate Rules 5.530 and 5.425 updated to the new amounts (rules as of October 15, 2026).

Law: CS/HB 1337; s. 735.201; s. 735.303; s. 735.304; s. 735.302

Related pages

Free help in Florida

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.