Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration: Florida

Florida lets you skip formal probate for certain small estates through a filing called disposition of personal property without administration. Under Section 735.301 of the Florida Statutes, it works when the decedent owned no Florida real estate and left only exempt personal property, constitutionally protected personal property, or nonexempt personal property worth no more than the funeral and last-illness medical bills combined. You file a short application in the county where the decedent lived, and if the court is satisfied, it issues a sealed order authorizing banks, the DMV, and others to release the property.¹

Who Qualifies Under Section 735.301

Three conditions must all be true. The decedent owned no Florida real property. The personal property is exempt under Section 732.402, protected from creditor claims under the Florida Constitution, or nonexempt. And the value of the nonexempt personal property does not exceed the sum of preferred funeral expenses and reasonable medical and hospital expenses from the last 60 days of the final illness.¹

That last piece is where people get tripped up. There is no flat dollar cap on the estate. The nonexempt ceiling floats with the actual bills the estate owes. If the funeral cost $7,000 and the last 60 days of hospital care ran $8,000, up to $15,000 in nonexempt personal property fits. If the funeral was prepaid and there were no medical bills, the ceiling is zero, and only exempt property can move through this process.

Any interested party can apply. That includes the surviving spouse, children, other beneficiaries, and creditors owed money by the estate.¹

What Counts as Exempt Property

Section 732.402 defines exempt personal property narrowly, and only certain family members can receive it. The surviving spouse takes it. If there is no surviving spouse, the decedent’s children take it. Siblings, parents, nieces, and nephews have no claim to exempt property under this statute.²

The exempt categories are:

Household furniture, furnishings, and appliances from the decedent’s usual home, up to a net value of $20,000 as of the date of death. Value above $20,000 is nonexempt and counts against the expense ceiling.
Up to two motor vehicles, each held in the decedent’s name, regularly used by the decedent or immediate family, and weighing no more than 15,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. A third vehicle, a commercial truck, or a heavier RV does not qualify.
Qualified tuition programs, including Florida 529 prepaid plans and participation agreements.

Exempt property is shielded from claims against the estate except perfected security interests, so a lender with a valid lien on a car can still enforce it.² Personal effects such as jewelry, clothing, and collections are not listed as exempt. If those items carry real value, they are nonexempt.

Separately, the Florida Constitution exempts personal property up to $1,000 from forced sale by creditors, and that protection passes to the surviving spouse or heirs. For most small estates it adds a modest cushion.

The Intestate-Only Alternative Under Section 735.304

Florida has a second small-estate track for cases where the decedent died without a will and has been dead more than one year. Under Section 735.304, no administration is required when the estate contains only exempt property, constitutionally protected property, and nonexempt personal property worth no more than $10,000 plus funeral and last-illness medical expenses. That $10,000 buffer makes this route slightly more flexible than Section 735.301.³

The tradeoff is procedure. The heir seeking distribution files a verified affidavit signed by the surviving spouse and all heirs at law. An heir already set to receive a full intestate share under the proposed distribution does not have to sign. Before filing, the applicant must diligently search for known or reasonably identifiable creditors and either pay them or get their consent. The affidavit is then formally served on any heirs who did not join the application, all known creditors, and, if the decedent was over 55 at death, the Agency for Health Care Administration.³

The AHCA notice exists because of Florida’s Medicaid estate recovery program. If the decedent received Medicaid benefits, the state may have a claim, and the notice gives the agency a chance to assert it before assets move.

How to File the Application

The statute is deliberately loose about format. Under Section 735.301 the application can be made “by affidavit, letter, or otherwise.” It is not a formal petition of the kind full probate or even summary administration requires.¹ Most county clerks publish a standard form; using it is easier than drafting from scratch.

File in the probate court of the county where the decedent lived. However you draft it, the application needs to identify the decedent, state that no real property exists, list the personal property and its approximate value, and show how the nonexempt value compares to funeral and medical expenses.

Documents to Bring

Plan on a certified death certificate. You also need proof of the expenses that fix the nonexempt ceiling: an itemized funeral home statement showing charges and payment status, and medical bills from the last 60 days of the final illness. If you paid those expenses yourself and want reimbursement, bring records tying the payment to you, such as a bank statement, canceled check, or credit card receipt.

You will typically also verify your entitlement to the property under oath. A surviving spouse claiming exempt property needs documentation of that relationship. A child claiming exempt property because there is no surviving spouse may need proof of that too.

What the Court Issues

If the court finds the requirements met, it issues a written authorization under its seal permitting transfer of the decedent’s tangible and intangible personal property to those entitled to receive it.¹ That sealed order is what you present to banks, the DMV, insurers, and any other holder of assets. Without it, they have no legal basis to release anything.

Institutions that release property in reliance on the order are permanently discharged from liability, a protection built into the statute so banks and title offices will cooperate.³ Some out-of-state banks still hesitate because they are unfamiliar with Florida’s small-estate procedures; the sealed authorization usually resolves it.

What It Costs

Filing fees vary by county. Palm Beach County charges $232 for a disposition of personal property without administration. Other counties are in a similar range, and your clerk of court’s website will list the current figure. If documents need notarization, Florida notaries can charge up to $10 per act in person, or up to $25 for remote online notarization. Compared with formal probate, which involves attorney fees, personal representative compensation, and higher filing costs, the total outlay here is small.

When You Need Summary Administration Instead

Florida’s other simplified probate option is summary administration under Section 735.201. It covers estates up to $75,000 after subtracting exempt property and is also available regardless of size when the decedent has been dead more than two years.⁴ Summary administration works with or without a will and can include real property, so it is far more versatile.

Where 735.301 or 735.304 fits, it is almost always faster and cheaper: no formal petition, and in most cases no attorney. Summary administration requires a petition, usually involves an attorney, and moves through more steps. If the estate includes any real property, exceeds the expense-based ceiling, or the will directs formal administration, summary administration or full probate becomes necessary.

Creditor Claims and Medicaid Recovery

The simplified process does not erase creditor rights. Exempt property under Section 732.402 is protected from most creditor claims, but not from perfected security interests.² A car loan lien survives even though the car is otherwise exempt.

Medicaid recovery deserves attention. Florida seeks recovery of Medicaid payments made for individuals 55 or older, especially for nursing facility and home-based care. Recovery cannot be enforced against property determined exempt from creditor claims under Florida law. Nonexempt personal property is reachable, and if liquid assets are insufficient, the state can seek sale of nonexempt items to satisfy the claim.⁵ Recovery is barred if the decedent is survived by a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child of any age.⁶

If a creditor surfaces after the court has authorized transfer, matters get complicated. The applicant can face liability for distributing assets that should have paid valid claims. Under Section 735.304, bona fide purchasers who buy from the recipients take free of creditor claims, but the recipients themselves remain potentially liable for the decedent’s debts to the extent they received nonexempt assets.³

Common Mistakes

The biggest one is assuming this process covers real estate. If the decedent owned any Florida real property, even a partial interest, Section 735.301 does not apply. The property’s value and the estate’s modest size do not matter. Real property means summary administration or full probate.

Second is misidentifying who gets exempt property. Siblings, parents, and extended family sometimes assume they are entitled to the decedent’s belongings. Under Section 732.402, only the surviving spouse qualifies, or the children if there is no surviving spouse.² An unmarried decedent with no children can still use this process, but no one receives property as “exempt”; it has to pass through other channels.

Third is undervaluing nonexempt personal property. A coin collection, power tools, or a boat that misses the motor vehicle exemption all count as nonexempt. If their combined value tops the funeral and medical expense total, the estate does not qualify under Section 735.301, and you need a different probate path.

1
Justia Law. Florida Code Title XLII Chapter 735 Part II – Section 735-301
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 732.402 – Exempt Property
3
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 735 Section 304 – Disposition Without Administration of Intestate Property in Small Estates
4
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 735 Section 201 – Summary Administration; Nature of Proceedings
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 409.9101
6
Medicaid.gov. Estate Recovery