In Florida, an asset must go through probate when it was owned in the deceased person’s name alone, with no surviving co-owner and no valid beneficiary designation directing it to someone else. Assets that already carry a built-in transfer instruction — a joint owner, a payable-on-death beneficiary, or a living trust — pass outside of probate and never touch the court. The practical question, then, isn’t whether an estate “has probate,” but which specific assets are stuck in the deceased’s sole name with nowhere else to go.
That distinction matters most when there is no will. When a Palm Beach resident dies intestate — meaning without a valid will — the probate court doesn’t just process the assets; it also decides who inherits them under Florida’s intestacy statutes. So if you’re sorting through a loved one’s estate and trying to figure out what the court will actually control, start here.
The simple test: whose name is on it, and is there a beneficiary?
Every asset a person leaves behind falls into one of two buckets. Probate assets are titled solely in the deceased’s name with no surviving co-owner and no designated beneficiary. Non-probate assets have a transfer mechanism already attached — they know where to go the moment the owner dies.
Two questions answer it almost every time:
- Was the asset owned by the deceased alone? If a spouse, child, or anyone else is a surviving co-owner with rights of survivorship, that asset usually passes to the survivor directly.
- Does the asset name a living beneficiary? Life insurance, retirement accounts, and POD/TOD accounts pay the named beneficiary regardless of what a will says — or, in an intestate estate, regardless of who the heirs are.
If the answer to both is “no,” the asset is almost certainly a probate asset. This is exactly why intestate estates can be unpredictable: a person who never signed a will also, very often, never bothered to add beneficiaries or joint owners to anything. Their accounts and property sit in a single name, and probate becomes unavoidable.
Assets that typically MUST go through probate in Florida
These are the assets the court controls because nothing else tells them where to go:
- Bank and brokerage accounts in the deceased’s sole name with no payable-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) designation.
- Real estate titled solely in the deceased’s name — a house, a condo on the Intracoastal, raw land — with no surviving co-owner and no enhanced life estate deed. (Homestead property is a special case; more on that below.)
- Vehicles, boats, and titled personal property owned individually.
- Investment or business interests held in the person’s own name, such as a sole-proprietor account or shares not held jointly.
- Personal belongings of real value — jewelry, art, collectibles — that aren’t covered by any survivorship or beneficiary arrangement.
- Any asset where the named beneficiary has already died and no contingent beneficiary was listed. The asset reverts to the estate and must be probated.
That last point catches more families than you’d expect. A retirement account that should have skipped probate ends up in court because the only listed beneficiary — a spouse, often — passed away first and the paperwork was never updated.
Assets that skip probate in Florida
The following pass directly to the new owner, usually with nothing more than a death certificate and a form:
- Jointly owned property with rights of survivorship. A home held as joint tenants with right of survivorship, or by a married couple as tenants by the entireties, passes automatically to the surviving owner. Note: a deed that simply lists two names as “tenants in common” does not include survivorship — that half-interest goes through probate.
- Payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts. The named beneficiary claims the funds directly from the bank or brokerage.
- Life insurance with a living named beneficiary. Paid directly by the insurer, outside probate entirely.
- Retirement accounts — IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities — with a valid beneficiary designation.
- Assets held in a revocable living trust. The trustee distributes them under the trust’s terms with no court involvement. This is the most reliable, comprehensive way to keep a Florida estate out of probate.
- Real estate transferred by an enhanced life estate (“Lady Bird”) deed. Florida recognizes these through long-standing case law rather than a specific statute. The owner keeps full control during life — the right to sell, mortgage, or change their mind — and on death the property passes to the named remainder beneficiary without probate.
The common thread is that each of these has a transfer instruction baked in. The asset doesn’t need a court to decide its destination because the owner already decided it.
Why this matters more when there’s no will
People sometimes assume that dying without a will means everything automatically goes to the spouse or gets split evenly among the kids. It doesn’t work that way. Non-probate assets follow their beneficiary designations and survivorship terms first — intestacy never touches them. Only the assets stuck in the deceased’s sole name flow into probate, and only those get distributed under Florida’s intestate succession rules in Florida Statutes Chapter 732.
The result can surprise a family. An ex-spouse still listed on an old life insurance policy may collect the death benefit while the current spouse inherits only the probate assets. A blended family can find the intestacy formula splitting a home between a surviving spouse and the deceased’s children from a prior relationship. Sorting out who actually inherits what — and which bucket each asset belongs to — is where most intestate disputes begin. When heirs disagree, these cases can turn into , the same way they do in other states.
Florida homestead: a category of its own
Homestead property — the deceased’s primary Florida residence — doesn’t behave like an ordinary asset. Under the Florida Constitution and Florida Statutes § 732.401, homestead is protected from most creditors and is subject to strict rules about who can inherit it when a spouse or minor child survives.
If the deceased leaves a surviving spouse or minor child, Florida law restricts how the homestead can pass and may override even a clear will. In an intestate estate, the homestead typically passes to the heirs by operation of these constitutional protections rather than through ordinary probate distribution — though a court order (a petition to determine homestead status) is usually still needed to clear title. The upshot: even when the home itself is shielded, you often still need the probate court to confirm that protection on paper before the property can be sold or refinanced.
What kind of probate will the estate need?
Not all probate is the lengthy, expensive process people fear. Florida offers a streamlined path for smaller estates. Under Florida Statutes § 735.201, summary administration is available when the value of the probate estate (excluding exempt property such as homestead) does not exceed $75,000, or when the person has been dead for more than two years. It’s faster, cheaper, and doesn’t require appointing a personal representative.
Larger estates — or those with creditor issues or ongoing administration needs — require formal administration, where the court appoints a personal representative to gather assets, pay valid debts, and distribute what remains. For a fuller walkthrough of how a Florida case proceeds, our Florida probate overview covers the steps and timelines. You can also compare how the process plays out elsewhere in this explanation of a .
A quick reality check for families
Before you assume a full probate is coming, inventory the estate against the two-bucket test above. Many Palm Beach families discover that the bulk of an estate — a jointly held home, a beneficiary-designated IRA, a POD bank account — passes outside probate, leaving only a modest pool of sole-name assets that may qualify for summary administration. The earlier you map this out, the sooner you know what you’re actually dealing with.
The takeaway
Florida probate isn’t triggered by death — it’s triggered by ownership. Assets in a sole name with no beneficiary go through the court; assets with a survivor or a named beneficiary skip it. When there’s no will, that line is the difference between a quick, predictable transfer and a court proceeding governed by the intestacy statutes.
If you’re facing an intestate estate in Palm Beach County and aren’t sure which assets fall on which side of that line, an experienced probate attorney can sort it in an afternoon. Reach out through our contact page, or learn more about . Getting the classification right at the start is what keeps an estate from stalling later. You may also want to review how a valid Florida will would have changed the outcome — useful context for your own planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does all property go through probate in Florida if there is no will?
No. Whether there is a will or not does not change which assets require probate. Only assets titled in the deceased person’s sole name with no surviving co-owner and no named beneficiary go through probate. Jointly owned property, POD/TOD accounts, life insurance, retirement accounts with beneficiaries, and trust assets all skip probate. When there is no will, the probate assets are simply distributed under Florida’s intestacy statutes (Chapter 732) instead of under a will.
Does a bank account go through probate in Florida?
It depends on how the account is held. A bank account in the deceased’s sole name with no payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary must go through probate. The same account with a POD beneficiary, or held jointly with rights of survivorship, passes directly to the survivor or beneficiary and skips probate entirely.
Is the family home subject to probate in Florida?
Often the home requires a court process even though it may be protected. If the home was solely owned, it generally must be addressed in probate. Florida homestead property carries special protections under the Florida Constitution and Statutes 732.401, and a court order determining homestead status is usually needed to clear title before the property can be sold or refinanced, even when the home itself is shielded from creditors.
What is the small estate process in Florida?
It’s called summary administration. Under Florida Statutes 735.201, summary administration is available when the probate estate (excluding exempt property like homestead) is worth $75,000 or less, or when the person has been dead for more than two years. It is faster and less expensive than formal administration and does not require appointing a personal representative.
Can a Lady Bird deed keep a house out of probate in Florida?
Yes. An enhanced life estate deed, commonly called a Lady Bird deed, lets the owner keep full control of the property during life and pass it to a named remainder beneficiary automatically at death, without probate. Florida recognizes these deeds through case law rather than a specific statute. Homestead restrictions still apply when a spouse or minor child survives.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of probate and estate administration in Florida. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .
