Executor of an Estate in Florida: Duties, Fees, and How You Get Appointed
Florida calls the job “personal representative,” pays it a statutory commission of 3 percent on the first million dollars, and does not let you do a thing until the court issues Letters of Administration. Those three facts answer most of what people arrive here asking.
Being named in a will is not the same as having authority. Being the closest relative is not the same as being entitled to serve. And the compensation is not a favour the family grants you — it is set by statute, it is taxable, and you can decline it.
This page covers what the role actually requires, what it pays, how you get appointed with or without a will, what you may and may not sell, and what happens when a personal representative gets it wrong.
What Does a Personal Representative Actually Do in Florida?
Section 733.602(1) sets the standard, and it is a demanding one: a personal representative is a fiduciary who must observe the standards of care applicable to trustees, and must settle and distribute the estate in accordance with the will and the code, and as expeditiously and efficiently as is consistent with the best interests of the estate. In practice that means locating and securing assets, filing an inventory, notifying and dealing with creditors, paying valid claims in the statutory order, handling tax filings, accounting to the beneficiaries, and distributing what is left.
Is a Personal Representative the Same as an Executor?
Yes — Florida just uses a different word. The Florida Probate Code says personal representative throughout; “executor,” “executrix,” “administrator” and “administratrix” are terms from other states and from older practice. A will that names you executor is nominating you as personal representative, and the court order and the Letters will use the Florida term. Florida also issues Letters of Administration in every case, whether or not there is a will, where many states distinguish “letters testamentary” from “letters of administration.”
How Much Does an Executor Get Paid in Florida?
Three percent of the first million dollars, stepping down above that. Section 733.617 entitles a personal representative to a commission payable from estate assets without a court order, calculated on the compensable value of the estate — the inventory value of the probate assets plus income the estate earns during administration. A commission computed on that basis is presumed reasonable.
The Statutory Commission Tiers Under Section 733.617
| Compensable value | Presumed reasonable commission |
|---|---|
| First $1 million | 3% |
| Above $1 million, up to $5 million | 2.5% |
| Above $5 million, up to $10 million | 2% |
| Above $10 million | 1.5% |
Worked through at real estate sizes:
| Compensable value | Commission |
|---|---|
| $150,000 | $4,500 |
| $300,000 | $9,000 |
| $500,000 | $15,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $30,000 |
| $2,000,000 | $55,000 |
| $5,000,000 | $130,000 |
Note what compensable value is not. It is not the decedent’s net worth. Assets that pass outside probate — jointly titled property, payable-on-death accounts, anything with a named beneficiary, anything already in a trust — are not in the probate estate and do not enter the calculation.
Can an Executor Waive the Fee?
Yes, in whole or in part, and family members frequently do. Section 733.617(4) expressly permits a personal representative to renounce the right to all or any part of the compensation. There is a tax reason as well as a peacekeeping one: a commission is taxable income to the person who receives it, while an inheritance generally is not. A beneficiary who is also serving often declines the commission and simply takes a larger share of the residue, reaching a similar economic result on better terms.
Extraordinary Services Are Paid on Top
Section 733.617(3) allows further reasonable compensation for extraordinary services, including the sale of real or personal property, conducting litigation for or against the estate, involvement in tax proceedings, carrying on the decedent’s business, dealing with protected homestead, and any other special services necessary to the administration. Chapter 2026-57 added a further category effective July 1, 2026 — involvement in proceedings to enforce the personal representative’s authority.
Two Personal Representatives Means Two Full Commissions
This one costs families real money and is almost never anticipated. Under § 733.617(5), where the estate’s compensable value is $100,000 or more and there are two personal representatives, each is entitled to the full commission a sole representative would receive. Where there are more than two, the equivalent of two full commissions is apportioned among them by services rendered. Below $100,000, a single commission is divided among however many serve.
Naming two children as co-representatives to keep the peace can therefore double the fiduciary cost of the estate. If the intent is fairness rather than expense, that is a decision to make deliberately.
A Lawyer Serving as Personal Representative Can Be Paid Twice
Section 733.617(6) provides that where the personal representative is a member of The Florida Bar and has rendered legal services in the administration, a fee for those legal services is allowed in addition to the commission. Florida guards this: § 733.617(8) bars an attorney who prepared or supervised the execution of the will from taking compensation as personal representative under that will, unless related to the testator or unless specific written disclosures were made to the testator before signing.
The attorney’s own fee for representing the estate is a separate matter again, governed by § 733.6171 — the full breakdown is on our page covering the cost of probate in Florida.
Who Becomes Executor if There Is No Will in Florida?
Section 733.301 sets an order of preference, and it differs depending on whether there is a will. In an intestate estate the order is: the surviving spouse first; then the person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs; then the heir nearest in degree, and where more than one applies the court may select the one it finds best qualified.
The Preference Order, Testate and Intestate
| Order | With a will | Without a will |
|---|---|---|
| First | The personal representative, or successor, nominated by the will or under a power conferred in it | The surviving spouse |
| Second | The person selected by a majority in interest of those entitled to the estate | The person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs |
| Third | A devisee under the will; where more than one applies, the court may select the one best qualified | The heir nearest in degree; where more than one applies, the court may select the one best qualified |
The middle row is the one families underuse. Where the obvious candidate cannot or will not serve, the beneficiaries or heirs holding a majority interest can simply agree on someone and present that person to the court. Agreement is dramatically cheaper than a contested appointment, and it is available before anyone has filed anything.
Preference is not the same as qualification, though. Standing first in the order does nothing for someone the statute disqualifies.
Who Cannot Serve as Personal Representative in Florida?
Section 733.303 lists four absolute disqualifications. A person is not qualified to act if that person has been convicted of a felony; has been convicted in any state or foreign jurisdiction of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an elderly person or a disabled adult as defined in § 825.101; is mentally or physically unable to perform the duties; or is under the age of 18. The elder-abuse ground was added effective July 1, 2021 and is missing from most older articles on this subject. Where the person named in the will is disqualified, § 733.303(2) directs that letters be granted under the § 733.301 preference order instead.
The Residency Requirement Most People Miss
Section 733.302 sets the baseline: any person who is sui juris and was a resident of Florida at the time of the decedent’s death is qualified to serve. Everyone else runs into § 733.304, which bars a person not domiciled in Florida from qualifying unless they are an adopted child or adoptive parent of the decedent; related by lineal consanguinity to the decedent; a spouse, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece of the decedent, or someone related by lineal consanguinity to any such person; or the spouse of a person otherwise qualified.
The practical result: a trusted out-of-state friend named in a Florida will simply cannot serve, while a nephew in Ohio can. There is no waiver and no judicial discretion. Because this catches so many families, it has a page of its own — the out-of-state executor in Florida — covering qualification, the resident agent designation required before letters issue, and bond.
When Does an Executor Actually Have Authority?
When the court issues Letters of Administration, and not before. Being named in the will confers a right to apply, not a right to act. Banks will not release funds, title companies will not close, and the DMV will not transfer a vehicle on the strength of a will. What they want is the Letters. The sequence is: deposit the original will with the clerk in the county of the decedent’s residence, retain Florida counsel, petition for administration, address bond and the resident agent designation, and receive the Letters.
Order More Certified Copies Than You Think
Every institution holding an estate asset will want its own certified copy of the Letters, and ordering them one at a time from a clerk’s office is slower and dearer than ordering ten at the outset. Certification runs about $2 per document plus $1 per page in the major counties, so a full set costs very little compared with the delay of not having one.
Do You Need a Lawyer to Be an Executor in Florida?
Almost always, yes. Florida Probate Rule 5.030(a) requires every personal representative to be represented by an attorney admitted to practice in Florida, with two exceptions: where the personal representative remains the sole interested person in the estate, and where the personal representative is themselves a Florida Bar member, who may appear on their own behalf. A family of three siblings has more than one interested person, so the exception does not apply. There is no small-estate exception and no exception for families who agree on everything.
The Powers of a Florida Personal Representative
Broad ones, exercisable without asking the court first. Section 733.603 directs the personal representative to proceed expeditiously with the settlement and distribution of the estate without adjudication, order, or direction of the court, except where the code or the court requires otherwise — while preserving the right to invoke the court’s jurisdiction to resolve questions. Section 733.602(1) makes the probated will the personal representative’s authority to administer.
That autonomy is the point of the office and also its danger. Acting without a court order is permitted; acting wrongly is still a breach.
What the Personal Representative May Take Possession Of
Section 733.607(1) gives the personal representative the right to take possession or control of the decedent’s property except protected homestead. The homestead carve-out is the one that surprises people: the family home, where it qualifies as protected homestead, is not the personal representative’s to possess, secure, rent out, or sell in the ordinary course.
The statute also allows the personal representative to leave tangible personal property or real property with the person presumptively entitled to it, unless possession is needed for administration — useful where a beneficiary is already living in a house or using a vehicle. And it confers no right to a surviving spouse’s share of community property.
Can an Executor Sell a House During Probate?
Usually yes, but the authority has to exist before the contract does, and homestead is the exception that catches people. Where the property is not protected homestead and the will grants a power of sale — or the court authorises it — the personal representative can sell, and the buyer takes through a personal representative’s deed. Where the property is protected homestead, § 733.607 keeps it outside the personal representative’s possession, and its disposition runs through the heirs and the homestead rules rather than the administration. The mechanics, including who signs and what the title company will require, are covered in selling a house during probate.
What Is a Personal Representative’s Deed?
It is the instrument a personal representative uses to convey estate real property, and it is not a warranty deed. The difference matters to both sides of a closing. A warranty deed carries covenants: the seller warrants good title and defends against claims. A personal representative’s deed conveys whatever interest the estate holds and warrants only that the signer is acting within the authority of the office — no personal warranty of title.
That is appropriate, because a personal representative is transferring someone else’s property in a representative capacity and should not be personally guaranteeing a chain of title they had no part in. Buyers usually address the gap with title insurance rather than by demanding warranties the fiduciary cannot responsibly give.
Can an Executor Sell a Car Before Probate Closes?
A vehicle is ordinarily an estate asset the personal representative may possess and sell under § 733.607, so the answer is often yes — but two things come first. Check whether the vehicle is exempt property: § 732.402 makes two motor vehicles exempt for the surviving spouse where they were held in the decedent’s name, regularly used by the decedent or immediate family, and under 15,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. Exempt property is not the estate’s to sell. And confirm the Letters have issued, because the title transfer will require them. Our page on transferring a vehicle after death sets out the forms.
Can a Personal Representative Sell Property Without the Heirs’ Consent?
Often, yes — and this is a frequent source of family conflict. Where the will confers a power of sale, or the court authorises the sale, the personal representative does not need every beneficiary to agree. Section 733.603 contemplates acting without court direction, and requiring unanimity would make most administrations impossible. Beneficiaries are not without recourse: they can object, seek review, and hold the personal representative to account. But the default is not a veto.
The exceptions are the ones already noted — protected homestead, which is not the personal representative’s to sell, and exempt property, which belongs to the spouse or children.
How Do You Become the Executor of an Estate in Florida?
Six steps, in order. One: confirm you can qualify — Florida residency at the date of death under § 733.302, or one of the § 733.304 family categories if you live elsewhere, and clear of the four § 733.303 disqualifications. Two: deposit the original will with the clerk in the county where the decedent lived. Three: retain Florida counsel, which Rule 5.030 requires unless you are the sole interested person. Four: file the petition for administration. Five: address bond and, if you are a nonresident, the resident agent designation, which must be on file before letters issue. Six: receive the Letters of Administration — and order several certified copies at once.
How to Become Executor When There Is No Will
The route is the same but the priority question replaces the nomination question. With no will there is nobody named, so § 733.301’s intestate order decides: surviving spouse, then the person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs, then the heir nearest in degree. You petition for letters of administration in that capacity, and where more than one heir of equal degree applies, the court may select the one it finds best qualified.
The practical advice is the same in every version of this: get the heirs to agree before anyone files. A majority in interest can simply select someone, and that costs a fraction of a contested appointment where two siblings each petition and the court has to choose.
What if the Named Executor Does Not Want to Serve?
Nobody is compelled to accept the job. A person nominated in a will may decline, in which case the will’s alternate or successor takes priority under § 733.301, and failing that the beneficiaries holding a majority interest may select someone. Declining early is far better than accepting and resigning later, because a resignation under § 733.5036 requires a final accounting of whatever administration has already occurred.
The Other Names for This Role, and What They Mean
| Term | What it means in Florida |
|---|---|
| Personal representative | The correct Florida term, used throughout the Probate Code, whether or not there is a will |
| Executor / executrix | Terminology from other states and older practice for someone administering under a will. Florida courts will call you personal representative |
| Administrator / administratrix | Other states’ term for someone administering an intestate estate. Florida does not distinguish |
| Co-personal representatives | Two or more serving together. Above $100,000 in compensable value, each of two is entitled to a full commission under § 733.617(5) |
| Successor personal representative | The person who takes over after a resignation or removal, and to whom records and property must be delivered |
| Curator | A temporary appointee who preserves the estate where there is a delay or dispute over who should be appointed |
| Administrator ad litem | Appointed for a specific proceeding where the personal representative has a conflict — for instance where the estate must sue the personal representative |
| Ancillary personal representative | Appointed in Florida for a decedent domiciled elsewhere who owned Florida property |
The last two matter more than they look. Where a personal representative is the person the estate has a claim against, an administrator ad litem is the mechanism that lets the estate pursue it without the conflicted fiduciary controlling both sides — a cleaner route in some cases than a removal petition under § 733.504.
How Long Does the Job Take?
A straightforward Florida formal administration generally runs the better part of a year, driven mainly by the creditor period rather than by anything the personal representative controls. Section 733.603 requires proceeding expeditiously, and that word is doing real work — unexplained delay is what “wasting or maladministration” looks like in a removal petition. The realistic timetable, and what pushes an estate past it, is set out in how long probate takes in Florida. Where the estate is small enough, summary administration avoids the appointment question altogether, because no personal representative is appointed at all.
When Do an Executor’s Powers Begin, and Do Earlier Acts Count?
Section 733.601 answers both. The duties and powers of a personal representative commence upon appointment — but the powers relate back to give acts done before appointment, where beneficial to the estate, the same effect as acts done after. A personal representative may also ratify and accept acts done by others on the estate’s behalf where those acts would have been proper for a personal representative.
That is the provision that rescues the family member who changed the locks, paid the homeowner’s insurance premium, and kept the lights on in the three weeks before the court acted. Those acts are validated retroactively if they benefited the estate. It is not, however, licence to distribute or sell before appointment — those are not preservation.
The Homestead Lien Almost Nobody Knows About
Here is a genuine problem with a statutory answer. Protected homestead is outside the personal representative’s possession under § 733.607 — but somebody still has to insure an empty house and stop it deteriorating.
Section 733.608(2) resolves it. Where property that reasonably appears to be protected homestead is not occupied by a person who appears to have an interest in it, the personal representative is authorized but not required to take possession for the limited purpose of preserving, insuring and protecting it, pending a determination of homestead status. Rents may be collected for the account of the heir or devisee, though there is no duty to make the property productive.
And § 733.608(3) makes it fundable: where the personal representative spends money or incurs obligations to preserve, maintain, insure or protect that property, the personal representative is entitled to a lien on the property and its revenues to secure repayment, including fees and costs. The lien takes priority from the date and time a notice of lien is recorded in the county’s official records, and the notice must state the personal representative’s and attorney’s name and address, the legal description, the decedent’s name and each apparent interest holder, and that the expenditures stand secured.
The lien terminates on the earliest of a recorded satisfaction, the personal representative’s discharge, one year from recording unless a proceeding to determine the debt or enforce the lien has been filed, or an order releasing it. Section 733.608(11) adds that the personal representative is not liable for declining to take possession or spend on the homestead at all.
Self-Dealing Makes the Transaction Voidable
Section 733.610 is short and severe. Any sale or encumbrance to the personal representative, or to the personal representative’s spouse, agent, or attorney, or to any corporation, entity or trust in which any of them holds a substantial beneficial or ownership interest — and any transaction affected by a conflict of interest on the personal representative’s part — is voidable by any interested person, except one who consented after fair disclosure.
There are exactly two safe harbours: the will or a contract entered into by the decedent expressly authorised the transaction, or the court approved it after notice to interested persons. Note what is not a safe harbour — paying fair market value. A personal representative who buys the estate’s house at a defensible price, without authorisation or court approval, has still entered a voidable transaction.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty Carries Mandatory Attorney Fees
Section 733.609 is the provision every personal representative and every beneficiary should read. A personal representative’s fiduciary duty is the same as that of a trustee of an express trust, and the personal representative is liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from breach.
Then the sentence that changes the economics of these disputes: “In all actions for breach of fiduciary duty or challenging the exercise of or failure to exercise a personal representative’s powers, the court shall award taxable costs as in chancery actions, including attorney’s fees.” Not may — shall. And the court may direct payment from a party’s interest in the estate, or enter a judgment satisfiable from that party’s other property, or both.
The cut runs in both directions. A beneficiary who proves a breach is not funding the fight out of their own inheritance. A beneficiary who brings a weak challenge to a personal representative’s proper exercise of power is exposed to the other side’s fees.
Can a Personal Representative Be Removed?
Yes, and on twelve enumerated grounds — plus one that is mandatory. Section 733.504 opens by requiring removal: a personal representative shall be removed and the letters revoked if he or she was not qualified to act at the time of appointment. Beyond that, removal is discretionary on any of the listed causes.
The Twelve Grounds for Removal Under Section 733.504
| Ground | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Adjudication that the personal representative is incapacitated |
| 2 | Physical or mental incapacity rendering them incapable of discharging their duties |
| 3 | Failure to comply with any order of the court, unless superseded on appeal |
| 4 | Failure to account for the sale of property, or to produce and exhibit the assets of the estate when required |
| 5 | Wasting or maladministration of the estate |
| 6 | Failure to give bond or security for any purpose |
| 7 | Conviction of a felony |
| 8 | Insolvency of, or appointment of a receiver or liquidator for, a corporate personal representative |
| 9 | Holding or acquiring conflicting or adverse interests against the estate that will or may interfere with administration — expressly not applicable to a surviving spouse exercising the elective share, family allowance or exemptions |
| 10 | Revocation of the probate of the will that authorised the appointment |
| 11 | Removal of domicile from Florida, where domicile was a requirement of appointment |
| 12 | Qualified at appointment but not now entitled to appointment |
Ground 5 does most of the work in practice. “Wasting or maladministration” is where the sitting-on-it cases live — the estate that has not moved in two years, the property left uninsured, the accounting that never arrives. Ground 9 is the self-dealing route, and its carve-out matters: a surviving spouse who elects the elective share has not thereby acquired an adverse interest justifying removal.
Note also what is not a ground. Beneficiaries disliking the personal representative, disagreeing with the pace, or objecting to the fee are not on the list.
How a Removal Proceeding Works
Florida Probate Rule 5.440 governs. The court may remove on its own motion, or any interested person may commence a proceeding by petition, which must state the facts constituting the grounds and be filed in the court with jurisdiction over the administration.
The consequences of removal are immediate and enforceable. A removed personal representative must file an accounting within 30 days, and must immediately — or within the time the court orders — deliver all estate records and all estate property to the remaining personal representative or the successor fiduciary. Failure to do either subjects the removed personal representative to contempt proceedings.
The Duty to Resign, and the Personal Liability for Ignoring It
Section 733.3101 is the trap for a personal representative whose circumstances change. A personal representative shall resign immediately on knowing they were not qualified to act at the time of appointment. And a personal representative who was qualified but knows they would not now be qualified must promptly file and serve a notice setting out the reasons, stating that any interested person may petition to remove them — and an interested person served with that notice has 30 days to petition.
Subsection (3) supplies the teeth. A personal representative who fails to comply is personally liable for costs, including attorney fees, incurred in any removal proceeding if removed. That liability extends to a personal representative who did not know but should have known the facts requiring resignation or notice, and it is cumulative to any other liability provided by law.
In plain terms: a felony conviction, a move out of Florida where domicile was required, or an incapacity that arrives mid-administration is not something to wait out. Disclosing it costs nothing. Being removed after concealing it costs the fees on both sides, personally.
Resigning Voluntarily
Resignation is cleaner than removal and available without any accusation. Section 733.5036 requires a resigning personal representative to file and serve a final accounting. Once liability has been determined and satisfied, the personal representative, attorney and any others employed have been compensated, and there is evidence that undistributed estate assets have been delivered to the successor fiduciary, the personal representative is discharged, the bond released and the surety discharged.
That is the route for someone who took the job and found it beyond them — a common and entirely respectable outcome, particularly where the estate turns contentious or the appointee’s health changes.
What a Personal Representative Should Do in the First Thirty Days
Secure the original will. Florida requires it deposited with the clerk in the county of the decedent’s residence. A photocopy is not a substitute except through a separate and expensive lost-will proceeding.
Order certified death certificates in quantity. Ten is not excessive. Every institution wants its own.
Secure and insure the property. Change locks, confirm the homeowner’s carrier knows the house is now vacant, keep utilities on. Where the property is unoccupied protected homestead, § 733.608 authorises possession for preservation and gives a lien for what you spend — but the lien only takes priority from recording, so record the notice.
Do not distribute anything. Not the car to the son who always drove it, not the jewellery, not a cent. Florida sets a statutory order of payment and a personal representative who pays out of order can be personally liable.
Do not pay the decedent’s debts out of your own pocket, and do not commingle estate money with your own. Open a separate estate account once the Letters issue.
Identify what is not a probate asset. Joint accounts, payable-on-death designations, beneficiary-designated retirement and insurance, trust property. These are not yours to administer, and they are not in the compensable value your commission is based on.
Keep records from day one. You owe an accounting, and reconstructing eighteen months of transactions afterwards is the single most avoidable expense in a contested administration.
Where Personal Representatives Get Into Real Trouble
Distributing before the creditor period closes. The pressure from siblings arrives early and the claims timetable does not care. See Florida probate creditors.
Buying estate property. Voidable under § 733.610 regardless of price, absent authorisation in the will or court approval after notice.
Letting the estate sit. “Wasting or maladministration” is ground 5 for removal, and inaction over a long enough period is exactly what it describes.
Treating the estate account as available cash. Commingling converts an ordinary administration into a fiduciary claim, and § 733.609 puts the fees on the losing side.
Going quiet with the beneficiaries. Most removal petitions are preceded by months of unanswered messages. Communication is not a legal duty in itself, but its absence is what turns a disagreement into a filing.
Common Misunderstandings About the Executor’s Role
“The will names me, so I can start.” Authority begins on appointment, not nomination. Preservation acts relate back under § 733.601; distribution and sale do not.
“I have to be paid what the statute says.” The commission is a presumption, and it may be renounced in whole or in part.
“The commission is tax free like an inheritance.” It is taxable income. That is precisely why many family members waive it.
“Naming both my children keeps it fair.” Above $100,000 in compensable value it also means two full commissions under § 733.617(5).
“I control the house.” Protected homestead is outside your possession under § 733.607.
“Beneficiaries have to agree before I sell.” Generally not, where the will or the court grants the power.
“I can handle it without a lawyer if the family agrees.” Rule 5.030 requires Florida counsel unless you are the sole interested person or a member of The Florida Bar.
“Anyone I trust can serve.” An out-of-state friend cannot. Section 733.304 is a closed list of family relationships.
Talk to a Florida Probate Attorney About Serving as Personal Representative
Whether you have been named in a will, you are the closest relative and there is no will, or you are a beneficiary watching a personal representative do nothing, the first conversation is short and it settles most of it: can this person qualify, what does the estate actually contain, and what is the realistic timetable.
Bring the death certificate, the original will if you have found it, a rough list of assets with an indication of how each is titled, and the names of everyone who stands to inherit. If you have already been served with anything from a court, bring that too and note the date.
Lorenzo Law represents personal representatives and beneficiaries in probate and probate litigation throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade and Broward County. Call 305-224-6811 or reach out through our contact page.
Related reading: the cost of probate in Florida, out-of-state executors, surviving spouse rights, how long probate takes, and summary administration.
This page explains Florida statutes and probate rules for general informational purposes. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Citations reflect Florida law in effect as of August 2026.