Florida law lets estate managers enforce their powers in court

An estate manager can ask a court to enforce the powers granted by estate law. These rules cover a personal representative, the person appointed to manage a deceased person's estate. The manager must act reasonably for people with an interest in the estate and follow the will, court orders, and the required order of payments. A manager who wins must receive court costs and attorney fees. The court may charge someone whose action or inaction made the case necessary or someone with an interest in the estate. The court may allow collection from other property. The manager's lawyer may receive additional reasonable pay for this enforcement work.

Estates can use a shorter court process when they meet the value or time limit. The shorter court process covers estates administered in Florida for residents and nonresidents. The $150,000 limit excludes property protected from creditors. The separate route without estate administration covers people who died without a will and left only the specified personal property. Formal estate proceedings are barred when its conditions are met. Property not protected from creditors cannot exceed $20,000 plus the specified funeral costs and reasonable, necessary medical and hospital costs from the last 60 days of the final illness. The law took effect July 1, 2026. The separate route without estate administration requires death more than one year earlier and no estate administration pending in Florida.

Financial institutions may pay eligible relatives up to $2,000 from a deceased person's covered accounts without a court proceeding. Eligible relatives are the surviving spouse, then an adult child, then an adult descendant, then a parent, when no relative in an earlier group survives. The relative must provide a certified death certificate and the required sworn statements. Known covered accounts across all financial institutions must total no more than $2,000. The statements must establish that no estate manager has been appointed and no estate court proceeding has started. The relative must know of no will or other document or agreement governing distribution. Payment is optional for the institution. The recipient can owe creditors or rightful recipients any amount received beyond the recipient's proper share. A financial institution cannot make this payment earlier than six months after death.

A surviving spouse or designated child may receive a federal income tax refund of up to $5,000 directly. The spouse must submit a verified application. If no spouse survives, one child must be designated in a verified application signed by all children over age 14. The U.S. Treasury Department must determine that a federal income tax overpayment exists, and the taxpayer must be dead when the refund is due. The application must show no debts, arrangements to pay debts, or an estate fully protected from creditors. No estate administration may have started, and none may be planned to the applicant's knowledge.

Safe-deposit box providers must give estate managers access when they present the required court appointment papers, within the stated exceptions. For boxes in a deceased person's name, these duties cover an estate manager appointed by a Florida court who presents a certified copy of appointment papers. For boxes held by people managing property for others, the lease or documents granting their authority can expressly provide otherwise. For a deceased person's box, access and removal rights depend on statutory exceptions that are not included here. The provider must allow the estate manager or the manager's lawyer to pay accumulated charges and end the lease.