A Florida small estate affidavit is a written statement that asks a court to let a decedent's personal property go to the people entitled to it without formal administration. It rests on section 735.301 of the Florida Statutes and covers personal property only, within a value limit the statute sets.[2] Other states have their own rules, listed in our small estate affidavit guide.
Last Updated: October 2026. This guide is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current Florida law. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us.
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Section 735.301 of the Florida Statutes says no administration is required and no formal proceedings are instituted for a decedent who leaves only certain personal property. The statute names three kinds of property, and the third has a value limit that depends on the decedent's expenses:[2]
The limit on the nonexempt property is not a single dollar figure. It is the sum of the preferred funeral expenses and the reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness.[2]
Personal property only. Section 735.301 speaks of an estate that leaves only personal property. Real property has its own rule under the small estate procedure.[2]
Any interested party may apply to the court informally, by affidavit, letter, or otherwise. If the court is satisfied that the statute applies, it may authorize the payment, transfer, or disposition of the decedent's property to the persons entitled to it. It does this by letter or other writing under the seal of the court.[2] The statute's own words are:
Upon informal application by affidavit, letter, or otherwise by any interested party, and if the court is satisfied that subsection (1) is applicable, the court, by letter or other writing under the seal of the court, may authorize the payment, transfer, or disposition of the personal property, tangible or intangible, belonging to the decedent to those persons entitled.
A person, firm, or corporation that pays, delivers, or transfers property under that authorization is forever discharged from liability on it.[2]
Section 735.304 covers an intestate small estate, one where the decedent left no will. Under section 735.304(1), the nonexempt property may be worth up to $20,000 plus the same funeral and medical expenses. The decedent must have been deceased for more than 1 year, and no administration of the decedent's estate may be pending in this state.[1]
For an intestate small estate under section 735.304, the affidavit must be signed and verified by the surviving spouse, if any, and the heirs at law.[3]
These rules are in Chapter 735 of the Florida Statutes, titled Probate Code: Small Estates, and the procedures that work without administration are sections 735.301 and 735.304.[3]
| Max. Estate | Under section 735.301, nonexempt property up to the sum of preferred funeral expenses and medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness[2]. Under section 735.304(1), $20,000 plus those expenses[1] |
| Min. Time to Wait After Death | More than 1 year, under section 735.304(1)[1] |
| Property Covered | Personal property only[2] |
| State Laws | Florida Statutes, Chapter 735 |
Each step below matches one part of the FormsPal template, in the order the template presents them. Gather the decedent's details, a list of their personal property, and statements or receipts for funeral and medical expenses first. You can also complete the downloaded PDF in the online PDF editor. If a field label is unclear, the chat with PDF tool lets you ask questions about the document.
The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal Florida small estate affidavit template filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and amounts are examples only.
Have the funeral and medical statements or receipts ready before you start. The template says a statement or receipt is attached for each of those two blocks.
These answers cover the questions people ask most often about small estates in Florida. Each legal point comes from the statute sections cited at the end of this page, and the form details come from the template itself.
Section 735.301 says no administration is required and no formal proceedings are instituted for a decedent who leaves only exempt property and nonexempt property within the limit.[2] That limit is the sum of two kinds of expenses:
Add the two together to get the limit for the nonexempt property.[2]
You can when the estate fits section 735.301. Any interested party may apply informally by affidavit, letter, or otherwise, and the court may then authorize the transfer of the decedent's property to the persons entitled to it.[2]
Section 735.301 sets no single dollar figure. The nonexempt property must be worth no more than two sums added together. They are the preferred funeral expenses and the reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness.[2] For an intestate estate under section 735.304(1), the limit is $20,000 plus those same expenses.[1]
On the template, you list each item of personal property with its value, and you enter the funeral and the medical and hospital expenses with their amounts in separate blocks. The statutory limit those values are measured against is described in the laws section above.
Under the intestate route in section 735.304(1), the decedent must have been deceased for more than 1 year.[1]
General information, not legal or tax advice.
Every legal point on this page comes from the Florida Statutes sections listed below. The numbers in square brackets in the text match the entries in this list, so you can open the statute and read the exact wording yourself.
