Bradford County, FL Probate Information

Before you file anything in Bradford County, know exactly what is in the estate. Which Florida path fits depends on whether there is a will and on the value and type of the assets: formal administration under F.S. Chapter 733, summary administration under F.S. 735.201 for a smaller estate, or disposition of personal property without administration under F.S. 735.301 for a limited class of estates with no real property. The dollar thresholds that separate these paths are statewide and are explained on the Florida state page; identify the estate first so you and your attorney file the right petition once.

Identify every bank and credit-union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life-insurance policy, vehicle, and parcel of real property, along with every debt, before you go to the Clerk. Whether the decedent's Starke or rural Bradford County home was homestead property matters, because Florida homestead often passes outside the probate estate and is not counted toward the summary-administration limit. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.

The Circuit Court of the Eighth Judicial Circuit serves Bradford County along with Alachua, Baker, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union counties. Within Bradford, the court covers the whole county, including Starke (the county seat), Lawtey, Hampton, Brooker, Graham, Theressa, and the surrounding rural communities. Bradford probate matters are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the courthouse at 945 North Temple Avenue in Starke, and are heard by a circuit judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, in many cases remotely by Zoom.

Venue for a decedent's estate is governed by F.S. 733.101. Administration is proper first in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death, then, if the decedent had no Florida domicile, in a county where the decedent's property is located, and, if the decedent had neither domicile nor property in Florida, in the county where any debtor of the decedent resides. In practice, file in Bradford County for a decedent who lived here. There is no separate probate department; probate is heard on the Circuit Court's general docket.

The Eighth Circuit publishes its own probate procedures and checklists. Unlike many rural counties, Bradford filers can rely on the Eighth Judicial Circuit's published probate library at circuit8.org/probate, including divisional procedures, self-represented forms, and the same checklists the court uses to review filings. Probate and hearing questions go to the circuit's Probate Case Manager at [email protected], with the full case number, rather than to the judge's office.

Many probate hearings are held remotely by Zoom. The Eighth Judicial Circuit conducts many probate hearings by Zoom, with no in-person appearance; your court notice states whether an event is in person or remote. Review the circuit's Zoom guidelines at circuit8.org/zoom-guidelines before your hearing, and do not go to the Starke courthouse for an event noticed to occur by Zoom.

The Clerk assists with small-estate disposition and will deposits in Starke. For a disposition of personal property without administration under F.S. 735.301, a limited process for an estate with no real property, the Bradford County Clerk's Probate Division will help an heir or beneficiary complete the petition and will present it to the presiding probate judge; the filing fee is due when the petition is filed. There is no charge to deposit an original will (required within 10 days of learning of the death, F.S. 732.901); the Bradford Clerk asks for a death certificate with the deposit and issues a receipt plus one courtesy certified copy of the will.

Florida makes counsel the norm in probate. Under Fla. Prob. R. 5.030, the personal representative must be represented by a Florida-licensed attorney unless the personal representative remains the sole interested person, or is the only beneficiary with no other interested persons, or is a Florida-licensed attorney. Because most Bradford estates have more than one interested person, most formal and summary administrations here are handled through counsel, who also e-files through the statewide portal and uses the Eighth Circuit's probate checklists. Consider an attorney early when the estate holds real property that must be sold, when a will contest or heir dispute is likely, when the estate is insolvent or creditors are pressing, or when the estate includes a business interest or out-of-state property. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Florida probate attorney serving Bradford County and the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit-union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Bradford County real estate, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Florida path fits before you file.

Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the petition and supporting paperwork for your estate settlement path, ready to file with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Starke through the statewide e-filing portal or on paper.

Find a local probate attorney. Because Fla. Prob. R. 5.030 requires a Florida-licensed attorney in most administrations, Sunset connects families to a vetted Florida probate attorney serving Bradford County and the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).