Flagler County, FL Probate Information

Before you file anything in Flagler 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 Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, or other Flagler 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 Seventh Judicial Circuit serves Flagler County along with Putnam, St. Johns, and Volusia counties. Within Flagler, the court covers the whole county, including Palm Coast (the largest city), Bunnell (the county seat), Flagler Beach, Beverly Beach, Marineland, and the surrounding unincorporated communities such as the Hammock and Espanola. Flagler probate matters are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Building 1, in Bunnell.

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 Flagler County for a decedent who lived here. There is no separate probate department; probate is a division of the Circuit Court, heard by the circuit judges assigned to Flagler County.

Flagler runs its own online case search. Unlike the smaller counties that use the statewide CiviTek system, Flagler County runs its own Benchmark case search at cases.flaglerclerk.gov, which covers probate cases along with civil and criminal matters. The public can view court records online under Florida Supreme Court order AOSC 15-18; viewing additional case documents requires submitting the Clerk's notarized registered-user agreement. To confirm a filing you can also call the Clerk's Probate Department at (386) 313-4497.

The Clerk posts its own probate packets and fee schedule. Most Florida counties of Flagler's size publish neither. The Flagler Clerk's forms page posts summary administration packets (testate and intestate), a disposition of personal property without administration form, a deposit-of-will form, and a statement-of-claim form, and the Clerk publishes a full filing-fee schedule with the probate totals, so a family can see the exact charge before filing. Formal administration remains attorney-prepared under Fla. Prob. R. 5.030.

A direct probate line at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center. Flagler probate is handled by the Clerk's Probate Department at the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Building 1, in Bunnell. The department has its own direct line, (386) 313-4497, separate from the Clerk's main number, (386) 313-4400. The Clerk routes email through an online contact form rather than a published probate inbox, and mail goes to the street address; the Clerk publishes no P.O. Box.

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 Flagler 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. 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 Flagler County and the Seventh 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, Flagler County real estate, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and which Florida estate settlement path fits before you file.

Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the petition and supporting paperwork for your path, ready to file with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Bunnell 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 Flagler County and the Seventh 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).