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Hendry County, FL Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Circuit Court, Twentieth Judicial Circuit, Hendry County; probate is a division of the Circuit Court, not a separate court |
| Filing office | Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller (Kimberley Barrineau), Probate and Guardianship Department |
| Courthouse | 25 East Hickpochee Avenue, LaBelle, FL 33935 |
| Clewiston Sub-Office | 1100 South Olympia Street, Suite 502, Clewiston, FL 33440; a second Clerk office, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and closed for lunch from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.; call ahead to confirm which filings the Clewiston counter can take |
| Mailing address | Hendry County Clerk of the Circuit Court, P.O. Box 1760, LaBelle, FL 33975 |
| Phone | (863) 675-5217 (LaBelle courthouse; all Clerk departments, including the Probate and Guardianship Department); (863) 983-1586 or (863) 983-1464 (Clewiston Sub-Office) |
| Office hours | Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; closed weekends and legal holidays; the Clewiston Sub-Office also closes for lunch from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. |
| Filing fee | Set by statute under F.S. 28.2401: the Clerk's service charge is $395 for formal administration and $340 for summary administration of an estate of $1,000 or more, plus a $4 additional charge on the petition (statutory figures verified July 2026). Counties add mandatory statutory charges on top of the base; the Clerk publishes no fee schedule online and directs filers to the Schedule of Service Charges available in the Clerk's office, so confirm the current total before filing. |
| Local probate forms | No local packet. The Clerk publishes no local probate form set, and Florida publishes no statewide self-help probate form set; the Clerk's Probate Division does provide the disposition of personal property without administration form on request. Formal and summary administration filings are petitions prepared under the Florida Probate Rules, in most cases by an attorney |
| E-filing | Through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com); mandatory for attorneys, optional for self-represented filers, who may also file on paper at the Clerk's counter in LaBelle or by mail |
| Online case search | Statewide CiviTek Online Court Records Search for Hendry County (county 26), with a public anonymous access option |
| Remote appearance | The Twentieth Judicial Circuit authorizes remote appearances by administrative order; whether a given Hendry hearing is held by Zoom or in person follows the assigned judge's published procedures on the circuit site (ca.cjis20.org) |
| Website | https://www.hendryclerk.org |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Hendry 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 LaBelle, Clewiston, or rural Hendry 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.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Twentieth Judicial Circuit serves Hendry County together with Charlotte, Collier, Glades, and Lee counties. Within Hendry, the court covers the whole county, including LaBelle (the county seat), Clewiston, Port LaBelle, Felda, Harlem, Montura, Pioneer Plantation, and the surrounding agricultural communities. Hendry probate matters are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the courthouse at 25 East Hickpochee Avenue in LaBelle; the Clerk also operates a sub-office in Clewiston at 1100 South Olympia Street. There is no separate probate court; probate is heard on the Circuit Court's general docket before an assigned judge at the LaBelle courthouse.
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, the estate of a Hendry County resident, or one holding Hendry County real property, is filed here.
The jurisdiction process
- Gather the documents. Collect the original signed will (if any), a certified copy of the death certificate, the proposed personal representative's contact information and photo ID, the names and addresses of the beneficiaries and other interested persons, and a list of the assets and debts with values.
- Choose the path based on the estate. Depending on whether there is a will and on the value and type of assets, the route may be formal administration (F.S. Chapter 733), summary administration (F.S. 735.201), or disposition of personal property without administration (F.S. 735.301). The governing thresholds are statewide and are on the Florida state page.
- Confirm whether an attorney is required. Under Florida Probate Rule 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 administrations involve more than one interested person, most Hendry estates are filed through counsel.
- Prepare the petition. For a formal or summary administration, prepare the petition and supporting documents under the Florida Probate Rules (Fla. Prob. R. 5.010 to 5.530). Florida publishes no statewide self-help probate form set and Hendry has no local packet, so in most cases an attorney prepares and files the papers; the Clerk's Probate Division provides the disposition of personal property without administration form on request.
- File with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Attorneys must e-file through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com). A self-represented filer may register and e-file through the portal, file on paper at the Clerk's counter at 25 East Hickpochee Avenue in LaBelle, or mail the papers to P.O. Box 1760, LaBelle, FL 33975; the Clerk also operates a Clewiston Sub-Office at 1100 South Olympia Street, so call (863) 675-5217 to confirm whether a particular filing can be taken there. The original will is deposited on paper with the Clerk; the custodian of a will must deposit it within 10 days of learning of the death (F.S. 732.901).
- Pay the filing fee. The Clerk's service charge under F.S. 28.2401 is $395 for formal administration and $340 for summary administration of an estate of $1,000 or more, plus a $4 additional charge on the petition; counties add mandatory statutory charges on top of the base, so confirm the current total with the Clerk (verified July 2026).
- Give notice and publish. The personal representative serves notice on interested persons and publishes a notice to creditors, which opens the creditor-claim period. A creditor must file its claim by the later of 3 months after first publication or 30 days after being served (F.S. 733.702), and in all events within 2 years of death (F.S. 733.710).
- Attend the hearing if one is set. The petition is presented to an assigned Twentieth Judicial Circuit judge at the LaBelle courthouse. The Twentieth Circuit authorizes remote appearances by administrative order; follow the assigned judge's published procedures at ca.cjis20.org on scheduling and on whether a hearing is held by Zoom or in person.
- Receive the authority document. On appointment the court issues Letters of Administration, the proof of the personal representative's authority to act, in every case, whether or not there is a will. In a summary administration the court instead enters an order distributing the assets and no personal representative is appointed. Request enough certified copies for the banks and institutions involved.
- Administer and close. Inventory the assets, pay valid claims in statutory priority, obtain court authority where required to sell Hendry County real property, account to the interested persons, distribute the remaining assets, and close the estate.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Hendry County
Hendry County publishes no local probate form packet of its own, and Florida publishes no statewide self-help probate form set: formal and summary administration filings are petitions prepared under the Florida Probate Rules (Fla. Prob. R. 5.010 to 5.530), and Florida Courts Help states that it does not provide probate forms. The Clerk's Probate Division does provide the disposition of personal property without administration form on request, the one probate matter a person can often handle without counsel. Because Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires a Florida-licensed attorney in most administrations, most estates do not self-file a probate packet: the attorney prepares the petition and files it through the statewide portal. The original will is not e-filed; the custodian of a will must deposit the original with the Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death (F.S. 732.901). For questions about local intake, filing in person versus by mail, or whether the Clewiston Sub-Office can take a particular filing, call the Clerk of the Circuit Court at (863) 675-5217.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Florida Courts Help, probate (flcourts.gov) | The judiciary's probate self-help page; it explains that no statewide probate forms are provided and points to the Florida Probate Code and local resources |
| Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com) | The statewide portal for filing probate documents; mandatory for attorneys, optional for self-represented filers |
| Hendry County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate | Local intake questions, the disposition without administration form, filing in person or by mail, and the probate and guardianship contact |
Local nuance
Hendry County-specific considerations
The Clerk operates a second office in Clewiston. Besides the courthouse at 25 East Hickpochee Avenue in LaBelle, the Clerk of the Circuit Court runs a Clewiston Sub-Office at 1100 South Olympia Street, Suite 502, Clewiston, reached at (863) 983-1586 or (863) 983-1464. The sub-office keeps the same 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. hours but closes for lunch from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. The Clerk does not publish which court filings the Clewiston counter takes, so call ahead before making the trip; probate questions go to the Clerk's main line, (863) 675-5217, which reaches every department, including Probate and Guardianship. Attorneys e-file through the statewide portal; a self-represented filer may e-file, file at the LaBelle counter, or mail the papers to P.O. Box 1760, LaBelle, FL 33975.
The circuit provides no probate case management for Hendry. The Twentieth Judicial Circuit publishes mandatory probate checklists for Lee County, where a proposed order filed without the required checklist is deleted. That requirement does not apply in Hendry: the circuit's probate page states that no case management is provided for Hendry County and directs filers to the Hendry Clerk of Court. There is no Hendry-specific checklist to file, so follow the Clerk's intake and the Florida Probate Rules.
Remote appearance follows the assigned judge. The Twentieth Judicial Circuit authorizes remote appearances by administrative order, but there is no blanket rule that every Hendry hearing is held by Zoom. Hearing procedures are set judge by judge in the Twentieth Circuit, so whether a hearing is held remotely or in person follows the assigned judge's published procedures at ca.cjis20.org. Confirm the format with the judge's judicial assistant when a hearing is set.
Case search runs through the statewide CiviTek system. Hendry County does not run its own docket portal. Court records are searched through the statewide CiviTek Online Court Records Search for Hendry County (county 26), which offers a public anonymous access option. To confirm a filing you can also call the Clerk's office.
Recent updates
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Hendry County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the LaBelle, Clewiston, or rural Hendry County home was the decedent's homestead, Florida homestead protections usually let it pass to the surviving spouse outside the probate estate, often confirmed by a petition to determine homestead status filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. If other assets must be administered, the spouse (through counsel, unless she is the sole interested person under Florida Probate Rule 5.030) files a summary or formal administration and is issued Letters of Administration. | Asset discovery to confirm how title is held and what else is in the estate. Packet generation for the qualifying paperwork. A vetted attorney referral where Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires counsel. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | A smaller estate that meets the statewide threshold can proceed by summary administration under F.S. 735.201, which appoints no personal representative and ends in an order distributing the assets; a very limited estate with no real property may qualify for disposition of personal property without administration (F.S. 735.301), for which the Clerk provides a form. Both are filed with the Hendry Clerk, and an out-of-state filer can work with Florida counsel through the statewide e-filing portal without repeated trips to LaBelle. | Asset discovery to confirm the estate qualifies and to locate accounts from out of state. Packet generation for the petition, prepared in advance so an out-of-state filer can proceed largely remotely. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Because the estate holds real property that must be sold, it generally proceeds through formal administration under F.S. Chapter 733: the parent, represented by counsel under Florida Probate Rule 5.030, petitions the Clerk of the Circuit Court, is appointed personal representative, receives Letters of Administration, obtains court authority where required, and can then sell the Hendry County home and distribute the proceeds. The matter is heard before an assigned judge at the LaBelle courthouse. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts and property. Packet generation for the formal administration filing. Attorney referral, and help if the sale or an heir dispute turns contested. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Hendry County Clerk of the Circuit Court, (863) 675-5217 (hendryclerk.org) | The filing office for probate; local intake questions, filing by mail or in person, hours, case search, and the Probate and Guardianship Department |
| Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida (ca.cjis20.org) | Court administration for Hendry County, judicial assignments and procedures, the circuit probate page, and the administrative orders on remote hearings |
| Florida Courts Help, probate (flcourts.gov/Courts-System/florida-courts-help/other-resources/probate) | The judiciary's probate self-help page, with plain-language information on the probate process |
| Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com) | Registration and self-help for e-filing probate documents, the option available to self-represented filers |
| Florida Rural Legal Services, (239) 334-4554 (frls.org) | Free civil legal help for income-eligible Hendry County residents; Hendry is one of the 13 counties in its service area, served from the Fort Myers office |
| The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service, (800) 342-8011 (floridabar.org) | Statewide referrals to Florida-licensed probate attorneys, plus the consumer pamphlet Probate in Florida |
When to hire an attorney
Florida makes counsel the norm in probate. Under Florida Probate Rule 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 Hendry 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 Hendry County and the Twentieth Judicial Circuit.
How Sunset helps
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, Hendry 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 LaBelle through the statewide e-filing portal or on paper.
Find a local probate attorney. Because Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires a Florida-licensed attorney in most administrations, Sunset connects families to a vetted Florida probate attorney serving Hendry County and the Twentieth 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).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file for probate in Hendry County?
With the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the Hendry County courthouse, 25 East Hickpochee Avenue, LaBelle, FL 33935; mail goes to P.O. Box 1760, LaBelle, FL 33975. Hendry is in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit. Florida has no separate probate court; probate is a division of the Circuit Court.
Does the Clerk have an office in Clewiston for Hendry County filings?
Yes. The Clerk of the Circuit Court operates a Clewiston Sub-Office at 1100 South Olympia Street, Suite 502, Clewiston, FL 33440, open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and closed for lunch from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.; it is reached at (863) 983-1586 or (863) 983-1464. The Clerk does not publish which court filings the Clewiston counter takes, so call ahead before making the trip; probate questions go to the main Clerk line at (863) 675-5217.
Do I have to e-file probate in Hendry County?
Attorneys must e-file through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com. A self-represented filer may register and e-file through the same portal, file on paper at the Clerk's counter in LaBelle, or mail the papers to the Clerk's post office box.
Do I need an attorney for probate in Hendry County?
Usually yes. Under Florida Probate Rule 5.030, the personal representative must be represented by a Florida-licensed attorney unless the personal representative is the sole interested person (or the only beneficiary with no other interested persons), or is a Florida-licensed attorney. Because most estates have more than one interested person, most Hendry administrations are handled through counsel.
Can I appear remotely for a Hendry County probate hearing?
Sometimes. The Twentieth Judicial Circuit authorizes remote appearances by administrative order, but hearing procedures are set judge by judge. Whether a hearing is held by Zoom or in person follows the assigned judge's published procedures at ca.cjis20.org, so confirm the format with the judge's judicial assistant when a hearing is set.
Can I look up a Hendry County probate case online?
Yes. Court records are searched through the statewide CiviTek Online Court Records Search for Hendry County (county 26), which offers a public anonymous access option. To confirm a filing you can also call the Clerk of the Circuit Court at (863) 675-5217.
What forms do I need for probate in Hendry County?
Hendry County publishes no local probate form packet, and Florida publishes no statewide self-help probate form set. Formal and summary administration filings are petitions prepared under the Florida Probate Rules, and in most cases an attorney prepares the petition. The Clerk's Probate Division does provide the disposition of personal property without administration form on request.
What does it cost to file probate in Hendry County?
The Clerk's service charge under F.S. 28.2401 is $395 for formal administration and $340 for summary administration of an estate of $1,000 or more, plus a $4 additional charge on the petition (statutory figures verified July 2026). Counties add mandatory statutory charges on top of the base, so confirm the current total with the Clerk at (863) 675-5217 before filing.
Do I have to travel to LaBelle to settle an estate in Hendry County?
Not always. Attorneys and self-represented filers can file through the statewide e-filing portal, papers can be mailed to the Clerk at P.O. Box 1760, LaBelle, FL 33975, and the Clerk operates a Clewiston Sub-Office (call ahead to confirm the service you need is available there). Where a hearing is required, the assigned judge's published procedures govern whether an appearance can be made by Zoom.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.