Madison County, FL Probate Information

Before you file anything in Madison 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 Madison or rural Madison 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 Third Judicial Circuit serves Madison County along with Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee, and Taylor counties. Within Madison, the court covers the whole county, including the city of Madison (the county seat), Greenville, Lee, and the surrounding rural communities such as Pinetta, Cherry Lake, and Ellaville. Madison probate matters are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court at the courthouse at 125 SW Range Avenue in Madison, and are heard there on the Circuit Court's general docket. The Third Judicial Circuit publishes judicial assignments for Madison County listing two judges, but no single judge is publicly designated to hear probate, so ask the Clerk or Third Circuit court administration which judge is assigned to your matter.

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 Madison County for a decedent who lived here. There is no separate probate department; probate is heard on the Circuit Court's general docket.

Two judges are assigned, with no designated probate judge. The Third Judicial Circuit publishes judicial assignments for Madison County listing two judges: County Judge E. Bailey Browning, III, whose chambers are at the Madison County courthouse, and Chief Judge Melissa G. Olin, the circuit's chief judge, whose office is in Lake City. No single judge is publicly designated to hear probate, so ask the Clerk at (850) 973-1500 or Third Circuit court administration at (386) 758-2163 which judge is assigned to your matter and how a hearing is scheduled.

File to a post office box or at the counter, and mind the 4:30 close. The Clerk's physical courthouse is 125 SW Range Avenue, Madison, but mail is directed to P.O. Box 237, Madison, FL 32341-0237. The office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern, an earlier close than many Florida clerks, so plan an in-person filing accordingly. Attorneys e-file through the statewide portal; a self-represented filer may e-file, mail the papers to the post office box, or file in person at the counter.

Case search runs through the statewide CiviTek system. Madison County does not run its own separate docket portal for court cases. Court records are searched through the statewide CiviTek Online Court Records Search for Madison County (county 40), which offers a public anonymous access option. To confirm a filing, you can also call the Clerk of the Circuit Court at (850) 973-1500.

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 Madison 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 Madison County and the Third 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, Madison 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 Madison 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 Madison County and the Third 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).