Miami-Dade County, FL Probate Information

The most common Miami-Dade misstep is filing before you know what the estate holds and which administration path fits. Florida has three routes: formal administration (F.S. Chapter 733), summary administration (F.S. 735.201), and disposition of personal property without administration (F.S. 735.301). Which one applies depends on the value and type of the assets, whether the decedent left Florida real property, and how long ago the death occurred; the thresholds are statewide and are covered on the Florida state page. Homestead real property often passes outside the probate estate, so a Miami home can transfer to the family while the estate subject to administration stays small.

Before you file, identify every bank, credit-union, brokerage, and retirement account, life-insurance policy, vehicle, business interest, and parcel of Miami-Dade real estate, along with every debt, and identify each heir and beneficiary by name. Only then can you pick the right path, calculate the correct filing fee, and decide whether counsel is needed. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.

The Eleventh Judicial Circuit serves all of Miami-Dade County, including Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Homestead, Doral, Kendall, and the county's other cities and unincorporated communities. Every Miami-Dade probate is filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Probate Division, now at the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center, 20 NW 1st Avenue, Suite 6.223, Miami, FL 33128. Under Florida's venue rule (F.S. 733.101), administration is proper in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death; if the decedent had no Florida domicile, in any county where the decedent owned property; and otherwise in the county where a debtor of the decedent resides. In practice, the estate of a Miami-Dade resident, or one holding Miami-Dade real property, is filed here.

Miami-Dade runs a dedicated Probate Division. Six circuit judges and two general magistrates hear the division's estate, guardianship, and mental health matters; probate estate cases carry the court type code CP in the case number. A general magistrate may hear and make recommendations on referred matters, while a circuit judge enters the orders. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit is the largest judicial circuit in Florida, and it publishes its own filing procedures, Probate Smart Forms, and checklists for the division.

The probate court has moved. In late 2025 the Probate Division and the Clerk's probate filing counter moved from the 1928 Dade County Courthouse at 73 West Flagler Street to the new Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center at 20 NW 1st Avenue, Suite 6.223 (6th floor), Miami, FL 33128. Paper filings, including original wills, now go to the 6th floor. Older sources still list the Flagler Street address.

Smart Forms are mandatory for proposed orders. The Eleventh Circuit publishes Probate Smart Forms, and under the division's administrative memorandum every litigant submitting a proposed order in an estate or guardianship administration must use the Smart Form when one exists. An order not on a Smart Form must attach a certification that no Smart Form covers the issue, or it may be rejected and have to be resubmitted. Filers also certify that they reviewed the division's probate checklists.

E-filing for attorneys, paper for original wills. Attorneys must e-file through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com); self-represented filers may e-file or file on paper. Original wills and codicils, bonds, commissions, and authenticated copies from other jurisdictions are filed on paper with the Probate Court office, in person or by mail, and the custodian must deposit an original will within 10 days of learning of the death (F.S. 732.901).

A dedicated Probate Division. Six circuit judges and two general magistrates hear the division's estate, guardianship, and mental health matters in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, the largest judicial circuit in Florida. A general magistrate may hear and make recommendations on referred matters, while a circuit judge enters the orders. Probate estate cases carry the court type code CP in the case number.

Many hearings are on Zoom. The Eleventh Circuit publishes virtual court resources by division; non-evidentiary probate hearings are commonly heard by Zoom, while evidentiary and contested matters may be set in person. Follow the assigned judge's published procedures and the online hearing calendar for the date, time, and courtroom.

Look up a case online. The Clerk's Civil, Family and Probate Courts Online System (OCS) at www2.miamidadeclerk.gov/ocs is free and searchable by party name or case number, and it covers probate. Standard search is free; some advanced record access requires registration or a fee.

Florida is an attorney-forward probate state. 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 is a licensed attorney, so most Miami-Dade formal and summary administrations involve counsel. Beyond the rule, counsel makes practical sense when the estate is contested, when Miami-Dade real property must be sold, when the estate is insolvent or its solvency is in doubt, when a business interest or an out-of-state asset complicates administration, or when heirs are in conflict. Disposition of personal property without administration and sole-interested-person matters can proceed without a lawyer. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Miami-Dade probate attorney when the situation calls for counsel.

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, Miami-Dade real estate, business interests, and unclaimed property, so you know the estate's value and can pick the right Florida probate path for estate settlement before you file.

Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the Miami-Dade filing: the petition for administration, the notice of administration and notice to creditors, the inventory, and the supporting documents, formatted for e-filing through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal and the Eleventh Circuit's Probate Smart Forms.

Find a local probate attorney. Because Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires counsel in most administrations, Sunset connects families to a vetted Miami-Dade probate attorney to file and appear.

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).