Putnam County, FL Probate Information

Before you file anything in Putnam 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 Palatka, Interlachen, Crescent City, or riverfront Putnam 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 Putnam County along with Flagler, St. Johns, and Volusia counties. Within Putnam, the court covers the whole county, including Palatka (the county seat), Crescent City, Interlachen, Pomona Park, Welaka, and the surrounding unincorporated communities such as East Palatka, San Mateo, Satsuma, Florahome, and Melrose. Putnam probate matters are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court and heard at the Putnam County Courthouse, 410 St. Johns Avenue, Palatka, in the county's own probate and guardianship division, Division 51.

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 Putnam County for a decedent who lived here.

Probate has its own division with published procedures. Putnam probate and guardianship cases are assigned to Division 51, and the Seventh Judicial Circuit publishes the division's procedures on the assigned judge's page at circuit7.org. Under those procedures, hearings are noticed as in person at the Putnam County Courthouse, 410 St. Johns Avenue, Courtroom 305; a party who wants to appear remotely must file a motion showing cause and submit a proposed order, and evidentiary hearings are held in person. Proposed orders go by email, in Word format, to [email protected], and hearing time is requested by email to the judicial assistant, Jennifer Sirman, at [email protected] (phone (386) 313-4515), stating how much time is needed. A self-represented filer must complete the designation of email address form posted with the procedures on the judge's page and available from the Clerk.

Filing and hearings happen at different Palatka addresses. Hearings are held at the Putnam County Courthouse at 410 St. Johns Avenue, but the Clerk's locations directory places court intake, payments, records, and recording at the Customer Service Center in the Tim Smith Building, 107 North 6th Street, a few blocks away. Mail goes to P.O. Box 758, Palatka, FL 32178. The Clerk also staffs limited-day satellite offices in Crescent City (115 North Summit Street, Tuesday to Thursday) and Interlachen (1114 State Road 20, Tuesday and Thursday); call (386) 326-7600 to confirm which services each location handles before making the trip.

A published fee schedule and the statewide case search. The Clerk publishes a full fee schedule with a printed effective date of January 1, 2023, so a family can see the exact probate charge before filing. Court records are searched through the statewide CiviTek Online Court Records Search for Putnam County (county 54), which the Clerk's own probate page links; it offers a public anonymous option, online access is governed by Florida Supreme Court order AOSC 16-107, and viewing additional case documents requires the Clerk's notarized registration agreement, submitted to [email protected].

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 Putnam 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 submits proposed orders to Division 51 by email. 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 Putnam 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, Putnam 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 Palatka 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 Putnam 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).