Florida's summary administration threshold has been $75,000 since 2002. A lot has happened in Central Florida real estate in the twenty-three years since. Families who owned a modest home, a car, and a bank account often found themselves above the threshold for the simplified probate process — paying full formal administration costs for estates that did not require that level of oversight. CS/SB 1500 ends that mismatch. Effective July 1, 2026, the summary administration threshold doubles to $150,000, and several related provisions are updated to match.
The New $150,000 Threshold
Under Florida Statute § 735.201, as amended by CS/SB 1500, summary administration is available when the value of the estate's non-exempt assets does not exceed $150,000 — up from $75,000 — for decedents dying on or after July 1, 2026. The measurement excludes the value of Florida homestead property, which passes outside probate under its own constitutional and statutory rules regardless of value.
Summary administration is the simplified probate track: no personal representative is appointed, and the court issues an Order of Summary Administration directing each asset holder to release the asset directly to the named beneficiaries. Most uncontested summary administrations in Orange County close in four to eight weeks from the date of filing — compared to six to twelve months for formal administration.
What Else Changed
The same legislation also doubles the amount a family member can obtain from a decedent's financial-institution account by affidavit — without opening any estate at all — from $1,000 to $2,000. The affidavit procedure is used when a decedent leaves a single small account and opening any form of probate would cost more than the account is worth. It is a modest number, but it covers the situations it was designed for.
CS/SB 1500 also adds new enforcement provisions for personal representatives facing institutional stonewalling — creating Florida Statute § 733.6125, which authorizes court proceedings against financial institutions that refuse to honor valid letters of administration and shifts attorney's fees to the institution if the refusal was unjustified. And it amends § 655.933 to require financial institutions to grant safe-deposit-box access to personal representatives upon presentation of letters.
The Vote and the Signal
CS/SB 1500 passed the Florida Senate 37-0 and the Florida House 110-0. When a probate reform bill clears Tallahassee with no dissenting votes in either chamber, it reflects a consistent message from attorneys, judges, and families across the state: the prior thresholds were outdated, the process was cumbersome for ordinary estates, and the mismatch between statutory limits and real-world asset values was imposing unnecessary costs on grieving families.
Who Is Affected — and When
The new threshold applies only to decedents who die on or after July 1, 2026. If your loved one has already passed and an estate is pending, the old $75,000 limit still governs that proceeding. For estates opened after the effective date, the doubled threshold means a meaningful number of families in Orange County and the surrounding circuits will qualify for the faster, less expensive summary administration path — particularly those whose primary asset is a home that qualifies as Florida homestead and is therefore excluded from the calculation.
If you are unsure whether an estate currently qualifies for summary administration, or whether it will qualify under the new rules, that question is worth asking before July 1.
