SESSION WATCH
THE BILL ITSELF

CS/SB 1500

Estates

VERSION S 1500 c1 · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 1500 By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Bradley 597-02500-26 20261500c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to estates; amending ss. 655.933 and
3 655.936, F.S.; revising the responsibilities a lessor
4 of a safe-deposit box has to certain persons; amending
5 s. 733.603, F.S.; revising the issues a court may
6 resolve for a personal representative; amending s.
7 733.612, F.S.; revising the list of transactions a
8 personal representative may make if acting reasonably
9 for the benefit of certain persons; creating s.
10 733.6125, F.S.; requiring the court to award taxable
11 costs and attorney fees in certain proceedings;
12 authorizing the court to direct such payment from
13 certain persons; providing that such payment may be
14 satisfied from certain property; amending s. 733.6171,
15 F.S.; revising what constitutes an extraordinary
16 service of an attorney; making technical changes;
17 amending s. 735.201, F.S.; revising when summary
18 administration proceedings may commence for either a
19 resident or nonresident decedent’s estate; amending s.
20 735.302, F.S.; revising the sum at which an
21 overpayment of taxes by a decedent may be refunded by
22 the United States Treasury Department; amending s.
23 735.303, F.S.; revising the sum for funds certain
24 financial institutions may make payable to a
25 decedent’s family member; conforming provisions to
26 changes made by the act; amending s. 735.304, F.S.;
27 revising the prohibition against certain proceedings
28 for a decedent when he or she dies intestate and
29 leaves only certain personal property worth a
30 specified sum; reenacting s. 655.937(1)(b), F.S.,
31 relating to access to safe-deposit boxes leased in two
32 or more names, to incorporate the amendment made to s.
33 655.933, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting s.
34 734.101(4), F.S., relating to foreign personal
35 representatives, to incorporate the amendment made to
36 s. 655.936, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting
37 s. 733.106(4), F.S., relating to costs and attorney
38 fees, to incorporate the amendment made to s.
39 733.6171, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an
40 effective date.
42 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
44 Section 1. Section 655.933, Florida Statutes, is amended to
45 read:
46 655.933 Access by fiduciaries.—If a safe-deposit box is
47 made available by a lessor to one or more persons acting as
48 fiduciaries, the lessor may , except as otherwise expressly
49 provided in the lease or the writings pursuant to which such
50 fiduciaries are acting , allow access thereto as follows :
51 (1) Must allow access to the safe-deposit box by any one or
52 more of the persons acting as personal representatives who
53 present the lessor with a copy of the letters of administration;
54 and .
55 (2) May allow access to the safe-deposit box by :
56 (a) Any one or more of the persons otherwise acting as
57 fiduciaries if authorized in writing, which writing is signed by
58 all other persons so acting ; or .
59 (b) (3) By Any agent authorized in writing, which writing is
60 signed by all persons acting as fiduciaries.
61 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 655.936, Florida
62 Statutes, is amended to read:
63 655.936 Delivery of safe-deposit box contents or property
64 held in safekeeping to personal representative.—
65 (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3), the lessor
66 shall :
67 (a) Immediately deliver to a personal representative
68 appointed by a court in this state, upon presentation of a
69 certified copy of his or her letters of authority, all property
70 deposited with it by the decedent for safekeeping ; , and shall
71 (b) Grant the personal representative access to any safe
72 deposit box in the decedent’s name and allow permit him or her
73 to remove from such box any part or all of the contents thereof ;
74 and
75 (c) Allow the personal representative or the personal
76 representative’s attorney to pay the accumulated charges and
77 terminate the lease .
78 Section 3. Section 733.603, Florida Statutes, is amended to
79 read:
80 733.603 Personal representative to proceed without court
81 order.—A personal representative shall proceed expeditiously
82 with the settlement and distribution of a decedent’s estate and,
83 except as otherwise specified by this code or ordered by the
84 court, shall do so without adjudication, order, or direction of
85 the court. A personal representative may invoke the jurisdiction
86 of the court to resolve questions concerning the estate or its
87 administration or to enforce the authority of a personal
88 representative conferred by this code .
89 Section 4. Subsection (28) is added to section 733.612,
90 Florida Statutes, to read:
91 733.612 Transactions authorized for the personal
92 representative; exceptions.—Except as otherwise provided by the
93 will or court order, and subject to the priorities stated in s.
94 733.805, without court order, a personal representative, acting
95 reasonably for the benefit of the interested persons, may
96 properly:
97 (28) Institute a proceeding to enforce his or her authority
98 as personal representative as conferred by this code.
99 Section 5. Section 733.6125, Florida Statutes, is created
100 to read:
101 733.6125 Proceedings to enforce authority.—In any
102 proceeding to enforce the authority of a personal representative
103 as conferred by this code, the court shall award to a prevailing
104 personal representative taxable costs as in chancery actions,
105 including attorney fees. When awarding taxable costs and
106 attorney fees under this section, the court may direct payment
107 from any person whose action or inaction necessitated the
108 enforcement proceeding or from any person having an interest in
109 the estate and may enter a judgment that may be satisfied from
110 other property.
111 Section 6. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) and subsection
112 (6) of section 733.6171, Florida Statutes, are amended, and
113 paragraph (l) is added to subsection (4) of that section, to
114 read:
115 733.6171 Compensation of attorney for the personal
116 representative.—
117 (2)
118 (b) An attorney representing a personal representative in
119 an estate administration who intends to charge a fee based upon
120 the schedule set forth in subsection (3) shall make the
121 following disclosures in writing to the personal representative:
122 1. There is not a mandatory statutory attorney fee for
123 estate administration.
124 2. The attorney fee is not required to be based on the size
125 of the estate, and the presumed reasonable fee provided in
126 subsection (3) may not be appropriate in all estate
127 administrations.
128 3. The fee is subject to negotiation between the personal
129 representative and the attorney.
130 4. The selection of the attorney is made at the discretion
131 of the personal representative, who is not required to select
132 the attorney who prepared the will.
133 5. The personal representative is shall be entitled to a
134 summary of ordinary and extraordinary services rendered for the
135 fees agreed upon at the conclusion of the representation. The
136 summary must shall be provided by counsel and must shall consist
137 of the total hours devoted to the representation or a detailed
138 summary of the services performed during the representation.
139 (4) Subject to subsection (2), in addition to fees for
140 ordinary services, the attorney for the personal representative
141 shall be allowed further reasonable compensation for any
142 extraordinary service. What is an extraordinary service may vary
143 depending on many factors, including the size and complexity of
144 the estate. Extraordinary services may include, but are not
145 limited to:
146 (l) Involvement in any proceeding to enforce the authority
147 of a personal representative as conferred by this code.
148 (6) If a separate written agreement regarding compensation
149 exists between the attorney and the decedent, the attorney must
150 shall furnish a copy to the personal representative before prior
151 to commencement of employment, and, if employed, must shall
152 promptly file and serve a copy on all interested persons. A
153 separate agreement or a provision in the will suggesting or
154 directing that the personal representative retain a specific
155 attorney does not obligate the personal representative to employ
156 the attorney or obligate the attorney to accept the
157 representation, but if the attorney who is a party to the
158 agreement or who drafted the will is employed, the compensation
159 paid may shall not exceed the compensation provided in the
160 agreement or in the will.
161 Section 7. Subsection (2) of section 735.201, Florida
162 Statutes, is amended to read:
163 735.201 Summary administration; nature of proceedings.
164 Summary administration may be had in the administration of
165 either a resident or nonresident decedent’s estate, when it
166 appears:
167 (2) That the value of the entire estate subject to
168 administration in this state, less the value of property exempt
169 from the claims of creditors, does not exceed $150,000 $75,000
170 or that the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years.
171 Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 735.302, Florida
172 Statutes, is amended to read:
173 735.302 Income tax refunds in certain cases.—
174 (1) In any case when the United States Treasury Department
175 determines that an overpayment of federal income tax exists and
176 the person in whose favor the overpayment is determined is dead
177 at the time the overpayment of tax is to be refunded, and
178 notwithstanding irrespective of whether the decedent had filed a
179 joint and several or separate income tax return, the amount of
180 the overpayment, if not in excess of $5,000 $2,500 , may be
181 refunded as follows:
182 (a) Directly to the surviving spouse on his or her verified
183 application; or
184 (b) If there is no surviving spouse, to one of the
185 decedent’s children who is designated in a verified application
186 purporting to be executed by all of the decedent’s children over
187 the age of 14 years.
189 In either event, the application must show that the decedent was
190 not indebted, that provision has been made for the payment of
191 the decedent’s debts, or that the entire estate is exempt from
192 the claims of creditors under the constitution and statutes of
193 the state, and that no administration of the estate, including
194 summary administration, has been initiated and that none is
195 planned, to the knowledge of the applicant.
196 Section 9. Subsection (2), paragraph (c) of subsection (3),
197 and subsection (4) of section 735.303, Florida Statutes, are
198 amended to read:
199 735.303 Payment to successor without court proceedings.—
200 (2) A financial institution in this state may pay to the
201 family member of a decedent, without any court proceeding,
202 order, or judgment, the funds on deposit in all qualified
203 accounts of the decedent at the financial institution if the
204 total amount of the combined funds in the qualified accounts at
205 the financial institution do not exceed an aggregate total of
206 $2,000 $1,000 . The financial institution may not make such
207 payment earlier than 6 months after the date of the decedent’s
208 death.
209 (3) In order to receive the funds described in subsection
210 (2), the family member must provide to the financial institution
211 a certified copy of the decedent’s death certificate and a sworn
212 affidavit that includes all of the following:
213 (c) A statement attesting that the total amount in all
214 qualified accounts held by the decedent in all financial
215 institutions known to the affiant does not exceed an aggregate
216 total of $2,000 $1,000 .
217 (4) The family member may use an affidavit in substantially
218 the following form to fulfill the requirements of subsection
219 (3):
221 AFFIDAVIT UNDER
222 SECTION 735.303, FLORIDA STATUTES,
223 TO OBTAIN BANK PROPERTY OF DECEASED
224 ACCOUNT HOLDER: ...(Name of decedent)...
225 State of ............
226 County of ............
228 Before the undersigned authority personally appeared ...(name of
229 affiant)..., of ...(residential address of affiant)..., who has
230 been sworn and says the following statements are true:
231 (a) The affiant is (initial one of the following
232 responses):
233 .... The surviving spouse of the decedent.
234 .... A surviving adult child of the decedent, and the
235 decedent left no surviving spouse.
236 .... A surviving adult descendant of the decedent, and the
237 decedent left no surviving spouse and no surviving adult child.
238 .... A surviving parent of the decedent, and the decedent
239 left no surviving spouse, no surviving adult child, and no
240 surviving adult descendant.
241 (b) As shown in the certified death certificate, the date
242 of death of the decedent was ...(date of death)..., and the
243 address of the decedent’s last residence was ...(address of last
244 residence)....
245 (c) The affiant is entitled to payment of the funds in the
246 decedent’s depository accounts and certificates of deposit held
247 by the financial institution ...(name of financial
248 institution).... The total amount in all qualified accounts held
249 by the decedent in all financial institutions known to the
250 affiant does not exceed an aggregate total of $2,000 $1,000 . The
251 affiant requests full payment from the financial institution.
252 (d) A personal representative has not been appointed to
253 administer the decedent’s estate, and no probate proceeding or
254 summary administration procedure has been commenced with respect
255 to the estate.
256 (e) The affiant has no knowledge of any last will and
257 testament or other document or agreement relating to the
258 distribution of the decedent’s estate.
259 (f) The payment of the funds constitutes a full release and
260 discharge of the financial institution regarding the amount
261 paid.
262 (g) The affiant understands that he or she is personally
263 liable to the creditors of the decedent and other persons
264 rightfully entitled to the funds under the Florida Probate Code,
265 to the extent the amount paid exceeds the amount properly
266 attributable to the affiant’s share.
267 (h) The affiant understands that making a false statement
268 in this affidavit may be punishable as a criminal offense.
270 By ...(signature of affiant)...
272 Sworn to and subscribed before me this .... day of
273 .... by ...(name of affiant)..., who is personally
274 known to me or produced .... as identification, and
275 did take an oath.
277 ...(Signature of Notary Public - State of Florida)...
278 ...(Print, Type, or Stamp Commissioned Name of Notary
279 Public)...
280 My commission expires: ...(date of expiration of
281 commission)...
283 Section 10. Subsection (1) of section 735.304, Florida
284 Statutes, is amended to read:
285 735.304 Disposition without administration of intestate
286 property in small estates.—
287 (1) No Administration is not shall be required and or
288 formal proceedings may not be instituted upon the estate of a
289 decedent who has died intestate leaving only personal property
290 exempt under the provisions of s. 732.402, personal property
291 exempt from the claims of creditors under the State
292 Constitution, and nonexempt personal property the value of which
293 does not exceed the sum of $20,000 $10,000 and the amount of
294 preferred funeral expenses and reasonable and necessary medical
295 and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness,
296 provided the decedent has been deceased for more than 1 year and
297 no administration of the decedent’s estate is pending in this
298 state.
299 Section 11. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
300 made by this act to section 655.933, Florida Statutes, in a
301 reference thereto, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
302 655.937, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
303 655.937 Access to safe-deposit boxes leased in two or more
304 names.—
305 (1) Unless specifically provided in the lease or rental
306 agreement to the contrary, if a safe-deposit box is rented or
307 leased in the names of two or more lessees, access to the safe
308 deposit box will be granted to:
309 (b) Subject to s. 655.933, those persons named in s.
310 655.933.
311 Section 12. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
312 made by this act to section 655.936, Florida Statutes, in a
313 reference thereto, subsection (4) of section 734.101, Florida
314 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
315 734.101 Foreign personal representative.—
316 (4) Except as provided in s. 655.936, all persons indebted
317 to the estate of a decedent, or having possession of personal
318 property belonging to the estate, who have received no written
319 demand from a personal representative or curator appointed in
320 this state for payment of the debt or the delivery of the
321 property are authorized to pay the debt or to deliver the
322 personal property to the foreign personal representative after
323 the expiration of 90 days from the date of appointment of the
324 foreign personal representative.
325 Section 13. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
326 made by this act to section 733.6171, Florida Statutes, in a
327 reference thereto, subsection (4) of section 733.106, Florida
328 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
329 733.106 Costs and attorney fees.—
330 (4) If costs and attorney fees are to be paid from the
331 estate under this section, s. 733.6171(4), s. 736.1005, or s.
332 736.1006, the court, in its discretion, may direct from what
333 part of the estate they shall be paid.
334 (a) If the court directs an assessment against a person’s
335 part of the estate and such part is insufficient to fully pay
336 the assessment, the court may direct payment from the person’s
337 part of a trust, if any, if a pour-over will is involved and the
338 matter is interrelated with the trust.
339 (b) All or any part of the costs and attorney fees to be
340 paid from the estate may be assessed against one or more
341 persons’ part of the estate in such proportions as the court
342 finds to be just and proper.
343 (c) In the exercise of its discretion, the court may
344 consider the following factors:
345 1. The relative impact of an assessment on the estimated
346 value of each person’s part of the estate.
347 2. The amount of costs and attorney fees to be assessed
348 against a person’s part of the estate.
349 3. The extent to which a person whose part of the estate is
350 to be assessed, individually or through counsel, actively
351 participated in the proceeding.
352 4. The potential benefit or detriment to a person’s part of
353 the estate expected from the outcome of the proceeding.
354 5. The relative strength or weakness of the merits of the
355 claims, defenses, or objections, if any, asserted by a person
356 whose part of the estate is to be assessed.
357 6. Whether a person whose part of the estate is to be
358 assessed was a prevailing party with respect to one or more
359 claims, defenses, or objections.
360 7. Whether a person whose part of the estate is to be
361 assessed unjustly caused an increase in the amount of costs and
362 attorney fees incurred by the personal representative or another
363 interested person in connection with the proceeding.
364 8. Any other relevant fact, circumstance, or equity.
365 (d) The court may assess a person’s part of the estate
366 without finding that the person engaged in bad faith,
367 wrongdoing, or frivolousness.
368 Section 14. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.