Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Florida
At a glance
| Governing law and administration type | Probate-rule court filing plus statutory confidentiality and beneficiary rights (Fla. Prob. R. 5.340; Fla. Stat. § 733.604) |
|---|---|
| Who prepares, signs, and verifies | Personal representative prepares and verifies; may employ appraisers or advisers (Rule 5.340(h); § 733.612(19)) |
| Deadline, trigger, and extension | 60 days after letters; extension by petition for cause shown (Rule 5.340(a)-(b)) |
| Court filing or private delivery | File with court and serve spouse, specified heirs/residuaries, and written requesters (Rule 5.340(a), (d)) |
| Property scope, exclusions, and encumbrances | Estate property in reasonable detail; apparent protected homestead listed and designated but not valued (Rule 5.340(a)) |
| Valuation date and method | Estimated fair market value at death for each listed non-homestead item (Rule 5.340(a); § 733.604(1)(a)) |
| Appraiser requirement and qualifications | Representative may employ appraisers; requested explanation or appraisal copy if one was obtained (§§ 733.604(3), 733.612(19)) |
| Recipients, confidentiality, and access | Filed inventory confidential; listed recipients served; beneficiaries have valuation-information rights (§ 733.604; Rule 5.340(d)-(f)) |
| Correction, supplementation, and noncompliance | Verified amendment or supplement for omitted property or erroneous/misleading value or description (§ 733.604(2); Rule 5.340(c)) |
Requirements one by one
Filing, deadline, and protected homestead
Fla. Prob. R. 5.340(a)-(f), (h) sets a 60-day clock from issuance of letters. The inventory is filed with the court and must contain reasonable asset detail, beneficiary-rights notice, and estimated fair market value at death for each listed item other than real property appearing to be protected homestead. Apparent protected homestead is still listed and specifically designated.
An extension requires a petition and cause shown under Rule 5.340(b). Although the extension may be entered without notice, the representative must serve the petition and order on the same recipient classes that receive the inventory.
Verification and appraisers
The personal representative verifies every inventory. Florida does not assign all assets to a standing court appraiser. Fla. Stat. § 733.612(19) instead authorizes the representative to employ appraisers and other advisers to assist with administration.
When an appraisal was obtained, the information rules matter. A requesting residuary beneficiary or intestate heir may receive the appraisal for any asset; another beneficiary's right is limited to an asset distributed or proposed for distribution to that beneficiary.
Service, confidentiality, and access
Rule 5.340(d) requires service on the surviving spouse, every heir in an intestate estate, every residuary beneficiary in a testate estate, and any other interested person who asks in writing. Nonresiduary beneficiaries also receive notice of their valuation-information right.
Fla. Stat. § 733.604 makes initial, amended, and supplementary estate inventories confidential after court filing. The custodian may disclose them to the representative, the representative's attorney, an interested person as statutorily defined, or under a good-cause court order.
Amendments and supplementary inventories
The representative must file a verified amendment or supplement after learning of omitted estate property or an erroneous or misleading item value or description. Rule 5.340(c) also requires the affected filing to be served, so correcting the court record alone is not the whole task.
What trips people up
The 60-day deadline comes from the statewide probate rule, while confidentiality and much of the valuation-access detail come from § 733.604. Reading either source alone misses part of the filing.
The Florida Supreme Court adopted further probate-rule amendments on June 25, 2026, effective October 1, 2026. In re Amendments to Florida Probate Rules, No. SC2025-1478, expressly leaves Rule 5.340(a)-(h) unchanged and revises only its committee notes, so the operative inventory requirements above do not change on that date.
Common questions
Is the filed inventory open to the public?
No. Fla. Stat. § 733.604(1)(b) makes an estate inventory filed with the clerk confidential and exempt from the general public-records provision, while still allowing the statute's listed disclosure routes.
Must protected homestead receive an inventory value?
No. Rule 5.340(a) requires apparent protected homestead real property to be listed and designated but excludes it from the per-item estimated-value rule.
Who gets a copy automatically?
Rule 5.340(d) names the surviving spouse, intestate heirs, testate residuary beneficiaries, and any other interested person who requests a copy in writing.
Statutes and sources
- Fla. Prob. R. 5.340(a)-(f), (h) — filing, 60-day deadline, homestead, extension, service, information rights, notice, and verification. Official Florida Supreme Court ACIS document for SC2023-1661 (accessed 2026-08-10): https://acis-api.flcourts.gov/courts/68f021c4-6a44-4735-9a76-5360b2e8af13/cms/case/c299f842-f130-4ad6-9371-35229738c644/docketentrydocuments/fe558bf8-a69b-4133-8079-77fb60c231d1
- Fla. Stat. § 733.604 — verified contents, confidentiality, amendments, disclosure, and beneficiary appraisal information. Official Florida Legislature source (accessed 2026-08-10): https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/Sections/0733.604.html
- Fla. Stat. § 733.612(19) — authority to employ appraisers and advisers. Official Florida Legislature source (accessed 2026-08-10): https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/Sections/0733.612.html
- In re Amendments to Florida Probate Rules, No. SC2025-1478 (Fla. June 25, 2026) — October 1, 2026 amendments leave Rule 5.340(a)-(h) unchanged. Official Florida Supreme Court ACIS document (accessed 2026-08-10): https://acis-api.flcourts.gov/courts/68f021c4-6a44-4735-9a76-5360b2e8af13/cms/case/78e0b973-57c5-45c6-8895-3a708b52667c/docketentrydocuments/4a0664eb-a0bc-4ddf-bda1-e6dbaa5af469
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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