Probate Attorneys Serving Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County Probate, Handled Right

Hillsborough County probate runs through the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit and the Clerk of Court in Tampa. Whether you are opening formal administration, qualifying for summary administration, or facing a will dispute, the process involves strict deadlines, creditor notices, and court filings. A single misstep can delay distribution by months or expose the personal representative to personal liability. We have guided hundreds of Florida families through probate efficiently and correctly.

The Florida Law That Governs Your Hillsborough County Estate

Probate in Hillsborough County is governed by the Florida Probate Code. Which path your estate takes, and which deadlines bind you, comes down to a handful of statutes. These are the ones that decide most cases.

Summary administration: section 735.201

Florida allows a shortened proceeding called summary administration when the value of the entire estate subject to administration in this state, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditors, does not exceed $75,000, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. In a testate estate, the will must also not direct administration as required by chapter 733. That exempt-property subtraction matters: a Hillsborough County estate whose gross value looks too large often still qualifies once protected homestead and statutory exempt property come out of the calculation.

The creditor window: section 733.702

Creditor claims are barred unless filed in the probate proceeding by the later of two dates: three months after the first publication of the notice to creditors, or, for a creditor entitled to be served with a copy of that notice, thirty days after service on that creditor. A late claim is barred even if nobody objects to it. A court may extend the period only on grounds of fraud, estoppel, or insufficient notice of the claims period, which is why serving reasonably ascertainable creditors correctly is one of the most consequential things a personal representative does.

The two-year wall: section 733.710

Separately, and notwithstanding any other provision of the Probate Code, two years after a person’s death neither the estate, the personal representative, nor the beneficiaries are liable for any claim against the decedent, whether or not letters of administration were ever issued. This is a different rule from the two-year figure in the summary administration statute, and the two are frequently confused. Section 733.710 does not apply to a creditor who filed a claim within the two years and whose claim has not yet been paid or disposed of, and it does not affect a duly recorded mortgage or security interest.

Filing in Hillsborough County: where it actually goes

Hillsborough County probate is filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Tampa and heard in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. Zoecklein Law is headquartered in Brandon, inside Hillsborough County – this is our home court. Probate for the county is filed with the Clerk at the courthouse on E. Twiggs Street in downtown Tampa, and cases are assigned under the circuit’s standing assignment order.

Thirteenth Judicial Circuit local practice

Florida’s probate code is statewide, but each circuit layers its own administrative orders, mandatory checklists, and submission rules on top of it. Getting these wrong is the most common reason a Hillsborough County filing sits without an order. In this circuit:

• Probate, guardianship and trust cases are assigned to Division A or B on a 5:3 ratio under Administrative Order S-2024-013; estates of decedents domiciled in the East Division boundaries go to East Circuit Divisions O, U or W instead.
• Trust litigation is typically filed in the Probate division rather than Civil when an estate or trust is involved.
• Proposed orders are submitted through the E-Portal in PDF format, and the 13th Circuit is high-volume — allow several business days for processing before any hearing.
• Annual guardianship accountings are strictly enforced; late filings draw show-cause orders.

Where a Hillsborough estate is administered

Hillsborough County covers Tampa, Brandon, Plant City, Riverview, Valrico, Lutz and a large unincorporated area, and every estate in it is administered in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit regardless of which of those communities the decedent lived in. Venue follows domicile under Fla. Stat. § 733.101(1)(a), not the location of the assets or the family.

• The county has more than one probate counter. The file lives at the George Edgecomb Courthouse, 800 E. Twiggs Street, Room 204 in Tampa, and the Clerk also maintains probate counters at the Plant City Courthouse, 301 N. Michigan Street, Room 1071, and in Brandon.
• Where in the county the decedent lived changes which judge you get. Under Administrative Order S-2024-013 the Clerk assigns Probate Code proceedings to Divisions “A” and “B” on a 5:3 ratio, except that a decedent domiciled inside the East Division boundaries is assigned to East Circuit Division “O,” “U” or “W” instead.
• A tort claim is not part of the probate case. An independent tort brought by or against a personal representative, beneficiary or interested person is assigned to the Circuit Civil Division, and consolidating it back into probate is disfavored unless every party in the civil case has waived any jury trial right.
• Mail reaches the probate department at P.O. Box 3360, Tampa, FL 33601-3360. The Probate, Guardianship and Trust line is (813) 276-8100.

For the full set of Thirteenth Circuit submission rules, including proposed order timing and format, see our Tampa probate attorney page.

Administrative orders that govern Hillsborough County cases

These are the local orders a filing in this county has to satisfy. Each links to the court’s own published order.

Local requirements are set by administrative order and change from time to time. The items above reflect the circuit’s published orders and the Florida Courts survey of circuit probate practices as of August 2026, and should be confirmed against the current orders before filing.

Go Deeper On Hillsborough County Cases

Detailed guides on the issues that come up most often in these cases: