Probate Attorneys Serving Orange County

Orange County Probate, Handled Right

Orange County probate runs through the Ninth Judicial Circuit and the Clerk of Court in Orlando. 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 Orange County Estate

Probate in Orange 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 Orange 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 Orange County: where it actually goes

Orange County probate is filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in Orlando and heard in the Ninth Judicial Circuit. Orange County assigns probate, guardianship and mental health together to Division 5 at the courthouse on North Orange Avenue, so a probate matter and a related guardianship generally stay in the same division.

Ninth 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 Orange County filing sits without an order. In this circuit:

• Certification checklists are mandatory. The circuit requires the applicable checklist to accompany a proposed order: opening formal administration, closing formal administration, summary administration, and determining homestead status of real property.
• Notice Regarding Original Will must be filed when opening any estate, except ancillary administration.
• Affidavit of Heirs is required in all intestate probate cases.
• Proposed orders go to the division by e-mail in Word format, not as a PDF and not through the portal, so an order drafted as a flat PDF gets sent back.
• Courtesy copies of relevant documents must reach the court at least three business days before a scheduled hearing.
• Hearings are set through the division’s own calendar. The Ninth Circuit uses aiCalendar for its probate, trust, guardianship and mental health division; it does not use the Eighteenth Circuit’s JACS system.

What Orange County does differently

Orange County probate is heard in the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which pairs Orange with Osceola. Probate, guardianship and mental health are handled together, so a probate matter and a related guardianship generally stay in front of the same division rather than being split.

• Certification checklists are mandatory and must accompany the proposed order: opening formal administration, closing formal administration, summary administration, and determining homestead status of real property.
• A Notice Regarding Original Will must be filed when any estate is opened, other than an ancillary administration. That requirement comes from Administrative Order 2021-24, signed October 19, 2021, and it applies across both Orange and Osceola.
• An Affidavit of Heirs is required in every intestate case.
• Proposed orders go to the division by e-mail, in Word format. Not as a flat PDF and not through the Portal. An order drafted as a PDF gets sent back, which is the reverse of the rule in Hillsborough.
• Proposed orders go to chambers by e-mail, in Word format. For Division 1, which handles probate, trust, guardianship and mental health, the notice of hearing, the motion and the proposed order in Word are e-mailed to [email protected] at least three but no more than ten business days before the hearing. The subject line has to carry the case number, the style, and the date and time of the hearing. Failing to send them results in the hearing not being held.
• Send electronically, not on paper. The division asks that copies be sent by e-mail only, in PDF or Word, and not inside a zip or shared folder, because they are moved into a review queue and other formats do not transfer.
• Many uncontested matters never need a hearing. Short matters are uncontested, evidence-free and ten minutes or less, and most can be reviewed in chambers. The division advises e-mailing the petition or motion, a cover letter and the proposed order first; the judicial assistant will say if a hearing is needed. Short matters are set Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. and heard virtually.
• Scheduling runs through the division’s aiCalendar, not through the Eighteenth Circuit’s JACS system that neighboring Seminole County uses.

The Orange County Clerk’s probate division is at 425 N. Orange Avenue, Suite 335, Orlando, and can be reached at (407) 836-2057. Filings themselves are submitted through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. To open an estate the Clerk requires the original will where there is one, a certified death certificate, the petition, a petition for homestead where applicable, and the filing fee.

Administrative orders that govern Orange 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 Orange County Cases

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