Hillsborough County Probate Court: Filing Guide for Tampa Estates

Probate in Hillsborough County is handled by the 13th Judicial Circuit Court, based in Tampa. If the decedent lived in Tampa, Brandon, Plant City, Temple Terrace, or anywhere else in Hillsborough County, this is the court where you file — regardless of where the estate's assets are physically located.

One thing to know upfront about Hillsborough County probate: the circuit explicitly has no dedicated probate self-help center. Unlike some Florida counties that provide minimal walk-in guidance for pro se petitioners, Hillsborough's clerk's office provides forms but no guidance on using them. That matters a great deal if you're planning to handle a Summary Administration without an attorney.

Filing Fees at the 13th Circuit

Hillsborough County follows the standard Florida probate fee schedule:

Certified copy fees: $3.00 per page plus certification. You'll need multiple certified copies of the Letters of Administration — banks, brokerage firms, the DMV, and Social Security all require originals.

Determining Your Track Before You File

Florida's probate thresholds matter at the point of filing, and Hillsborough courts will not help you figure out which track applies:

Disposition Without Administration: Designed for situations where the decedent left only exempt property plus non-exempt personal property that doesn't exceed funeral and final medical expenses. Effective July 1, 2026, intestate estates of personal property only up to $20,000 qualify. No formal case is opened. An application goes to the clerk; a judge signs an authorization letter.

Summary Administration: The estate's non-exempt probate assets total $150,000 or less (effective July 1, 2026), or the decedent has been dead for more than two years. Homestead property and statutory exempt property are excluded from that $150,000 calculation entirely. The process typically takes 4 to 8 weeks and does not require appointing a personal representative. An attorney isn't legally required, but the practical reality in Hillsborough — with no self-help services — means most people need one.

Formal Administration: Full court supervision, personal representative appointed by the court, creditor notification period, asset inventory, final accounting before discharge. Under Florida Probate Rule 5.030, the personal representative must retain a Florida-licensed attorney unless they are the sole interested party. This is the process for estates that exceed the Summary Administration threshold and involve a death within the past two years.

Filing Through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal

All probate petitions in Hillsborough County are filed electronically through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com). Attorneys must use the portal. Self-represented litigants may opt in, though Hillsborough's clerk's office may require some pro se filings to go through a manual sufficiency review before being accepted.

For a Formal Administration, your attorney's initial filing package will include the Petition for Administration, the original will and certified death certificate, an Oath of Personal Representative, a Designation of Resident Agent if needed (required when the personal representative doesn't live in Florida), and proposed orders for the court to execute.

For Summary Administration, the core filing is the Petition for Summary Administration accompanied by the will, death certificate, and the proposed Order of Summary Administration directing asset distribution.

The Absence of a Self-Help Center

This bears repeating because it changes the practical calculus for unrepresented executors. In Hillsborough County, if you walk in with a blank petition form and ask the clerk what to put in each field, they will tell you they cannot help. This is not policy flexibility — it's a legal prohibition. Clerk staff who provide legal advice expose the court to liability.

The gap between "here are the forms" and "here's how to fill them out correctly so the judge approves them" is exactly the gap that causes rejected petitions, deficiency notices, and months of delays. Other Florida counties at least have limited self-help kiosks or guides. Hillsborough does not.

If you're settling a Hillsborough estate and want to understand what you're doing before you engage an attorney — or want to arrive at that attorney meeting organized enough to negotiate a flat fee rather than an open-ended retainer — that's the practical value of a structured process guide.

Will Deposit Deadline

The original will must be deposited with the Hillsborough County Clerk of the Circuit Court within 10 days of learning of the death. The deposit is free, but it typically requires an Acknowledgment of Venue form. Depositing the will doesn't open a probate case — it just preserves the document until you're ready to file.

The 10-day clock is a legal obligation, not a courtesy. The custodian of the will who fails to deposit it faces personal liability.

Real Estate and Homestead in Hillsborough

The Tampa metro area has a significant volume of homestead property — from single-family homes in South Tampa to retirement community condos in Riverview and Wesley Chapel. If the decedent owned a Florida primary residence in Hillsborough County, the probate case must include a Petition to Determine Homestead Status.

Homestead property passes outside the probate estate under Florida's constitutional protections, but title companies won't insure the title without a judicial Order Determining Homestead Status. The heirs cannot sell without it.

Two property tax actions run parallel to probate:

• March 1 of the year following death: File Form DR-501T with the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser to port the "Save Our Homes" cap, preventing a potentially catastrophic property tax reassessment.
• File Form DR-501 to claim the heir's own homestead exemption if they'll use it as a primary residence.

These are Property Appraiser filings, not probate filings — but missing them while focused on the court case is one of the most common and expensive mistakes Hillsborough County executors make.

Creditor Notice Requirements

In Formal Administration, the personal representative must publish a Notice to Creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in Hillsborough County, once per week for two consecutive weeks. The creditor claim period then runs:

• 90 days from the first publication date for unknown creditors
• 30 days from direct service for known or reasonably ascertainable creditors
• 2 years from the date of death as the absolute bar for all unsecured claims under Florida Statute 733.710, regardless of notice

Distributing assets before the creditor period expires in Formal Administration creates personal liability for the personal representative. In Summary Administration, which doesn't have a formal 90-day creditor period, distributing prematurely while a valid creditor exists within the two-year window creates direct personal liability for the beneficiaries.

Out-of-State Executors

If you're managing a parent's Tampa estate from out of state, Hillsborough County courts require a Designation of Resident Agent — a Florida resident who can receive legal service on behalf of the estate. Your probate attorney typically serves in this capacity.

Out-of-state residency is one of the factors courts weigh when deciding whether to enforce the bond requirement even if the will waives it. Arriving organized, with the asset inventory compiled and the estate's structure documented, reduces the court's concern about your ability to administer from a distance.

The Florida Probate Process Guide is written for exactly this situation: someone managing a Hillsborough County estate from another state, who needs to understand what the process entails, what their obligations are, and how to work efficiently with a Tampa probate attorney rather than paying them to do administrative tasks that don't require a law license.

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