Do All Wills Go Through Probate?

Not every will has to go through probate, but most do. If you've written a will and named an executor, that document alone doesn't move any property to your loved ones. The will still needs to go through Florida's probate process before assets can legally change hands — unless those assets are set up to bypass probate in another way.

This is one of the most common misunderstandings we see in Hallandale Beach: families assume that having a will means they'll skip the courthouse entirely. That's worth clearing up before it causes confusion later.

A Will Doesn't Avoid Probate — It Guides It

Think of a will as instructions, not a delivery mechanism. It tells the probate court who should receive your property and who should be in charge of distributing it. But the court still has to open a case, validate the will, and formally authorize the transfer of assets. That process is probate.

Under Florida Statutes Chapter 733, probate is required any time someone dies owning assets solely in their own name — whether or not they left a will. If you die with a will, you've simply told the court how you want things divided. If you die without one, Florida's intestacy laws decide for you. Either way, the court process itself doesn't disappear just because a will exists.

When a Will-Based Estate Can Skip Formal Probate

Florida does offer a few shortcuts, and they matter to families in South Florida settling a parent's or spouse's estate. As of July 1, 2026, these thresholds got significantly more generous under a new state law (CS/HB 1337), so this is worth knowing even if you looked into it before this year.

Summary administration, governed by Florida Statutes § 735.201, is now available when the estate's non-exempt assets are valued at $150,000 or less — up from the old $75,000 cap — or when the person has been deceased for more than two years. Homestead property, up to two vehicles, and certain household furnishings still don't count toward that limit. This is a simpler, faster version of probate, but it's still a court process, just an abbreviated one.

Disposition without administration, under Florida Statutes § 735.301, is even narrower. It applies only when the estate consists of minimal non-exempt personal property — enough to cover funeral expenses and final medical bills — and there's no real property involved.

Neither of these eliminates probate entirely. They reduce the paperwork and timeline, which can be a relief for a family already dealing with loss, but there's still a filing with the court.

What Actually Avoids Probate

If your goal is to keep your family out of probate court altogether, the will itself isn't the tool that does that. Beneficiary designations, jointly owned property, revocable living trusts, and Lady Bird deeds are the tools that do — we walk through each of those in detail, including how they apply to South Florida families, in Can You Avoid Probate in Hallandale Beach?

The short version: a will is still important even if you use these tools, because it catches anything you didn't title correctly or forgot to include. But it functions as a backstop, not a bypass.

Why This Distinction Trips Up So Many Families

We've seen families come in after a loved one's passing, will in hand, assuming the estate is settled. Then they learn the house was titled solely in the deceased's name with no survivorship language, and now it has to go through the Broward County Courthouse before anyone can sell it or move in. That delay is avoidable with the right planning done in advance.

South Florida has a uniquely mixed population when it comes to estate planning needs — a large retiree community around Hallandale Beach Boulevard who may have simplified their finances over the years, multigenerational households in neighboring Hollywood and Miramar managing property across family members, and residents in Aventura balancing high-value real estate with beneficiary accounts. Each situation calls for a different mix of tools, but the underlying rule is the same: a will directs probate, it doesn't replace it.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will

If there's no will at all, the estate still goes through probate — it just follows Florida's intestacy statute instead of your personal wishes. The court appoints an administrator (similar to an executor) and distributes assets according to a fixed formula based on your surviving relatives. This is one of the biggest reasons to have a will in place, even if you also use trusts or beneficiary designations: it ensures that anything left outside those tools still goes where you intended, and that the probate process has clear instructions to follow rather than a default formula.

The Bottom Line

A will doesn't exempt your estate from probate. It directs the probate process once it happens. If avoiding probate is the priority, the will needs to be paired with beneficiary designations, trust planning, joint ownership, or a Lady Bird deed, depending on what you own and how you want it distributed.

Every estate is different, and what works for a retiree with a single bank account in Hallandale Beach may not fit a family with rental property spread across Broward County. If you're trying to figure out which tools make sense for your situation, reach out to have your assets reviewed individually rather than relying on assumptions about what a will alone can do.

Note: Florida Statutes Chapters 731–735 govern probate procedures generally. Section 735.301 addresses disposition without administration for smaller estates. The $150,000 summary administration threshold applies to decedents who die on or after July 1, 2026; the prior $75,000 threshold still governs estates of those who died before that date.