✓ Verified September 2026
To contest a will in Florida, you file in the probate court within a fixed window and prove one of a short list of legal grounds. This guide gives the Florida answer in plain English, and it starts with the deadline, because that is the fact that ends more cases than any other. All facts are from Florida law, verified as of September 2026.
In This Florida Guide:
Contest a Will in Florida: At a Glance
Here are the Florida facts that decide whether you can contest a will in Florida:
| Deadline to contest | 3 months (not 90 days — the statute says “on or before the date that is 3 months after the date of service”) after service of a copy of the notice of administration, per Fla. Stat. § 733.212(3). Shorter track: if the interested person was served with FORMAL NOTICE of the petition for administration BEFORE the will was admitted to probate, objection is due within 20 days after service of that formal notice, exclusive of the day of service, per Fla. Stat. § 733.212(2)(b) and Fla. Prob. R. 5.040(a)(1). Objections not filed in time are FOREVER BARRED. The 3-month period may be extended ONLY for estoppel based on a misstatement by the personal representative about the time period for objecting — Fla. Stat. § 733.212(3) expressly bars extension for any other reason, including failure to disclose information or other misconduct. A petition for revocation of probate under Fla. Stat. § 733.109 may be brought before final discharge of the personal representative, but it is still cut off by the § 733.212(3) bar |
| What starts the clock | Service of the notice of administration on the interested person (Fla. Stat. § 733.212(1)-(3)). The clock runs from the DATE OF SERVICE of that notice — not from the date of death, not from the date the will was filed, and not from the date the will was admitted to probate. In Florida the notice of administration is normally served AFTER the will is admitted and letters are issued. The separate 20-day clock runs from service of formal notice of the petition for administration, which occurs before admission |
| Who can contest | Only an “interested person,” defined in Fla. Stat. § 731.201(23) as “any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding involved” — the meaning is determined by the particular purpose and matter involved. Fla. Stat. § 733.109(1) states a proceeding to revoke probate “may be commenced by any interested person, including a beneficiary under a prior will.” In practice this covers: intestate heirs who would take under Fla. Stat. §§ 732.101-732.103 if the will fails, beneficiaries under a prior will, and beneficiaries named or reduced/omitted in the will offered. A creditor is an interested person for claim purposes but generally does NOT have standing to challenge the dispositive provisions of a will. A person with no financial stake in the outcome lacks standing |
| No-contest clause | NOT ENFORCED. Fla. Stat. § 732.517: “A provision in a will purporting to penalize any interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is unenforceable.” Florida courts treat the clause as if it does not exist. The trust analog is Fla. Stat. § 736.1108(1), which makes the same provision in a trust unenforceable. There is no probable-cause or good-faith exception in Florida because the clause is void outright — a Florida beneficiary does not risk forfeiting a devise by filing a contest |
| What the filing is called | Two related filings, both in the probate division of the circuit court where the estate is being administered: (1) an “objection to the validity of the will” (also called a petition or objection challenging the validity of the will), filed under Fla. Stat. § 733.212(3) within the 3-month window; and (2) a “petition for revocation of probate” under Fla. Stat. § 733.109 if the will has already been admitted. Fla. Stat. § 733.212(3) requires that the objection be served on interested persons and that a petition for revocation of probate be filed within 30 days after filing the objection, or the objection is abandoned. Fla. Prob. R. 5.025 designates will contests as “adversary proceedings,” which then largely follow the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure |
| Court | The Circuit Court, Probate Division, of the Florida county where the decedent was domiciled at death (venue per Fla. Stat. § 733.101). Florida circuit courts have exclusive original jurisdiction over probate matters; county courts do not hear will contests. Fla. Stat. § 733.109(1) requires the revocation proceeding be brought in the court having jurisdiction over the administration |
| Jury trial | NO. Florida probate proceedings are in rem — Fla. Stat. § 731.105 (“Probate proceedings are in rem proceedings”). Fla. Prob. R. 5.010 provides that the Florida Probate Rules govern procedure in probate proceedings and that the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure apply only as provided in the probate rules; there is no right to a jury in a will contest, and Florida appellate decisions have held a will contest is tried to the probate judge. A separate civil claim for tortious interference with an expected inheritance, filed in the civil division, does carry a jury-trial right — that is a different cause of action, not a will contest |
| Typical cost | UNVERIFIED — no Florida court, legislature, or Florida Bar source publishes a dollar range for a contested will case. Costs vary with the size of the estate, the discovery taken, and whether the matter settles. Attorney fees in a Florida estate are addressed by Fla. Stat. §§ 733.106 (costs and attorney fees in probate proceedings, which the court may direct be paid from the estate or from a party’s share) and 733.6171 (compensation of attorney for the personal representative). Check with a licensed Florida probate attorney for a fee estimate in a specific case |
The Deadline to Contest a Will in Florida
The window is short in some states and long in others, and it is measured from a specific event rather than from the day you learned about the will. That is why the first thing to find out is the date the will was admitted and whether you received formal notice. If the deadline has not run, everything else on this page is available to you.
If it has, the remaining options are narrow and usually involve proving you never got the notice the law required.
Grounds to Contest a Will in Florida
(1) Lack of testamentary capacity — testator not of sound mind, i.e. did not generally understand the nature and extent of the property, the natural objects of bounty, and the practical effect of the will (Fla. Stat. § 732.501 requires the testator be 18 or older, or an emancipated minor, and of sound mind); (2) Undue influence; (3) Fraud; (4) Duress; (5) Mistake — under Fla.
Stat. § 732.5165, “A will is void if the execution is procured by fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence. Any part of the will is void if so procured, but the remainder of the will not so procured shall be valid if it is not invalid for other reasons”; (6) Improper execution / failure of statutory formalities under Fla.
Stat. § 732.502 (signed at the end by the testator or by another at the testator’s direction and in the testator’s presence; signed in the presence of at least 2 attesting witnesses; witnesses sign in the presence of the testator and of each other); (7) Forgery; (8) Revocation by a later writing (§ 732.505) or by physical act (§ 732.506)
Who has to prove what: Two-step burden under Fla. Stat. § 733.107(1). First, the PROPONENT of the will has the burden of establishing prima facie its formal execution and attestation; a self-proving affidavit executed under Fla. Stat. § 732.503, or an oath of an attesting witness under Fla. Stat. § 733.201(2), is admissible and establishes that prima facie case.
Thereafter, the CONTESTANT carries the burden of establishing the grounds on which probate is opposed or revocation is sought. Standard of proof: preponderance of the evidence (Florida’s default civil standard; the probate code sets no higher standard for will contests).
Undue influence: under the common-law Carpenter framework, a presumption of undue influence arises where a substantial beneficiary occupied a confidential or fiduciary relationship with the testator and was active in procuring the will. Fla. Stat. § 733.107(2), added in 2005, makes that presumption one that SHIFTS THE BURDEN OF PROOF under Fla.
Stat. §§ 90.301-90.304 — it implements public policy against abuse of fiduciary and confidential relationships, so the burden moves to the beneficiary to prove the will was NOT procured by undue influence, rather than merely producing evidence
Who Can Contest a Will in Florida
Only an “interested person,” defined in Fla. Stat. § 731.201(23) as “any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding involved” — the meaning is determined by the particular purpose and matter involved. Fla.
Stat. § 733.109(1) states a proceeding to revoke probate “may be commenced by any interested person, including a beneficiary under a prior will.” In practice this covers: intestate heirs who would take under Fla. Stat. §§ 732.101-732.103 if the will fails, beneficiaries under a prior will, and beneficiaries named or reduced/omitted in the will offered.
A creditor is an interested person for claim purposes but generally does NOT have standing to challenge the dispositive provisions of a will. A person with no financial stake in the outcome lacks standing Being unhappy with the will is not standing; losing something because of it is. Check the earlier will and the intestate rules for Florida before filing, because they decide whether you are an interested person.
No-Contest Clauses in Florida
NOT ENFORCED. Fla. Stat. § 732.517: “A provision in a will purporting to penalize any interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is unenforceable.” Florida courts treat the clause as if it does not exist. The trust analog is Fla. Stat. § 736.1108(1), which makes the same provision in a trust unenforceable.
There is no probable-cause or good-faith exception in Florida because the clause is void outright — a Florida beneficiary does not risk forfeiting a devise by filing a contest
The Steps to Contest a Will in Florida
Step one is the deadline check above. Step two is evidence: the medical records around the signing date, the names of the witnesses, the drafting lawyer’s file, and the financial records that show who benefited.
Step three is the filing — Two related filings, both in the probate division of the circuit court where the estate is being administered: (1) an “objection to the validity of the will” (also called a petition or objection challenging the validity of the will), filed under Fla. Stat. § 733.212(3) within the 3-month window; and (2) a “petition for revocation of probate” under Fla.
Stat. § 733.109 if the will has already been admitted. Fla. Stat. § 733.212(3) requires that the objection be served on interested persons and that a petition for revocation of probate be filed within 30 days after filing the objection, or the objection is abandoned. Fla. Prob. R. 5.025 designates will contests as “adversary proceedings,” which then largely follow the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
Step four is discovery and, in most cases, a settlement conference; the small minority that reach trial are decided by the judge.
Settling Instead of Fighting
YES. Fla.
Stat. § 733.815 (private contracts among interested persons): subject to the rights of creditors and taxing authorities, competent interested persons may agree among themselves to alter the interests, shares, or amounts to which they are entitled in a written contract executed by them,
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and the personal representative shall abide by the contract’s terms — subject to the personal representative’s obligation to administer the estate for interested persons who are not parties to the contract and to pay costs of administration.
This is Florida’s family settlement agreement authority and is routinely used to resolve will contests. Mediation is also available: Fla. Prob. R. 5.025(d)(2) makes the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure applicable to adversary probate proceedings, and Florida circuit courts commonly order probate disputes to mediation under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.700-1.730 and Fla. Stat. ch. 44. Related: Fla.
Stat. § 733.708 permits court-approved compromise of a controversy about the admission of a will to probate, binding on all parties including those unborn, unascertained, or incompetent when represented
Other Florida rules: (1) NO ANTE-MORTEM / PRE-DEATH PROBATE — Fla. Stat. § 732.518 provides an action to contest the validity of all or part of a will, or the revocation of all or part of a will, “may not be commenced before the death of the testator.” Florida has not adopted living-probate validation, so a will cannot be confirmed or challenged while the testator is alive.
(2) NO-CONTEST CLAUSES ARE VOID — Fla. Stat. § 732.517 (wills) and § 736.1108 (trusts); a Florida beneficiary does not forfeit a devise by contesting. (3) SELF-PROVED WILL PRESUMPTION — a self-proving affidavit under Fla. Stat. § 732.503 establishes prima facie formal execution and attestation (Fla. Stat. § 733.107(1)), so a contestant must attack capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, or mistake rather than execution formalities.
(4) EXTREMELY RIGID DEADLINE — the § 733.212(3) 3-month bar is one of the shortest and least forgiving in the country; extension is available only for estoppel based on a personal representative’s misstatement about the objection period, and the statute expressly forecloses extension for nondisclosure or other misconduct.
(5) 30-DAY FOLLOW-THROUGH — after filing an objection, a petition for revocation of probate must be filed within 30 days or the objection is deemed abandoned (§ 733.212(3)). (6) HOLOGRAPHIC AND NUNCUPATIVE WILLS ARE INVALID IN FLORIDA — Fla.
Stat. § 732.502(2) provides that a will executed by a nonresident of Florida is valid if executed per the law of the place where made, “except that no holographic or nuncupative will shall be valid”; an unwitnessed handwritten will valid in another state fails in Florida, which is a common and successful improper-execution ground. (7) UNDUE-INFLUENCE BURDEN SHIFT — Fla.
Stat. § 733.107(2) shifts the burden of proof (not merely production) to the substantially benefited beneficiary in a confidential relationship who was active in procuring the will. (8) NO JURY — will contests are decided by the probate judge (Fla. Stat. § 731.105). (9) TORTIOUS INTERFERENCE ALTERNATIVE — Florida recognizes tortious interference with an expected inheritance as a separate civil action, generally available only where the probate remedy is inadequate.
The Evidence That Wins or Loses a Will Contest
Capacity cases turn on the weeks around the signing: the medical chart, prescriptions, a dementia diagnosis, and what the drafting lawyer and the witnesses saw that day. A will signed in a lawyer’s office with two disinterested witnesses and a self-proving affidavit is hard to attack; a will signed at a kitchen table with the main beneficiary present is not.
Undue influence cases turn on the relationship — who drove the parent to the appointment, who chose the lawyer, who was in the room, and whether the new will departed sharply from earlier ones and from what the parent said to other people.
Improper execution is the narrowest ground and the cleanest: Florida sets exact witness and signature rules, and a will that misses them fails regardless of what the signer intended. Before you contest a will in Florida, gather the prior wills, the medical releases, and the names of everyone at the signing.
Most of that evidence has to be requested formally once the case is filed, and the deadline does not wait for it.
What to Expect When You Contest a Will in Florida
A will contest is a lawsuit about the document, not about fairness. When you contest a will in Florida, the court asks whether the person who signed it had capacity, signed it freely, and signed it correctly. It does not ask whether the split was reasonable. That is why the strongest cases rest on medical records and witness accounts from the weeks around the signing.
Most families who contest a will in Florida settle. Courts encourage it, many states have family settlement rules that let the heirs agree to a different division, and a settlement avoids the cost and delay of trial. The deadline, the grounds, and the no-contest clause above are the three facts that set your bargaining position before any of that begins.
You don’t have to do this alone
If you are settling a loved one’s estate in Florida, your state’s probate court self-help center and free legal-aid offices can walk you through the process at no cost. For an active probate or a deadline, talk to a licensed probate attorney in your state.
Key Takeaways: Contest a Will in Florida
- The deadline is everything: the window to contest a will in Florida closes on a fixed schedule, and the court cannot reopen it for a late but valid claim.
- Grounds are specific: you contest a will in Florida on capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, or bad execution, never on unfairness alone.
- Standing first: only an interested person can contest a will in Florida; check whether you inherit under the prior will or the intestate rules.
- Read the no-contest clause: whether the state enforces it decides how much risk it takes to contest a will in Florida.
- Evidence is medical and financial: records, witnesses to the signing, and the drafting lawyer’s file decide most cases when you contest a will in Florida.
- Settlement is common: most families who contest a will in Florida settle before trial, often through the state’s family settlement rules.
- Find the admission date: the day the will was admitted is the day the clock to contest a will in Florida usually starts.
- Prior wills matter twice: they give you standing to contest a will in Florida and show how far the last will departed from the pattern.
- Notice defects are a lifeline: if you never got the required notice, you may still contest a will in Florida after the ordinary deadline.
- Self-proved wills are harder: a will with a notarized witness affidavit raises the bar to contest a will in Florida on execution grounds.
- Cost scales with the estate: before you contest a will in Florida, compare the likely fees to what you would actually gain.
- Mediation is usually offered: many courts require a settlement conference before anyone who chooses to contest a will in Florida sees a judge.
Quick Answers: Contest a Will in Florida
How long do you have to contest a will in Florida?
A fixed period that starts on a specific event, usually the will’s admission to probate or the notice to heirs. It is short in some states and long in others, and missing it ends the case.
What does it cost to contest a will in Florida?
Contested cases commonly run into five figures, and some lawyers take strong cases on contingency. Compare the cost to the amount you would gain if the will fails.
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Official Florida Sources & Resources
- Florida Probate Court: https://help.flcourts.gov/ (Florida Courts Help — official self-help site of the Florida State Courts System; main site https://www.flcourts.gov/)
- Florida Will Contest Statute: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/733.212 (also: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/Chapter733/All for §§ 733.107, 733.109, 733.212, 733.815; and https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/0732.518 plus https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/732.517 for the will-contest and no-contest-clause provisions)
- Internal Revenue Service — Estate Tax: irs.gov
- Cornell Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu/wex
This Florida guide was last verified against official sources in September 2026. Laws change — verify with your state court or a licensed attorney.
More Florida Estate Guides
- Florida Probate Process
- Dying Without a Will in Florida
- When a Will Is Being Contested
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Disclaimer: This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Estate, probate, and tax laws change and vary by state and county. Verify current rules and dollar figures with your state’s court, statute, or a licensed attorney or tax professional before acting. For urgent matters like an active probate or a tax deadline, consult a licensed professional in your state right away.