In Re: Amendments to Florida Probate Rules - 2024 Legislation

Supreme Court of Florida
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No. SC2024-1057
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IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA PROBATE RULES –
2024 LEGISLATION.

February 27, 2025

PER CURIAM.

This matter is before the Court for consideration of proposed

amendments to Florida Probate Rules 5.240 (Notice of

Administration), 5.241 (Notice to Creditors), and 5.550 (Petition to

Determine Incapacity). 1 Previously, The Florida Bar’s Probate Rules

Committee filed a report proposing amendments to Florida Probate

Rules 5.240, 5.241, 5.550, and others in response to recent

legislation. See chs. 2024-238, 2024-242, Laws of Fla. On

September 5, 2024, the Court amended the Florida Probate Rules

as proposed by the Committee, but revised the proposed

amendments to rules 5.240 and 5.241 to state that a personal

1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.; see
also Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.140(e).
representative or curator has no duty to discover whether property

held by the decedent or the decedent’s surviving spouse at the time

of the decedent’s death is property to which the Florida Uniform

Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act applies

unless a written demand is “made.” See In re Amends. to Fla. Prob.

Rules, – 2024 Legis., 393 So. 3d 178, 179 (Fla. 2024). The Court

used the term “made” as found in the applicable statute as opposed

to “filed” as proposed by the Committee.

Because the amendments were not published for comment

prior to their adoption, the Court invited all interested persons to

file comments on the new amendments by November 19, 2024, and

for the Committee to file a response, if any, by December 10, 2024.

No comments were filed in this Court during the comment period.

However, on December 11, 2024, the Committee filed a late

comment proposing that the Court further amend rules 5.240(b)(7)

and 5.241(b)(2) to clarify that a written demand to the personal

representative or curator under the rules must be filed with the

clerk. Additionally, based on a comment the Committee received

after it filed its original report with the Court but before the Court’s

opinion issued, the Committee suggests rescinding some of the

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amendments to rule 5.550 proposed by the Committee and

subsequently adopted in this Court’s September 5, 2024, opinion.

Specifically, the Committee proposes amending subdivision (a)(8) of

rule 5.550 to remove the recently added term “supported

decisionmaking agreements” from the list of alternatives to

guardianship, as supported decisionmaking agreements cannot

serve as alternatives to guardianship.

Having considered the Committee’s comment, the Court

hereby further amends rules 5.240, 5.241, and 5.550. First,

subdivision (b)(7) of rule 5.240 and subdivision (b)(2) of rule 5.241

are amended to clarify that a written demand to the personal

representative or curator regarding whether property held by the

decedent or the surviving spouse at the time of the decedent’s death

is property to which the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community

Property Rights at Death Act applies must be filed with the clerk.

The new amendments are consistent with the requirements of

section 732.2211, Florida Statutes (2024), and will avoid confusion

regarding what constitutes a “written demand” under the rules. In

addition, rule 5.550 is amended to remove “supported

decisionmaking agreements” from the list of alternatives to

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guardianship in subdivision (a)(8) and to remove the word

“agreement” after “supported decisionmaking” in subdivision (a)(9)

to avoid confusion and for consistency with the statutory language.

Accordingly, the Florida Probate Rules are amended as

reflected in the appendix to this opinion. New language is indicated

by underscoring; deletions are indicated by struck-through type.

The amendments shall become effective immediately.

It is so ordered.

MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANADY, LABARGA, COURIEL, GROSSHANS,
FRANCIS, and SASSO, JJ., concur.

THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.

Original Proceeding – Florida Probate Rules

Erin Farrington Finlen, Co-Chair, Probate Rules Committee, Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, Zackary T. Zuroweste, Co-Chair, Probate Rules
Committee, Clearwater, Florida, Joshua E. Doyle, Executive
Director, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, and Heather Savage
Telfer, Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida,

for Petitioner

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APPENDIX

RULE 5.240. NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION

(a) Service. The personal representative must promptly
serve the notice of administration on the following persons who are
known to the personal representative and who were not previously
served under section 733.2123, Florida Statutes:

(1)-(2) [No Change]

(3) a trustee of any trust described in section 733.707(3),
Florida Statutes, and each qualified beneficiary of the trust as
defined in section 736.0103(16), Florida Statutes, if each trustee is
also a personal representative of the estate; and

(4) [No Change]

in the manner provided for service of formal notice. The personal
representative may similarly serve a copy of the notice on any
devisee under another will or heirs or others who claim or may
claim an interest in the estate.

(b) Contents. The notice must state:

(1)-(6) [No Change]

(7) that the personal representative or curator has no
duty to discover whether any property held at the time of the
decedent’s death by the decedent or the decedent’s surviving spouse
is property to which the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community
Property Rights at Death Act as described in sections 732.216-
732.228, Florida Statutes, applies, or may apply, unless a written
demand is made by the surviving spouse or a beneficiary as
specified under section 732.2211, Florida Statutes. The written
demand must be filed with the clerk.

(c)-(e) [No Change]

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Committee Notes

[No Change]

Rule History

[No Change]

Statutory References

[No Change]

Rule References

[No Change]

RULE 5.241. NOTICE TO CREDITORS

(a) [No Change]

(b) Contents.

(1) [No Change]

(2) The notice must state that the personal
representative or curator has no duty to discover whether any
property held at the time of the decedent’s death by the decedent or
the decedent’s surviving spouse is property to which the Florida
Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act as
described in sections 732.216-732.228, Florida Statutes, applies, or
may apply, unless a written demand is made by a creditor as
specified under section 732.2211, Florida Statutes. The written
demand must be filed with the clerk.

(c)-(e) [No Change]

Committee Notes

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[No Change]

Rule History

[No Change]

Statutory References

[No Change]

Rule References

[No Change]

RULE 5.550. PETITION TO DETERMINE INCAPACITY

(a) Contents. The petition to determine incapacity must be
verified by the petitioner and must state:

(1)-(7) [No Change]

(8) whether there are possible alternatives to
guardianship known to the petitioner, including, but not limited to,
trust agreements, powers of attorney, designations of health care
surrogates, other advance directives, or supported decisionmaking
agreements, and if the petitioner is seeking a guardianship, an
explanation as to why the alternatives are insufficient to meet the
needs of the alleged incapacitated person; and

(9) whether the alleged incapacitated person uses
assistance to exercise the person’s rights, including, but not limited
to, supported decisionmaking agreements, and if so, why the
assistance is inappropriate or insufficient to allow the person to
independently exercise the person’s rights.

(b)-(f) [No Change]

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Committee Notes

[No Change]

Rule History

1980 Revision–2020 Revision [No Change]

2024 Revision: Subdivision (b)(2) amended to conform to section
744.331(1), Florida Statutes. Committee notes revised.

2024 Revision: Subdivision (a)(8) amended and nNew subdivision
(a)(9) adopted to conform to section 744.3201(2)(d), Florida
Statutes. Committee notes revised.

Statutory References

[No Change]

Rule References

[No Change]

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