How long does a summary probate administration take? It depends on the county and in some counties the individual judge. The norm is one month; in a few cases it takes four months. 

If the property owner has been dead more than two years, a summary administration is fairly predictable, and orders are normally obtained within four weeks of filing the petition if there is no will or if the will is self-proving.

However, for summary administrations filed within the first two years, the timetable is unpredictable in a few counties if an Order Determining Homestead is required by a title underwriter.

The majority of judges in Florida will enter the requested homestead order immediately, with the summary administration order. This is true even when there is a mortgage on the homestead, provided the mortgagee is given notice.

However, a few judges have a policy of holding up the homestead order for three months, after which they will enter the order. The logic of this policy is hard to see, because normally these same judges do not require publication of a notice to creditors and normally there is no question as to the homestead status of the property.

So, when we are asked how long a summary administration with homestead will take, we have to find out what county we are dealing with and check our list. Then we will find out if the title underwriter will require a homestead order (some do not). After finding out this information we can usually determine if we are on the normal “one month” track or on the less desirable “four month” track.

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