Here in Florida, each county has its own probate court and each of those courts has its own rules and regulations. This means that depending on which of the courts you attend, you may end up paying different fees and following different procedures. A couple of articles ago we covered the information needed for Orange County probate court. Today we’re going to take a look at Hillsborough County probate court here in Florida and here’s everything you need to know.
Information You Need
Hillsborough county probate court covers probate issues for all cities within Hillsborough county. These cities include: Tampa, Citrus Park, Bloomingdale, Valrico, Westchase, and Keystone.
Where to Find the Court
Hillsborough County probate court is located at 800 E Twiggs St, Tampa, FL 33602 and they can be reached via phone at (813) 276-8100. You may also contact the Clerk of Court via their online contact form.
Although the Hillsborough County Probate Court is listed as being open from 9 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday, hours are currently a little less reliable due to COVID-19. You can find current information on which offices are closed and what hours the open offices are available on the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court website. (For probate issues, you want to scroll down to “Guardianship and Probate”.) This link will also give you information on how many people are currently in line for specific services and how long your estimated wait time is. This is a particularly useful tool to reference to minimize exposure to others during your visit to the court.
Navigating the County Probate Court Website
The county court website provides all of the information you need for your probate case, but it can be slightly difficult to navigate, so here are some important key points:
A List of Probate Cases
You can check for a list of all probate cases filed within the past 30 days on the “Daily Filings” page. These lists are downloadable and in CSV format which you can open using Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet program. If you don’t have a spreadsheet program available, you can open the data in a text reader, but it may not be formatted correctly.
Accessing Probate Documents Online
The Florida Supreme Court has permitted the Hillsborough County Clerk of the Circuit Court, 13th Judicial Circuit to allow for electronic viewing of many court records and document images. You can do this on the HillsClerk website. You can perform a case search on this site by clicking the “Case Search” option at the top of the page. This section of the site allows you to search by case number, ticket, citation number, uniform case number, individual name, business name, date range, court type, or case type.
You may want to search this database to check to see whether probate has already been opened for a deceased person before attempting to open a case yourself.
What Petitions Can Be Filed in the Probate Department?
The probate department will be able to help you to file a number of petitions including:
- Formal administration
- Summary administration
- Petition to admit a foreign will
- Ancillary administration
- Caveat
- Conservatorship
- Curatorship
- Notice of Trust
- Trust
- Guardianships
- Vulnerable Adult
Probate Fees
Probate fees that you can expect to pay with Hillsborough County Probate Court are as follows:
| Summary Administration: Estate valued at less than $1,000.00 | $235.00 |
| Summary Administration: Estate valued at $1,000.00 or more | $345.00 |
| Formal Administration | $400.00 |
| Ancillary Administration | $400.00 |
| Opening of any estate of guardianship of one document or more, but not to
include issuance of letters or orders of summary |
$231.00 |
| Petitions to admit foreign wills, authenticated or exemplified copies of
transcripts or records |
$231.00 |
| Caveat | $41.00 |
| Disposition of personal property, without administration | $231.00 |
| V.A. Guardianship | $235.00 |
| Guardianship of persons only | $235.00 |
| Guardianship of property only | $400.00 |
| Guardianship or person and property | $400.00 |
| Curatorship and Conservatorship | $400.00 |
| Petition to determine incapacity | $231.00 |
| Trusts | $400.00 |
| Notice of Trust | $41.00 |
| Guardianship accounting audit fee: Assets of $25,000 or less | $20.00 |
| Guardianship accounting audit fee: Assets over $25,000 to $100,000 | $85.00 |
| Assets over $100,000 to $500,000 | $170.00 |
| Guardianship accounting audit fee: Assets over $500,000 | $250.00 |
| Filing of Guardianship Inventories for all assets exceeding $25,000 | $85.00 |
Do You Need Legal Representation For Probate?
If you are in need of legal representation for probate court, Weidner Law can help. Give us a call today at 727-954-8752 to set up your consultation and let us represent your best interests.
