Escambia County is in the First Judicial Circuit, with Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties. The Escambia Clerk's judicial offices at 190 W. Government St. in Pensacola receive original wills, Official Records holds your deeds, and the Property Appraiser on Palafox Place takes homestead applications by March 1. We meet Pensacola clients by phone or video.
Escambia County is Florida's westernmost county, stretching from Pensacola Bay and the barrier island beaches up to Century on the Alabama line. Families here are often spread out: a daughter stationed elsewhere with the military, a son across the state line in Mobile, parents who have owned the same Pensacola home for decades. That makes planning ahead more valuable, not less, because the people you name may not live nearby when they are needed. This page covers the documents most Escambia families consider and the local offices that will handle them.
Communities we serve in Escambia County
- Pensacola
- Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key
- Cantonment
- Molino
- Century
- Ensley, Ferry Pass, Brent and Warrington
What a Pensacola estate plan usually includes
- A Florida will that names beneficiaries, a personal representative and a guardian for minor children, signed at the end before two witnesses. A handwritten will is not valid in Florida unless it is signed and witnessed like any other.
- A revocable living trust, so assets titled in the trust pass without probate, paired with a pour over will.
- A durable power of attorney, signed before two witnesses and a notary, so someone you trust can pay bills and manage accounts if you cannot.
- A health care surrogate designation and a living will, each signed before two adult witnesses, at least one of whom is not your spouse or a blood relative.
Choosing who serves deserves real thought. Anyone can be your agent under a power of attorney, but a personal representative who lives outside Florida can serve only if they are a close relative, such as a child, parent, spouse or sibling (section 733.304). If your children live in Alabama or further away, we draft the will with that rule in mind and name a backup.
Where your plan meets the county
| Office | Location | Role in your plan |
|---|---|---|
| Property Appraiser | 221 Palafox Place, Third Floor, Pensacola, with a branch in Molino | Homestead exemption on your home |
| Clerk of the Circuit Court, Judicial Offices | M.C. Blanchard Judicial Building, 190 W. Government St., Pensacola | Receives original wills and probate filings |
| Clerk of the Circuit Court, Official Records | Recording through the Clerk | Records deeds into a trust and other instruments |
| First Judicial Circuit | Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties | The court that hears probate and guardianship cases |
Homestead in Escambia County
The Florida Constitution protects your primary residence from most creditors and restricts how it can be left by will when a spouse or minor child survives you. Those restrictions are why a homestead needs its own attention in any plan, and our Florida homestead planning page sets them out.
The property tax exemption is filed with the Escambia County Property Appraiser by March 1 (section 196.011). The office accepts applications in person, and online for applicants who are registered voters. Its homestead brochure asks you to bring a copy of the trust when the home is held in a trust, and its online filing requirements say additional information will be needed for a home titled in a trust. Plan for that before you file: if we move your home into a revocable trust, we prepare the trust documents so the Property Appraiser gets what it asks for.
The Property Appraiser's own guidance also notes that a new owner must apply for and receive a homestead exemption. That is one reason families use an enhanced life estate deed or a trust rather than leaving the home to pass by will: the plan for the next owner, and their own homestead filing, is clearer from the start.
Recording a deed with the Escambia Clerk
Deeds are recorded in the Clerk's Official Records. The Clerk lists a recording fee of $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page, and documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 of consideration where it applies. The Clerk also offers a recording fee calculator for deeds. A deed into your own revocable trust usually involves little or no consideration, but the stamp question should be checked for each deed, especially when a mortgage is involved.
After a death in Escambia County
Whoever holds the original will must deposit it with the Clerk within 10 days after learning of the death (section 732.901), with the date of death or Social Security number if available. The Escambia Clerk says you do not need an attorney to deposit a will, and that wills must be kept in original form, so even when a will is filed electronically the original must still be deposited. If you are filing a disposition of personal property, the Clerk keeps the original will and does not return it, so make a copy first. Our Escambia County probate page covers what comes next, and our Florida probate administration page explains the process statewide.
How we work with Escambia County clients
We work with Pensacola and Escambia County clients by phone and video, which also suits family members who live out of state or are stationed elsewhere. You are welcome to meet at any of our offices if you are traveling. Your first consultation is free. We explain which documents fit your family, draft them in plain language, arrange a proper signing with the witnesses and notary Florida requires and, when a deed is part of the plan, have it recorded with the Escambia Clerk. Because the firm limits its caseload, you work directly with an attorney throughout. If you own rental or commercial property in the county, our Escambia County real estate page covers that work. Read our Florida estate planning overview, or contact us to get started.
More help in Escambia County
We also help Escambia County clients with:
