Miami-Dade probate is heard in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, which serves Miami-Dade County alone. The Clerk's Probate Court office is in the Miami-Dade Justice Center at 20 NW 1st Ave., and the circuit requires its Probate Smart Forms. Formal administration costs $401 to open with the Clerk. We meet Miami clients in Fort Lauderdale or by video.
Miami-Dade is Florida's most populous county, and its estates reflect that. A family may own a condo in Brickell, a house in Coral Gables and a business in Doral. Heirs may live in New York, Latin America or Cuba. Documents may have been signed in another country or another language. Florida law sets the rules, but Miami-Dade has its own court procedures, its own tax rate on deeds and its own forms. This page covers what is specific to the county.
Communities we serve in Miami-Dade County
- Miami
- Coral Gables
- Aventura
- Miami Beach
- Kendall
- Doral
- Homestead
Probate in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit
The Eleventh Judicial Circuit serves Miami-Dade County and no other county. Its Probate Division sits in the Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center at 20 NW 1st Ave. in downtown Miami, where the Clerk's Probate Court office is in Suite 6.223. The division has six circuit judges and two general magistrates, and court interpreters are available.
Miami-Dade does things its own way in two important respects:
- Probate Smart Forms are required. Under a Probate Division administrative memorandum, filers must use the circuit's Probate Smart Forms and certify that they have reviewed the circuit's checklists. A separate administrative order, AO 22-02, requires a docket identifier on proposed orders.
- Cuban Heirs forms. The circuit publishes a dedicated set of forms for estates where an heir lives in Cuba. Few other Florida circuits handle that situation often enough to have forms for it.
Summary administration is generally available when the non exempt estate is $150,000 or less, a limit raised from $75,000 by chapter 2026-57 effective July 1, 2026, or when the person died more than two years ago. The circuit's checklists dated 2024 still show the old $75,000 limit, so check the statute rather than the checklist. For a death before July 1, 2026, ask us which limit applies.
Clerk filing fees for a Miami-Dade estate
| Filing | Clerk fee |
|---|---|
| Formal administration | $401 |
| Summary administration, estate of $1,000 or more | $346 |
| Summary administration, estate under $1,000 | $236 |
| Caveat or notice of trust | $40 |
These are the Clerk's published court fees, separate from attorney fees and newspaper costs for the notice to creditors.
If you hold the original will
Section 732.901 requires whoever holds the original will of a person who has died to deposit it with the clerk within 10 days after learning of the death. In Miami-Dade, that is the Clerk's Probate Court office at the Justice Center. Depositing a will does not open probate, and you do not need an attorney just to deposit it. If probate is needed later, a personal representative in Florida generally must be represented by a Florida attorney. Our Florida probate administration page explains the process from petition to discharge.
Deeds, trusts and the Miami-Dade stamp tax
Florida charges documentary stamp tax when a deed is recorded. Miami-Dade is the one county with a different rate: 60 cents per $100 of consideration rather than the 70 cents charged everywhere else, plus a 45 cent surtax that does not apply to a deed transferring only a single family home. People sometimes worry that moving a home into a trust will trigger that tax. Generally it does not:
- Deed into your own revocable trust. Under the Department of Revenue's rule 12B-4.013, a deed to a trustee from a grantor who keeps the power to revoke the trust is generally not a taxable transfer.
- Lady bird deed. In Technical Assistance Advisement 20B4-004, the Department of Revenue concluded that an enhanced life estate deed is not subject to documentary stamp tax. Our lady bird deed guide explains how these deeds work.
Deeds are recorded in the Clerk's Official Records. Once your new deed is on record, the Clerk's free Property Fraud Alert can email you within 24 hours when a document is recorded on the folio number you register.
Homestead in Miami-Dade
The Florida Constitution protects a primary residence from most creditors and limits how it can be left by will when you are survived by a spouse or a minor child. Our Florida homestead planning page covers those rules. The property tax exemption is separate and goes through the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, which accepts applications online, by mail, by email or in person, with a March 1 deadline under section 196.011. If title is held in a revocable living trust, the Property Appraiser asks for a copy of the trust document. A late filing may require a petition to the Value Adjustment Board.
Documents most Miami-Dade families consider
- A Florida will naming beneficiaries, a personal representative and a guardian for minor children.
- A revocable living trust so that a condo, a house and accounts pass without probate, with a pour over will for anything left outside.
- A durable power of attorney for finances.
- A health care surrogate designation and a living will for medical decisions.
How we work with Miami-Dade clients
Miami-Dade clients can meet with an attorney at our Fort Lauderdale office in downtown Fort Lauderdale, or by phone or video. Your first consultation is free. We prepare your plan in plain language, supervise the signing with the witnesses and notary Florida requires, record any deed, and for estates we prepare the circuit's Smart Forms and file with the Clerk at the Justice Center. Because the firm limits its caseload, you work directly with an attorney. If you also own property in Broward, our Fort Lauderdale estate planning page covers the local steps there. Contact us to start.
