Port St. Lucie Probate Attorney

A Port St. Lucie family, a Stuart family and a Vero Beach family all go to the same circuit court for probate, but not to the same building. The Nineteenth Judicial Circuit serves Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties, and each county has its own Clerk of Court, its own probate file and its own probate email box at the circuit. A personal representative has to know which county the decedent lived in before doing anything else, because the will, the petition and the proposed orders all go to that county.

The county lines are not always obvious. Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce are in St. Lucie County, Stuart and Hobe Sound are in Martin County, and Vero Beach and Sebastian are in Indian River County. Okeechobee County, inland, is part of the same circuit and has its own probate email box, probate@circuit19.org. If the decedent owned homes in two counties, the case generally belongs in the county where the decedent was domiciled.

Communities we serve on the Treasure Coast

• Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce (St. Lucie County)
• Tradition and St. Lucie West
• Stuart, Palm City and Jensen Beach (Martin County)
• Hobe Sound
• Vero Beach and Sebastian (Indian River County)

Where each county handles probate

Section 732.901, Florida Statutes, requires whoever holds the original will to deposit it with the clerk of the county where the decedent lived within 10 days after learning of the death. The Martin and St. Lucie clerks ask for the date of death or Social Security number at deposit. In Indian River County, if you want proof of delivery, the Clerk will prepare a sealed receipt showing the date received and the case number. A trustee filing a notice of trust after the settlor's death pays a $41.00 filing fee there.

How filings reach the judge

The circuit's Probate and Guardianship page asks that proposed orders be submitted in Microsoft Word with the filer's email, to the probate email box for the county where the case is pending. A completed checklist is required to open or to close an estate. The circuit also posts a short set of probate forms updated in 2026, including a petition to determine homestead for an estate without a will, a petition to determine exempt property, a petition for disposition without administration and a pro se petition for summary administration with a schedule of creditors. Guardianship filers are told to check the assigned judge's own procedures first, and judicial assignments are set by the circuit's administrative order on assignments.

Summary or formal administration

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 Nineteenth Circuit's probate page already uses the $150,000 figure. Its summary administration petition, updated in October 2026, is paired with a schedule of creditors and provision for payment, because a summary estate must show how known creditors will be paid before assets go to the family. For a formal administration, the personal representative publishes a notice to creditors, and creditors generally have three months from first publication to file claims. Formal administration costs $400 to open with the St. Lucie Clerk.

The family home

A Treasure Coast house that was the decedent's primary residence may be protected homestead, which generally passes to the heirs outside most creditor claims. The circuit's homestead petition form is the usual way to get a court order confirming that status, and title companies on the coast will normally ask for it before a sale or refinance. If the house is an estate asset, the personal representative may sell it during the administration, with or without a court order depending largely on the powers in the will. Our Florida homestead planning page explains the constitutional rules.

Out of state personal representatives and family

Many Treasure Coast retirees have children in the Northeast. Under section 733.304, a nonresident may serve as personal representative only if he or she is a close relative, such as a child, parent, sibling or spouse. A personal representative generally needs a Florida attorney. Because the circuit takes proposed orders by email and documents through the statewide portal, the case rarely requires the family to travel to Fort Pierce, Stuart or Vero Beach.

Closing the estate

1. Let the creditor period run and resolve every timely claim.
2. File a final accounting, or waivers signed by the beneficiaries.
3. Distribute assets and collect receipts.
4. Submit the petition for discharge with the circuit's closing checklist to the correct county probate email box.

How we work with Treasure Coast clients

Treasure Coast families can meet with an attorney at our Indian Harbour Beach office in Brevard County, north of Vero Beach, or by phone or video. Your first consultation is free. We confirm which county and which administration apply, prepare filings to the circuit's checklist, send proposed orders to the right probate email box and guide you to discharge. Because the firm limits its caseload, you work directly with an attorney. Our Florida probate administration page covers the statewide rules, our Treasure Coast estate planning page covers trusts and deeds, and we also help with real estate on the coast. Contact us to get started.