What it means
Subsection (1) hands the personal representative the estate: except as the will provides otherwise, the PR has the right to — and shall — take possession or control of the decedent's property. The big exception is protected homestead, which is outside the PR's reach. Real property and tangible items may be left with the person presumptively entitled to them unless administration requires possession.
The PR must take all steps reasonably necessary to manage, protect, and preserve the estate until distribution, and may sue to recover property or determine title. The statute also fences off a surviving spouse's one-half share of community property under ss. 732.216–732.228. Subsection (2) lets an underfunded estate certify its shortfall to the trustee of the decedent's revocable trust and collect what administration requires.
- The PR has the right to — and shall — take possession or control of the decedent's property; the will can vary this.
- Protected homestead is excluded — it is not an estate asset in the personal representative's hands.
- Property may be left with the person presumptively entitled to it unless administration requires possession.
- The PR must take all steps reasonably necessary to manage, protect, and preserve the estate — and may sue to recover property or determine title.
- The PR may not knowingly take a surviving spouse's one-half community-property share (ss. 732.216–732.228).
- If estate assets cannot cover expenses and obligations, the PR may certify the shortfall in writing to the trustee of the decedent's s. 733.707(3) trust and be paid from it.
How it plays out
Possession fights are the early fights: a sibling living in the decedent's condo, a truck parked at a friend's house, a storage unit nobody has keys to. This is the section we hand the judge, because it makes possession the PR's legal right rather than a family negotiation. The homestead carve-out surprises new PRs constantly — the protected homestead is not theirs to control or sell, and treating it as an estate asset is one of the most common mistakes we unwind.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 733.607 does real work:
Questions people ask
