Florida Statute 733.705
“Payment of and objection to claims”
What it means
After a claim is filed, §733.705 choreographs what happens next. The personal representative — or another interested person — may object by the later of 4 months from first publication of the notice to creditors or 30 days after the claim is filed or amended. An objection is not a ruling on the merits; it is a demand that the creditor prove the claim in court.
Once served with an objection, the claimant has 30 days to file an independent action, or the claim is barred. Valid claims must generally be paid within 1 year of first publication; no payment can be compelled in the first 5 months, and unpaid ordinary claims start earning interest at that same 5-month mark.
- Objection deadline: the later of 4 months from first publication or 30 days from the claim's timely filing or amendment.
- Failing to serve the objection as the Probate Rules require is an abandonment of the objection.
- A claimant served with an objection has 30 days to sue — extendable only by the PR's written agreement or by the court for good cause.
- Claims are paid within 1 year of first publication; no payment can be compelled during the first 5 months.
- Interest on ordinary claims begins 5 months from first publication; written interest-bearing obligations keep their own terms.
- Contingent claims die at 5 years from first publication if the contingency never ripens.
How it plays out
Objections are routine in our files — sometimes because a claim is inflated, sometimes just to force documentation. The trap is on the creditor side: the 30-day countersuit deadline runs from service of the objection, and we have seen valid claims die on a mis-calendared trigger. On the estate side, we calendar the 4-month objection deadline the day the notice first publishes, and we never let a PR pay a doubtful claim just to quiet the file.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 733.705 does real work:
Questions people ask
