Florida Statute 734.102
“Ancillary administration”
What it means
When a nonresident dies leaving assets in Florida, credits due from Florida residents, or liens on Florida property, the home-state probate cannot reach them — Florida requires its own ancillary administration. Ancillary letters go, in order, to the person the will names for Florida property, then the qualified foreign personal representative, then a qualified alternate, then a representative chosen by a majority in interest of the Florida property.
A will executed as Florida law requires is admitted here on the foreign proof. The ancillary personal representative gives bond, publishes and serves notice to creditors under chapter 733, pays Florida claims, and only then sends the surplus to the domiciliary estate or straight to the beneficiaries.
- Triggered by a nonresident decedent's Florida assets, credits due from Florida residents, or liens on Florida property.
- Preference for ancillary letters: will-designated Florida PR → qualified foreign PR → qualified alternate → majority-in-interest choice.
- In intestacy, when the foreign PR isn't Florida-qualified, the code's ordinary order of preference applies.
- Creditor notice is served and published under chapter 733; Florida claims are paid before property leaves the state.
- After expenses and claims, the court may order the balance transferred to the foreign PR or distributed to beneficiaries.
- Ancillary PRs hold the same powers as other Florida personal representatives, including sale, lease, and mortgage of property.
How it plays out
Snowbird estates are our steadiest ancillary work: a Michigan or Ontario domiciliary with a Gulf-coast condo. The home probate handles everything else; the condo needs a Florida proceeding before title can move. We open the ancillary case with authenticated copies from the domiciliary court, publish creditor notice, and close within months. The avoidance planning is real, too — nonresidents who deed Florida property into a revocable trust spare their families the second probate entirely.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 734.102 does real work:
Questions people ask
