What should I do after a family member dies?

In the first few weeks, focus on protecting property and gathering information, not on paying bills or dividing belongings. Secure the home, vehicles, and valuables; find the original will; and deposit it with the clerk of court within 10 days after learning of the death (§ 732.901). Then collect statements and records so the family can decide whether probate is needed and which kind.

Until a court appoints a personal representative, no one has legal authority to sell the decedent’s property, close accounts, or pay their debts on the estate’s behalf.

Right away

Protect property. Lock the home, keep utilities and insurance in place, collect the mail, and keep vehicles secured and insured. Do not let relatives remove belongings before the will and the law say who receives them.
Order certified death certificates. The funeral home usually helps. Banks, insurers, and the court each need copies.
Find the original will. Check home files, the drafting attorney’s office, and any safe-deposit box. A spouse, parent, adult child, or a person named as personal representative in a copy of the will may ask the bank to open a box with a bank officer present just to look for a will, burial instructions, or a life insurance policy; the bank sends any will to the probate court (§ 655.935).
Deposit the will. Whoever has the original must deposit it with the clerk in the county where the estate will be administered within 10 days (§ 732.901). Depositing it does not open an estate or appoint anyone.
Notify people who need to know, including Social Security, pension administrators, and life insurers. Ask each what they will require.

In the following weeks

List the assets and how each is owned: in the decedent’s name alone, jointly with someone, with a named beneficiary, or in a trust. Ownership decides whether probate is needed.
Gather the papers described in what documents a probate attorney needs.
Keep a log of every expense you pay, such as the funeral, utilities, or insurance, with receipts. Some may be reimbursed from the estate, and funeral expenses have priority among estate debts (§ 733.707).
Watch for deadlines: foreclosure notices, lease terms, insurance renewals, and court papers.

What to hold off on

Paying the decedent’s debts from your own money. Debts are paid by the estate, in a set order.
Giving away or selling property, including vehicles and furniture.
Using the decedent’s accounts, even to pay their bills, unless you are a joint owner with survivorship rights. A personal representative’s authority begins on appointment, though helpful acts beforehand can later be ratified (§ 733.601).

What changes the answer

Whether the person had a will, a trust, or both
Whether they lived in Florida, or only owned property here
Whether there is a surviving spouse or minor children
Whether the home was their homestead
Whether any lawsuit, claim, or settlement is involved

An example

After her father dies in Winter Park, a daughter finds a copy of his will but not the original. She calls the attorney who drafted it, who has the original in his vault, and the attorney deposits it with the Orange County clerk. She keeps paying the homeowner’s insurance from her own account and saves the receipts, collects his mail, and makes a list of his accounts from the statements she finds. She does not close his bank account or pay his credit card, and she brings everything to an initial meeting with a probate attorney.

Common mistakes

Letting the house sit empty without telling the insurer
Dividing furniture, jewelry, or cars before anyone has authority
Closing or draining accounts, or paying credit cards from personal funds
Assuming the will avoids probate

Next step

Make a single folder for the will, death certificates, statements, and receipts, and an initial list of assets showing how each is titled. That list is what a probate attorney will ask for first.

Related guidance

Sources: Florida Statutes § 655.935, § 732.901, § 733.601, and § 733.707 (2026). Checked on October 23, 2026.