What is the Order of Priority for Probate Claims in Florida?

Your father’s estate has $30,000 in the bank. There’s $5,000 in funeral expenses, $8,000 in medical bills, $3,000 owed to the IRS, $12,000 in credit card debt, and the lawyer wants $4,000. Everyone wants to be paid. Who gets their money first?

Florida law establishes a strict order for paying estate debts. Some creditors get paid before others, and if there’s not enough money, some creditors get nothing.

Why Does Priority Matter?

When an estate doesn’t have enough assets to pay all its debts, the personal representative can’t just pay whoever yells loudest. Florida Statute § 733.707 establishes eight classes of claims, ranked by priority.

The personal representative must:

• Pay all Class 1 claims before paying any Class 2 claims
• Pay all Class 2 claims before paying any Class 3 claims
• Continue down the line until money runs out

If the personal representative pays lower-priority claims when higher-priority claims exist, they can be held personally liable for the mistake.

The Eight Classes of Claims in Florida Probate

Class 1: Costs and Expenses of Administration

What’s included:

• Court filing fees
• Attorney fees for the estate
• Personal representative’s commission
• Attorney fees awarded under § 733.106(3)
• Costs of publishing notice to creditors
• Appraisal fees
• Accounting fees

These get paid first because they’re necessary to administer the estate at all. No one works for free, and the probate process has mandatory costs.

The personal representative’s commission is calculated as a percentage of the estate value. Attorney fees are typically based on a statutory fee schedule for routine estates or reasonable hourly rates for complex matters.

Class 2: Funeral and Burial Expenses

What’s included:

• Funeral service costs
• Burial or cremation
• Grave marker expenses
• Interment costs

Dollar limit: Up to $6,000 aggregate

Florida law caps these at $6,000 total, whether paid by a guardian, the personal representative, or any other person. If funeral expenses exceed $6,000, the excess drops down to Class 8 and gets paid only after all higher-priority classes are satisfied.

This often surprises families who spent $15,000 on a funeral. The estate pays the first $6,000 as a Class 2 claim. The remaining $9,000 becomes a Class 8 claim and may not get paid if the estate runs out of money.

Class 3: Debts and Taxes with Federal Preference

What’s included:

• Federal tax debts (income tax, estate tax, employment taxes)
• Claims under Florida Statutes § 409.9101 (Medicaid estate recovery)
• Claims under Florida Statute § 414.28 (public assistance recovery)
• Unpaid court costs, fees, or fines owed to the state

The federal government gets special treatment. If the IRS has a claim, it jumps ahead of almost everyone except administration costs and funerals.

Medicaid estate recovery is a big deal in Florida. If the decedent received Medicaid benefits, the state can recover those costs from the estate. These claims get Class 3 priority.

Class 4: Medical and Hospital Expenses

What’s included:

• Medical expenses from the last 60 days of life
• Hospital bills from the final illness
• Compensation for people who attended the decedent
• Must be reasonable and necessary

Notice the limitation: only the last 60 days count as Class 4. If the decedent had medical bills from six months before death, those fall into Class 8.

This protects end-of-life care providers while preventing old medical debt from jumping the line.

Class 5: Family Allowance

What’s included:

• Reasonable allowance for the maintenance of the surviving spouse and dependent children during administration
• Up to $18,000 total per Florida Statute § 732.403
• Can be paid as a lump sum or periodic installments

The family allowance recognizes that surviving spouses and children need support while the estate winds through probate. They shouldn’t have to wait months for basic living expenses.

The court determines what’s reasonable based on the family’s circumstances and needs.

Class 6: Child Support Arrearages

What’s included:

• Court-ordered child support that wasn’t paid
• Arrearages only (back payments owed)

If the decedent owed back child support, those obligations get paid before general creditors. This protects children from deadbeat parents even after death.

Current ongoing child support typically ends at death, but arrearages survive and must be paid from the estate.

Class 7: Business Debts Acquired After Death

What’s included:

• Debts from continuing the decedent’s business after death
• Only to the extent of business assets under Florida Statute § 733.612(22)

Sometimes a personal representative continues operating the decedent’s business temporarily. Debts incurred during that continuation get Class 7 priority, but only up to the value of business assets.

This prevents the personal representative from running up business debt that depletes the estate’s other assets.

Class 8: All Other Claims

What’s included:

• Credit card debt
• Personal loans
• Judgments from lawsuits during the decedent’s lifetime
• Contract disputes
• Funeral expenses over $6,000
• Medical bills older than 60 days
• Most other unsecured debt

This is the catch-all category. If your claim doesn’t fit into Classes 1-7, it’s Class 8.

In insolvent estates (not enough money to pay all debts), Class 8 creditors often receive nothing or pennies on the dollar.

What Happens If There’s Not Enough Money to Pay Everyone in a Class?

Florida Statute § 733.707(2) addresses this: creditors within the same class are paid ratably in proportion to their claims.

Example:

An estate has $10,000 left after paying Classes 1-7. There are three Class 8 creditors:

• Credit card company: $8,000 claim
• Personal loan: $4,000 claim
• Judgment creditor: $8,000 claim

Total Class 8 claims: $20,000

Each creditor receives 50% of their claim (because $10,000 available ÷ $20,000 total claims = 50%):

• Credit card gets $4,000
• Personal loan gets $2,000
• Judgment creditor gets $4,000

No one gets paid in full, but everyone in the class gets the same percentage.

Do Secured Creditors Follow This Priority System?

No. Secured creditors (mortgages, car loans, equipment financing) don’t file claims in probate.

Secured creditors can:

• Foreclose on the collateral
• Repossess their secured property
• Exercise their contractual remedies

They’re not limited by the priority system because they have specific property backing their debt.

However, if the collateral doesn’t cover the full debt (like a car loan where the car is worth less than what’s owed), the deficiency becomes an unsecured claim and falls into the priority system, usually as Class 8.

Can the Personal Representative Be Held Liable for Paying in the Wrong Order?

Yes. Personal representatives are fiduciaries. They owe a duty to creditors, not just beneficiaries.

If a personal representative pays Class 8 claims when Class 3 claims exist unpaid, they can be surcharged personally for the difference.

Real consequence:

In Rich v. Narog, a Florida appellate court surcharged a personal representative approximately $2.54 million for paying fifteen time-barred claims. The personal representative had to pay that money out of pocket.

The message is clear: follow the rules or pay the price personally.

What If Someone Files a Late Claim?

Late claims are barred under Florida Statute § 733.702.

Creditor deadlines:

• Known or reasonably ascertainable creditors: 30 days after service of notice to creditors, OR 3 months after first publication (whichever is later)
• Unknown creditors: 3 months after first publication
• Hard deadline: 2 years after death (even if no notice given)

If a creditor misses these deadlines, their claim is barred regardless of priority class.

Do Revocable Trust Assets Have to Pay Estate Debts?

Sometimes. Florida Statute § 733.707(3) makes revocable trusts liable for estate expenses and obligations if the probate estate is insufficient.

The process:

1. Pay from probate estate assets first
2. If probate assets run out, reach into the revocable trust
3. Follow the same eight-class priority system

Retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, Keoghs) held in trust are specifically excluded from this rule under § 733.707(3)(a).

What Gets Paid to Beneficiaries?

Nothing gets distributed to beneficiaries until all valid claims are paid in full.

Florida Statute § 733.608 is clear: all estate assets are applied first to paying debts, taxes, claims, and administration expenses. Only the remainder goes to beneficiaries.

Distribution order:

1. Pay all eight classes of claims
2. Pay any remaining estate taxes
3. Distribute what’s left to beneficiaries

If there’s nothing left after paying claims, beneficiaries receive nothing.

What About Exempt Property?

Exempt property (homestead, household items up to $20,000, two vehicles) is protected from general creditor claims under Florida Statute § 732.402.

These assets go to the surviving spouse or children regardless of estate debts (except perfected security interests on that specific property).

Exempt property is excluded from the estate before calculating what’s available to pay the eight classes of claims.

How Does Priority Work with Homestead Property?

Homestead gets constitutional protection and generally isn’t available to creditors at all.

The Florida Constitution Article X, Section 4 protects the homestead from forced sale to satisfy debts (except taxes, mortgages, and certain liens).

Homestead passes to the surviving spouse or children outside the probate claims process entirely.

Get Help Handling Probate Claims in Florida

Understanding claim priority can mean the difference between a smooth administration and personal liability. If you’re serving as a personal representative and facing multiple creditors, you need to get the order right.

Contact Vollrath Law for help administering Florida estates. We ensure claims are handled correctly so you fulfill your fiduciary duties without exposing yourself to personal liability.