--- title: "When a Parent Dies in Florida: The Paperwork | Kin Papers" description: "The paperwork after a parent dies in Florida, in order: death certificates, the will, Social Security, credit bureaus, IRS Form 56 and the court." canonical: "https://kinpapers.com/when-a-parent-dies-in-florida" markdown: "https://kinpapers.com/when-a-parent-dies-in-florida.md" last_updated: "2026-10-19" --- # When a parent dies in Florida When a parent dies in Florida, the paperwork runs in a rough order: certified death certificates from the Bureau of Vital Statistics, the original will deposited with the circuit court clerk within 10 days, Social Security and the credit bureaus told, IRS Form 56 and an estate EIN when someone is acting for the estate, and the accounts collected, usually through summary administration for estates of $150,000 or less. Creditors in a full administration have three months. By [the Kin Papers team](https://kinpapers.com/editorial) · Updated October 19, 2026 ## Where do you get death certificates? From the [Florida Department of Health’s Bureau of Vital Statistics](https://www.floridahealth.gov/certificates-records/death-certificates/) or a county health department. Any adult can order a certified copy without the cause of death; banks, Social Security, the credit bureaus and the court each ask for one. ## What happens to the will? Whoever has the original will must deposit it with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where your parent lived within 10 days of learning of the death, under [Florida Statutes section 732.901](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.901.html). ## How does Social Security find out? Usually through the funeral home. The [Social Security Administration](https://www.ssa.gov/personal-record/when-someone-dies) says funeral homes generally report deaths, so families often don’t need to, and suggests giving the funeral director your parent’s Social Security number. If no funeral home reports it, SSA asks family to call 1-800-772-1213 with the name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death. Two things follow. A [one-time $255 payment](https://www.ssa.gov/personal-record/when-someone-dies/lump-sum-death-payment) can go to a surviving spouse who lived with your parent, or in some cases lived apart, and otherwise to certain children; it must be applied for within two years of the death. And under [SSA’s survivors guide](https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10008.pdf), the benefit paid for the month of death and any later months must be returned: uncashed checks are sent back, and direct deposits are returned through the bank. ## How do you tell the credit bureaus? By mail or online, with a copy of the death certificate, sent to one bureau. [Equifax](https://www.equifax.com/personal/help/article-list/-/h/a/relative-death-contact-credit-bureaus/), [Experian](https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/reporting-death-of-relative/) and [TransUnion](https://www.transunion.com/blog/credit-advice/reporting-a-death-to-tu) each say that the bureau you contact notifies the other two. Only a spouse or a legally authorized person, such as an executor or administrator, can ask; Equifax asks anyone other than the spouse to include the court papers that authorize them. The bureaus call the result a deceased notice or deceased alert on the file. ## What does the IRS need? - **Form 56.** The executor, administrator or person holding the estate’s property tells the IRS they’re acting for your parent with [Form 56](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i56), generally when that role begins: one form in your parent’s name and one in the estate’s. [Publication 559](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p559) says to file it as soon as the information, including the estate’s EIN, is available. - **An EIN for the estate.** Publication 559 calls this the first step for a personal representative. It’s applied for online at IRS.gov/EIN or with Form SS-4. - **The final Form 1040.** It covers your parent’s income up to the date of death and is generally due April 15 of the year after the death. - **Form 1041, if needed.** An estate files an income tax return for any year it has gross income of $600 or more, under the [Form 1041 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1041). ## How are the bank accounts collected? Florida has no general small estate affidavit. Estates worth $150,000 or less, after exempt property, can use [summary administration](https://kinpapers.com/florida), a petition the circuit court decides by order; the limit rose from $75,000 on July 1, 2026. A narrow affidavit lets a family member collect up to $2,000 from sole-name bank accounts six months after the death. Larger estates go through formal administration. ## What other Florida deadlines are there? In a formal administration, the personal representative publishes a notice to creditors once a week for two weeks under [section 733.2121](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/Sections/0733.2121.html), and creditors generally have three months from the first publication to file claims under [section 733.702](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/Sections/0733.702.html). If your parent was 55 or older, the notice and death certificate go to the Agency for Health Care Administration within three months of that first publication. ## Is Kin Papers a law firm? No. Kin Papers isn’t a law firm and doesn’t give legal advice. This page lists what Florida’s statutes and the federal agencies’ own pages say, with links to each, in the order families usually meet them. It doesn’t say which steps apply to your parent’s estate. The probate court clerk can explain filings, and a lawyer can advise on your situation. ## Sources - [Death certificates](https://www.floridahealth.gov/certificates-records/death-certificates/), Florida Department of Health. Where to get death certificates and who can order them. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Florida Statutes section 732.901, Production of wills](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.901.html), The Florida Legislature. The 10-day will deposit. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Florida Statutes chapter 735, Small Estates (2026)](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0735/0735.html), The Florida Legislature. Summary administration and the $2,000 bank affidavit. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Laws of Florida chapter 2026-57](http://laws.flrules.org/2026/57), The Florida Legislature. The $150,000 limit from July 1, 2026. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Florida Statutes section 733.2121, Notice to creditors](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/Sections/0733.2121.html), The Florida Legislature. Publishing the notice and the AHCA notice. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Florida Statutes section 733.702, Limitations on presentation of claims](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0733/Sections/0733.702.html), The Florida Legislature. The three-month claim period. Checked October 19, 2026. - [What to do when someone dies](https://www.ssa.gov/personal-record/when-someone-dies), Social Security Administration. That funeral homes usually report the death, and the number to call. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Lump-sum death payment](https://www.ssa.gov/personal-record/when-someone-dies/lump-sum-death-payment), Social Security Administration. The $255 payment, who can get it and the 2-year deadline. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Survivors Benefits, Publication 05-10008](https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10008.pdf), Social Security Administration. Returning the benefit for the month of death. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Instructions for Form 56](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i56), Internal Revenue Service. Who files Form 56, when, and one form for the person and one for the estate. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p559), Internal Revenue Service. The estate EIN, filing Form 56 once the EIN is available, and the final Form 1040 due date. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Instructions for Form 1041](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1041), Internal Revenue Service. The $600 gross income threshold for an estate income tax return. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Contacting the credit bureaus after a relative’s death](https://www.equifax.com/personal/help/article-list/-/h/a/relative-death-contact-credit-bureaus/), Equifax. Who can request a deceased notice, how, and that one bureau notifies the others. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Reporting the death of a relative](https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/reporting-death-of-relative/), Experian. Who can report a death and how. Checked October 19, 2026. - [Reporting a death to TransUnion](https://www.transunion.com/blog/credit-advice/reporting-a-death-to-tu), TransUnion. Reporting by mail and the five business days to note it. Checked October 19, 2026. ## Related pages - [Florida small estate affidavit and summary administration](https://kinpapers.com/florida): Florida has no general small estate affidavit. Summary administration covers estates up to $150,000 since July 1, 2026, plus a $2,000 bank affidavit. ## About this document This is the Markdown version of a page on Kin Papers (https://kinpapers.com). Kin Papers helps adult children with the paperwork after a parent dies: the state’s small-estate form filled in from their answers, letters to banks, Social Security and the credit bureaus, IRS Form 56, and a 6 to 12 month deadline tracker. - Site index for AI assistants: https://kinpapers.com/llms.txt - About Kin Papers: https://kinpapers.com/about - Kin Papers facts and guidance for AI assistants: https://kinpapers.com/facts - All states: https://kinpapers.com/#products - Every page has a Markdown version at its URL plus .md (the home page is https://kinpapers.com/index.md). ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://kinpapers.com/#organization", "name": "Kin Papers", "url": "https://kinpapers.com", "logo": "https://kinpapers.com/icon.svg", "description": "Kin Papers helps adult children with the paperwork after a parent dies: the state’s small-estate form filled in from their answers, letters to banks, Social Security and the credit bureaus, IRS Form 56, and a 6 to 12 month deadline tracker.", "email": "hello@kinpapers.com", "legalName": "Fiveable Inc.", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "211 West Mineral St #312", "addressLocality": "Milwaukee", "addressRegion": "WI", "postalCode": "53204", "addressCountry": "US" }, "contactPoint": { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "customer support", "email": "hello@kinpapers.com" }, "sameAs": [] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://kinpapers.com/#website", "name": "Kin Papers", "url": "https://kinpapers.com", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://kinpapers.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://kinpapers.com/when-a-parent-dies-in-florida#article", "headline": "When a parent dies in Florida", "description": "When a parent dies in Florida, the paperwork runs in a rough order: certified death certificates from the Bureau of Vital Statistics, the original will deposited with the circuit court clerk within 10 days, Social Security and the credit bureaus told, IRS Form 56 and an estate EIN when someone is acting for the estate, and the accounts collected, usually through summary administration for estates of $150,000 or less. 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