Miami Living Trust: Miami-Dade Probate Court and Deed Recording

By Rozsa Gyene, California estate planning attorney, State Bar of California #208356. Published September 28, 2026. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.

Which county this page covers

This page covers Miami-Dade County. Under Florida Statutes section 733.101 probate is filed in the county where the person was domiciled, and deeds are recorded in the county where the land is, so a Miami mailing address in a neighboring county would be served by that county's clerk instead. Hialeah, also served by the Miami-Dade clerk, has its own page.

The clerk's probate office

The clerk's Probate Court page describes three things the office handles directly. Wills on deposit: once a person has died, the custodian of the will must deposit it with the clerk in the county and state where the deceased lived, within 10 days after being informed of the death, which is the rule in Florida Statutes section 732.901. Small estates petitions, described below. And caveats: a legal notice filed by an heir, interested party or creditor before a case is opened, which the clerk accepts at no fee and answers in writing with the case number once an estate is opened. The page also notes that the probate of all wills and the granting of letters must be in the state and county where the deceased lived, and that the clerk cannot give legal advice.

Small estates petition

What the statute calls disposition of personal property without administration (section 735.301), the Miami-Dade clerk calls a small estates petition. Per the clerk's page: these cases are filed when formal administration is not necessary and no real property is involved; the deceased must have been a Miami-Dade resident; the assets must be $6,000 or less and cannot exceed the funeral bill; the petition is filed in person or by mail with a certified copy of the death certificate, a copy of the itemized funeral contract, the paid receipt, documentation of the decedent's assets and the filing fee; assets are released only to the party who paid the funeral bill; and there is an additional $3 fee per bank account beyond the first. If the assets are over $6,000 the clerk says a small estates action cannot proceed. Formal and summary administration are described in the Florida probate process guide.

Recording a deed with the county recorder

Under chapter 28 of the Florida Statutes, as the clerk's Official Records page explains, the Clerk of the Circuit Court is the official recorder of every instrument that may be recorded in the county: deeds, mortgages, liens, affidavits, plats, judgments, declarations of domicile, satisfactions, powers of attorney and financing statements. Fees, mortgage taxes and real estate transfer taxes are computed and collected at recording.

Fees and payment

All documents must be original or court certified, signed and notarized. Payment may be cash (in person only), cashier's check, money order, a check from a title company, attorney or mortgage company, or a credit card in person (MasterCard, Visa, American Express or Discover) with a daily limit of $5,000, payable to the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller. The clerk warns that it cannot guarantee same day recording and recommends recording time sensitive documents in person.

What this means for a Miami homeowner

A will alone leaves a Miami home in the probate estate, to be administered through the steps in the Florida probate process guide. A home deeded to the trustee of a living trust is trust property and passes under the trust's terms, subject to Florida's homestead rules for a surviving spouse or minor child described in the spouse's rights guide. The trust deed is recorded once, at the Justice Center, while the owner is alive.