Orlando Living Trust: Orange County Probate 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 Orange 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 an Orlando mailing address in a neighboring county would be served by that county's offices instead. No official page stating which counties Orlando extends into could be opened when this page was written, so none is named here.

The Clerk of Courts' Probate Division

The clerk's Wills page says the custodian of the will must file the original will in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court within 10 days of receiving information that the person is deceased, which is the rule in Florida Statutes section 732.901, and must supply the person's date of death or Social Security number on deposit. There is no fee to file a will, but there is a $6.00 fee for a receipt of will. The clerk's Probate page says clerk staff cannot provide legal advice or determine which type of probate applies.

That page describes the types of administration. Summary administration applies when the value of the entire estate subject to administration in Florida does not exceed $150,000 or the decedent has been deceased for more than two years, the figure in section 735.201 as amended by Chapter 2026-57 effective July 1, 2026; an attorney is not required for summary administration, though the clerk recommends legal guidance. Formal administration, the clerk says, must be filed by an attorney licensed to practice law in Florida. The Florida probate process guide walks through the general steps.

Probate filing fees listed by the clerk

Recording a deed with the Orange County Comptroller

The deed that moves an Orlando home into a living trust is recorded not by the Clerk of Courts but by the Orange County Comptroller, whose Recording Fees page lists the charges below. Payments are payable to Orange County Comptroller; the page lists personal and business checks, bank cashier's checks, traveler's checks and money orders, and MasterCard and Visa credit transactions in person with a $500 limit per visit.

The Comptroller's Official Records Department, as its department page says, records, indexes and archives the documents that make up the Official Records of Orange County, including deeds, and collects the documentary stamp taxes and recording fees due when a deed is recorded.

What this means for an Orlando homeowner

A will alone leaves an Orlando home in the probate estate, to be administered through the steps in the Florida probate process guide. After the home is deeded to the trustee of a living trust, it is trust property that passes under the trust's terms, subject to the homestead rules for a surviving spouse or minor child in the spouse's rights guide. The trust deed is recorded once, with the Comptroller, while the owner is alive.