Probate and Guardianship — Sebastian, Florida

A Sebastian resident's estate or guardianship is opened with the Indian River County Clerk of the Circuit Court, whose Civil Division handles every probate and guardianship case in the Circuit Court.

Venue follows the place a person lived. Under section 733.101, Florida Statutes, probate of wills and letters of administration belong in the county where the decedent was domiciled, which for a Sebastian homeowner in Sebastian Highlands or along Indian River Drive is Indian River County. A case filed in the wrong county can be transferred, and anything done before the transfer still stands.

The Clerk's Probate and Guardianship page places the office in Room 158 of the Indian River County Courthouse, 2000 16th Avenue, Vero Beach, phone (772) 226-3164. The same Civil Division handles incapacity petitions, petitions to approve settlements for minors, and injunctions for protection of vulnerable adults, so a Sebastian family dealing with an aging parent and later that parent's estate stays with one office throughout. In the north county, the Clerk lists a Sebastian Office at 1921 U.S. Highway 1, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm, phone (772) 226-1147.

The probate page links four Self-Represented Litigant videos covering how to request a portal account, use do-it-yourself documents in the portal, file a new case and file into an existing case. The Clerk's Jeffrey R. Smith Access to Justice Self-Help Center lists family law, small claims and residential evictions as its subjects, so estate paperwork from Sebastian falls outside its listed subjects. What follows covers filing procedure and Clerk fees for Indian River County, not advice on any particular estate.

The Indian River County Clerk charges Sebastian estates $231 to open a probate case, $345 for summary administration of an estate worth $1,000 or more, and $400 for formal administration.

The figures below come from the Clerk's fee schedule for probate court and guardianship. They are filing fees only. The probate page adds that the Clerk records and indexes only the probate documents listed in F.S. 28.223 and 28.2401, and recording fees apply to any other document in a Sebastian estate, including death certificates.

Guardianships carry ongoing audit fees. The Indian River County Clerk charges $85 to audit an initial verified inventory with property over $25,000, and annual and final accountings are audited for $20 up to $25,000, $85 from $25,001 to $100,000, $170 from $100,001 to $500,000 and $250 above $500,001. A guardianship over a Sebastian retiree with a house and savings therefore pays one of those audit charges with each accounting while the case stays open.

Small filings have small fees. The probate page sets a $1.00 index fee for depositing a miscellaneous will, a $7.00 fee if the Clerk prepares a sealed receipt for it, a $41.00 filing fee for a Notice of Trust, and a $1.00 fee to file a Declaration for Pre-Need Guardian. Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the Indian River Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller website.

Since July 1, 2026, a Sebastian estate qualifies for summary administration when the Florida estate subject to administration, less exempt property, is $150,000 or less, or when the decedent died more than 2 years earlier.

The threshold sits in section 735.201, Florida Statutes, which now reads that summary administration may be had when the value of the entire estate subject to administration in Florida, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditors, does not exceed $150,000 or the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years. A Sebastian testate estate also qualifies only if the will does not direct administration under chapter 733. The section's history line cites chapter 2026-57.

That chapter came from CS/HB 1337, the 2026 Estates bill. The Florida Senate records that the Governor approved it on 4/29/2026, that it became chapter 2026-57 on 4/30/2026, and that its effective date is 7/1/2026. Guides written before that date can show an older figure, so the current statute text is the figure that governs a Sebastian estate opened today.

An even simpler path exists for the smallest estates. Under section 735.301, no administration is required when a decedent leaves only exempt personal property and other personal property worth no more than preferred funeral expenses and reasonable medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days. On informal application, the court can authorize release of that property by letter under seal. In Indian River County the Clerk lists this disposition of personal property without administration at $231.00, the same as opening a case.

Two statutory clocks matter early in a Sebastian estate: whoever holds the original will must deposit it with the Indian River County Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death, and creditors generally have 3 months after the notice to creditors is first published.

The will deadline is in section 732.901, Florida Statutes. The custodian of a will must deposit it with the clerk of the court having venue within 10 days after receiving information that the testator is dead, and must supply the date of death or the last four digits of the testator's Social Security number. The clerk keeps the original for at least 20 years whether or not probate is ever opened, which is why a will deposited in Vero Beach stays retrievable for a Sebastian family long after the funeral.

The creditor window is in section 733.702. A claim against the estate is generally not binding unless filed in the probate case by the later of 3 months after the first publication of the notice to creditors or 30 days after service on a creditor who had to be served. A claim not timely filed in the Indian River County case is barred unless the court extends the time, which it may do only for fraud, estoppel or insufficient notice.

The Indian River County Clerk charges $41.00 plus postage to file a caveat in a probate case. Families searching for an existing Sebastian case can use the Probate Name Search linked from the Clerk's probate page before filing anything new.

A guardian appointed for a Sebastian adult or minor files an annual plan with the Indian River County court, generally submits to a credit history check and level 2 background screening unless the court waives them, and pays audit fees on each accounting.

The Clerk's probate page explains the reporting rule: section 744.367 requires guardians to file an Annual Guardianship Plan within 90 days after the last day of the anniversary month in which the Letters of Guardianship were signed, covering the coming year, while the reporting date for the annual accounting stays the same. The page also sets a $1.00 fee for a Sebastian resident to file a Declaration for Pre-Need Guardian, plus a $7.00 fee if the Clerk is asked to prepare a receipt for it.

Screening comes before appointment. Under section 744.3135, Florida Statutes, the court requires guardians seeking appointment, other than corporate guardians, to submit at their own expense to a credit history investigation and level 2 background screening. A nonprofessional guardian who is appointed may petition for reimbursement of those reasonable expenses. For a nonprofessional guardian, the statute accepts a state and national records check using fingerprints, with the fee sent to FDLE, and the Clerk posts a fingerprinting brochure on its probate page for Sebastian filers.

Oversight continues after appointment. The Clerk's Internal Auditor runs a guardianship fraud hotline at 772-226-3108 for anonymous reports of potential financial fraud or waste in court-appointed guardianships over elderly, minor or incapacitated persons, and Indian River County guardianship accountings are audited under the fee scale shown above.