Florida SB 1500: Transportation

Bill Text

1500 
Estates 
2026-02-05T04:04:17Z 
Revising the issues a court may resolve for a personal representative; requiring the court to award taxable costs and attorney fees in certain proceedings; authorizing the court to direct such payment from certain persons; revising when summary administration proceedings may commence for either a resident or nonresident decedent’s estate; revising the sum for funds certain financial institutions may make payable to a decedent’s family member, etc. 
Committee Substitute 1 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
c1 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 1500 

 By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Bradley 

 597-02500-26 20261500c1 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to estates; amending ss. 655.933 and 
 3 655.936, F.S.; revising the responsibilities a lessor 
 4 of a safe-deposit box has to certain persons; amending 
 5 s. 733.603, F.S.; revising the issues a court may 
 6 resolve for a personal representative; amending s. 
 7 733.612, F.S.; revising the list of transactions a 
 8 personal representative may make if acting reasonably 
 9 for the benefit of certain persons; creating s. 
 10 733.6125, F.S.; requiring the court to award taxable 
 11 costs and attorney fees in certain proceedings; 
 12 authorizing the court to direct such payment from 
 13 certain persons; providing that such payment may be 
 14 satisfied from certain property; amending s. 733.6171, 
 15 F.S.; revising what constitutes an extraordinary 
 16 service of an attorney; making technical changes; 
 17 amending s. 735.201, F.S.; revising when summary 
 18 administration proceedings may commence for either a 
 19 resident or nonresident decedent’s estate; amending s. 
 20 735.302, F.S.; revising the sum at which an 
 21 overpayment of taxes by a decedent may be refunded by 
 22 the United States Treasury Department; amending s. 
 23 735.303, F.S.; revising the sum for funds certain 
 24 financial institutions may make payable to a 
 25 decedent’s family member; conforming provisions to 
 26 changes made by the act; amending s. 735.304, F.S.; 
 27 revising the prohibition against certain proceedings 
 28 for a decedent when he or she dies intestate and 
 29 leaves only certain personal property worth a 
 30 specified sum; reenacting s. 655.937(1)(b), F.S., 
 31 relating to access to safe-deposit boxes leased in two 
 32 or more names, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 
 33 655.933, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting s. 
 34 734.101(4), F.S., relating to foreign personal 
 35 representatives, to incorporate the amendment made to 
 36 s. 655.936, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting 
 37 s. 733.106(4), F.S., relating to costs and attorney 
 38 fees, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 
 39 733.6171, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 
 40 effective date. 
 41 
 42 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 43 
 44 Section 1. Section 655.933, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 45 read: 
 46 655.933 Access by fiduciaries.—If a safe-deposit box is 
 47 made available by a lessor to one or more persons acting as 
 48 fiduciaries, the lessor may, except as otherwise expressly 
 49 provided in the lease or the writings pursuant to which such 
 50 fiduciaries are acting, allow access thereto as follows: 
 51 (1) Must allow access to the safe-deposit box by any one or 
 52 more of the persons acting as personal representatives who 
 53 present the lessor with a copy of the letters of administration; 
 54 and. 
 55 (2) May allow access to the safe-deposit box by: 
 56 (a) Any one or more of the persons otherwise acting as 
 57 fiduciaries if authorized in writing, which writing is signed by 
 58 all other persons so acting; or. 
 59 (b)(3) By Any agent authorized in writing, which writing is 
 60 signed by all persons acting as fiduciaries. 
 61 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 655.936, Florida 
 62 Statutes, is amended to read: 
 63 655.936 Delivery of safe-deposit box contents or property 
 64 held in safekeeping to personal representative.— 
 65 (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3), the lessor 
 66 shall: 
 67 (a) Immediately deliver to a personal representative 
 68 appointed by a court in this state, upon presentation of a 
 69 certified copy of his or her letters of authority, all property 
 70 deposited with it by the decedent for safekeeping;, and shall 
 71 (b) Grant the personal representative access to any safe 
 72 deposit box in the decedent’s name and allow permit him or her 
 73 to remove from such box any part or all of the contents thereof; 
 74 and 
 75 (c) Allow the personal representative or the personal 
 76 representative’s attorney to pay the accumulated charges and 
 77 terminate the lease. 
 78 Section 3. Section 733.603, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 79 read: 
 80 733.603 Personal representative to proceed without court 
 81 order.—A personal representative shall proceed expeditiously 
 82 w