Probate Attorney for Fernandina Beach, Florida

Probate in Nassau County: Where It’s Filed

Fernandina Beach is in Nassau County, which sits in Florida’s 4th Judicial Circuit. Probate is filed with the Nassau County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, in the county where the decedent was domiciled at death. Cases are handled at the Robert M. Foster Justice Center at 76347 Veterans Way in Yulee, where the Clerk’s Civil Department takes probate filings, while the historic Nassau County Courthouse at 416 Centre Street in Fernandina Beach keeps a second Clerk’s office. Attorneys e-file every document through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, which is why an out-of-state family can have a Nassau County estate handled without anyone traveling to the courthouse.

Fernandina Beach is the Nassau County seat, and probate is filed at the Robert M. Foster Justice Center in Yulee instead, where one senior judge hears every probate and guardianship case in the county about one Monday a month, usually on Zoom. We serve Fernandina Beach and Nassau County residents, including Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Yulee, Callahan, Hilliard, Bryceville, American Beach.

Which Kind of Probate You’ll Need

Most Nassau County estates pass through one of three doors. The cheapest one may be open.

• Disposition without administration. Tiny estates with only exempt property and final-expense reimbursement; days to weeks.
• Summary administration. Estates of $150,000 or less (raised from $75,000 on July 1, 2026) after exempt property, or when the decedent died more than two years ago; often weeks.
• Formal administration. Everything else; a personal representative is appointed and the case runs about 6 to 12 months.

We confirm which applies at your consult and quote a flat fee. Estimate the cost and timeline first →

How Long, and What It Costs

Formal administration is paced by the 3-month creditor-claim window; clean distribution waits for it to pass. Florida law sets a presumed-reasonable attorney fee scaled to the estate, but it’s a ceiling, not a mandate. Our flat fees start at $1,500 (disposition), $2,500 (summary), and $3,500 (formal). Government costs, the Nassau County filing fee (about $400), newspaper publication, and certified copies, are additional and passed through at cost. See the full Florida probate guide →

Out-of-State Personal Representatives

Under Florida law, you can serve as personal representative of a Nassau County estate from another state if you’re related to the decedent by blood, adoption, or marriage; an out-of-state child qualifies. We represent personal representatives across Fernandina Beach and Nassau County by phone, video, and e-signature.

Local Rules, Judges, and the Clerk’s Probate Office

Every circuit publishes administrative orders and local procedures that control how probate actually runs in Nassau County, including which division gets the case, which checklists are required, and how proposed orders reach the judge. Nassau probate does not sit in a circuit division at all. Every probate and guardianship matter in the county goes to one senior judge, who hears them about one Monday a month and prefers Zoom, in a standing room the court publishes. A senior judge has no judicial assistant, so hearing dates come from one circuit judge’s assistant while proposed orders are processed by another judge’s assistant, and sending either request to the wrong person is the standard Nassau mistake. In-person hearings are held in the Grand Jury Room on the third floor of the Robert M. Foster Justice Center in Yulee rather than in a numbered courtroom, and Nassau posts $400 to open a formal administration where Duval, in the same circuit, posts $401. The circuit posts its administrative orders through the Duval Clerk repository rather than on the court site.

• Administrative orders of the Fourth Judicial Circuit
• Fourth Judicial Circuit judges directory
• The clerk’s probate office for Nassau County
• Local probate forms and checklists

You do not have to learn any of this yourself. Part of what a flat fee covers is an attorney who already files under these rules, so nothing bounces back for a missing checklist.

Rather handle the filing yourself? Our Nassau County Probate Court filing guide is the procedural version of this page, with the courthouse address, where the original will goes, which forms the county wants, the posted filing fee, and an eleven-step checklist for opening the estate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Fla. Stat. ch. 733 to 735 (administration); §733.304 (nonresident PR); §733.702 (creditor claims); Fla. Prob. R. 5.030 (attorney required). Filing via the Nassau County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller (4th Judicial Circuit) and the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. (retrieved 2026-06-07)

Updated August 12, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law, not legal advice. We serve Fernandina Beach and Nassau County residents from Miami; this is not a Fernandina Beach office.