Can a 17 Year Old Serve as Personal Representative or Executor of a Florida Estate?

How old do you have to be to serve as executor of a Florida estate? Is an “executor” the same thing as a “personal representative”? Who can serve as the executor of a Palm Beach estate? If your mom dies, how can you be appointed the executor of her estate by the West Palm Beach probate court? What should you probate litigator know about the qualification requirements of being an executor in Florida? If you are asking any of these questions, you should read Florida Statutes 733.302 and 733.303. These sections of the Florida Probate Code explain who cannot serve as an executor or personal representative of a Florida estate. Probate litigators know that, in Florida, the executor is referred to as the personal representative. There are special rules regarding certain people like felons and people who are under the age of eighteen. If a person is under the age of eighteen, they cannot serve as personal representative. For more information about who can be the executor or PR of Florida probate, or who can run a Florida estate, talk to a Florida estate planning or probate lawyer.

733.302 Who may be appointed personal representative.—

Subject to the limitations in this part, any person who is sui juris and is a resident of Florida at the time of the death of the person whose estate is to be administered is qualified to act as personal representative in Florida.

733.303 Persons not qualified.—