Fla. Prob. R. 5.440 · Part II. — PROBATE
PROCEEDINGS FOR REMOVAL OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE
Text — October 1, 2026 edition
(a) Commencement of Proceeding. The court on its own motion may remove, or any interested person by petition may commence a proceeding to remove, a personal representative. A petition for removal must state the facts constituting the grounds on which removal is sought, and must be filed in the court having jurisdiction over the administration of the estate.
(b) Accounting. A removed personal representative must file an accounting within 30 days after removal.
(c) Delivery of Records and Property. A removed personal representative must, immediately after removal or within such time prescribed by court order, deliver to the remaining personal representative or to the successor fiduciary all of the records of the estate and all of the property of the estate.
(d) Failure to File Accounting or Deliver Records and Property. If a removed personal representative fails to file an accounting or fails to deliver all property of the estate and all estate records under the control of the removed personal representative to the remaining personal representative or to the successor fiduciary within the time prescribed by this rule or by court order, the removed personal representative will be subject to contempt proceedings.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
Committee Notes
The revision of subdivision (a) of this rule by the addition of its final phrase represents a rule implementation of the procedure found in section 733.505, Florida Statutes. It is not intended to change the effect of the statute from which it was derived but has been reformatted to conform with the structure of these rules. It is not intended to create a new procedure or modify an existing procedure.
Rule History
1980 Revision: Subdivision (a) amended to require formal notice to interested persons and to delete requirement that court give directions as to mode of notice. Surety authorized to petition for removal.
1984 Revision: Editorial changes. Provisions in prior rule for contempt have been deleted since the court has the inherent power to punish for contempt. Committee notes revised.
1988 Revision: Last phrase of (a) added to implement the procedure found in section 733.505, Florida Statutes. Subdivision (b) amended to parallel interim accounting rules. Deletes ability to extend time to file and adds reference to court power to punish for contempt. Committee notes expanded. Editorial changes. Citation form changes in committee notes.
1992 Revision: Editorial changes. Committee notes revised. Citation form changes in committee notes.
2002 Revision: Entire rule amended. Contents of accountings by removed fiduciaries are now governed by rule 5.346. Editorial changes in (a), (c), and (d). Committee notes revised.
2003 Revision: Committee notes revised.
2007 Revision: Committee notes revised.
2010 Revision: Editorial change in title to clarify scope of rule.
2012 Revision: Committee notes revised.
2026 Revision: Committee notes revised. Statutory References § 731.201(23), Fla. Stat. General definitions. § 733.504, Fla. Stat. Removal of personal representative; causes of removal. § 733.505, Fla. Stat. Jurisdiction in removal proceedings. § 733.506, Fla. Stat. Proceedings for removal. § 733.5061, Fla. Stat. Appointment of successor upon removal. § 733.508, Fla. Stat. Accounting and discharge of removed personal representatives upon removal. § 733.509, Fla. Stat. Surrender of assets upon removal. Rule References Fla. Prob. R. 5.020 Pleadings; verification; motions. Fla. Prob. R. 5.025 Adversary proceedings. Fla. Prob. R. 5.040 Notice. Fla. Prob. R. 5.041 Service of pleadings and documents. Fla. Prob. R. 5.042 Time. Fla. Prob. R. 5.150 Order requiring accounting. Fla. Prob. R. 5.310 Disqualification of personal representative; notification. Fla. Prob. R. 5.345 Accountings other than personal representatives’ final accountings. Fla. Prob. R. 5.346 Fiduciary accounting. Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.516 Service.
Source of truth
- Edition
- October 1, 2026 edition
- Official file
- https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2026/10/Probate-Rules-10-01-26.pdf (PDF pages 206–209)
- Text hash
- sha256 151a39881314065ccdc9b5a78daa3ee5b454252a88f91817399a6200479cb07d
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- compose_book.py 2026-10-03: pypdfium2 primary, PyMuPDF check, PDF bookmarks as the inventory
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.