Fla. Prob. R. 5.510 · Part II. — PROBATE
ESTABLISHMENT AND PROBATE OF LOST OR DESTROYED WILL
Text — October 1, 2026 edition
(a) Proceeding. The establishment and probate of a lost or destroyed will must be in 1 proceeding.
(b) Petition. The petition, in addition to reciting information required under these rules for petition for administration, must include a statement of the facts constituting grounds on which relief is sought, and a statement of the contents of the will or, if available, a copy of the will.
(c) Testimony. The testimony of each witness in the proceeding must be reduced to writing and filed and may be used as evidence in any contest of the will if the witness has died or moved from the state.
(d) Notice. No lost or destroyed will may be admitted to probate unless formal notice has been given to those who, but for the will, would be entitled to the devised property.
(e) Order. The order admitting the will to probate must state in full its terms and provisions.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
Committee Notes
This rule represents a rule implementation of the procedure formerly found in section 733.207, 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
1977 Revision: Editorial change in subdivision (c) of prior rule.
1984 Revision: Extensive changes. Committee notes revised.
1988 Revision: Rule rewritten to conform to statute. Committee notes expanded. Citation form change in committee notes.
1992 Revision: Committee notes revised. Citation form change in committee notes.
2002 Revision: Subdivision (d) added to implement procedure formerly found in section 733.207(3), Florida Statutes. Committee notes revised.
2003 Revision: Committee notes revised.
2012 Revision: Committee notes revised.
2026 Revision: Committee notes revised. Statutory Reference § 733.207, Fla. Stat. Establishment and probate of lost or destroyed will. 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. 5.200 Petition for administration. 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 225–226)
- Text hash
- sha256 5101dbd88e4610e22553882a1205d0301f9a1046e415feced2ce9f501b52e31a
- Composed by
- 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.