California & Florida probate deadlines: a fiduciary's statutory calendar
A fiduciary runs on the court's calendar, not April 15th. Miss an inventory, a status report, or an accounting by a day, and the exposure is yours — not your attorney's, not your CPA's. This is the one place we keep the side-by-side statutory deadlines for our two primary probate jurisdictions, California and Florida.
Read these as defaults, not gospel Every date below is the default statutory deadline. A court order or the will or trust instrument can shorten them, and a beneficiary can demand an accounting sooner. Confirm the dates that apply to your matter with your attorney.
The deadline chart
| Deadline | California | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory of estate assets (probate) | Within 4 months of letters issuing — Prob. Code §8800 | Within 60 days of letters issuing — Fla. Prob. R. 5.340 |
| Closing the estate (probate) | Close, or file a status report, within 1 year of letters — 18 months if a federal estate-tax return is due (Prob. Code §§12200–12201) | Final accounting + petition for discharge within 12 months of letters — Fla. Prob. R. 5.400 (format Rule 5.346) |
| Trustee's accounting (trust) | At least annually, plus on a change of trustee and at termination — Prob. Code §16062 | At least annually to qualified beneficiaries, plus on change or termination — Fla. Stat. §736.0813 |
| Conservator / guardian-of-estate accounting | First account at 1 year, then at least every 2 years (courts often order it annually) — Prob. Code §2620 | Guardian of the property: annual, due April 1 for the prior calendar year — Fla. Stat. §744.367 / §744.3678 |
| Decedent's final income-tax return (Form 1040) | April 15 of the year after death | Same federal rule (Florida has no state income tax) |
| Estate or trust income-tax return (Form 1041) | 15th day of the 4th month after the tax year ends (≈ April 15 for a calendar year); California adds Form 541 | Same federal Form 1041 — Florida has no state fiduciary income tax |
| Federal estate tax (Form 706) — large estates only | 9 months after death, if the estate exceeds the federal exclusion (or to elect portability) | Same federal rule |
Every other state: these dates are specific to California and Florida. Every state sets its own, and your local probate court or the will/trust can shorten them. Anywhere else, check your local probate court and confirm the dates with an attorney.
Two calendars, not one
The trap for new fiduciaries is assuming there's a single "tax season." There are two clocks running at once:
- The tax calendar — the decedent's final Form 1040, the estate/trust Form 1041 (and CA Form 541), and for large estates the Form 706. Your CPA watches this one.
- The court calendar — the inventory, the periodic accountings, and the deadline to close. Nobody sends you a reminder, and missing one is your personal exposure. (Why an accounting is also a liability shield →)
Most of the work that makes a deadline survivable isn't the filing — it's having reconstructed, reconciled records ready before the date arrives. (Behind already? Start here →)
This is general information, not legal or tax advice, and not an attorney or CPA engagement. Deadlines vary by court, by jurisdiction, and by the governing instrument, and they change; confirm the dates that apply to you with your attorney or CPA.
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