Do wills have to be filed with the court?
In the states we checked, yes — on a deadline. Florida allows 10 days, California 30. Filing is not the same as probate.
Two different questions hide inside this one. While you are alive, nothing forces you to file a will anywhere; some states will hold it for you if you ask, but it is optional. After you die, that flips completely. The person holding the original acquires a duty with a deadline attached, whether or not anybody plans to open a probate case.
Before death: optional. After death: required.
| While the will-maker is alive | After the will-maker dies | |
|---|---|---|
| Is filing required? | No | Yes, in the states we read |
| Who does it? | The will-maker, if they want to | Whoever holds the original — the “custodian” |
| Deadline | None | 10 days in Florida; 30 days in California |
| What it costs | $25 to deposit in Ohio | $50 in California, reimbursable from the estate |
| Does it start a court case? | No — safekeeping only | No — probate is a separate step |
The deadlines, from the statutes
Florida: 10 days
Florida Statutes § 732.901: “The custodian of a will must deposit the will with the clerk of the court having venue of the estate of the decedent within 10 days after receiving information that the testator is dead.”
Read the trigger carefully. It is not ten days from the death, and not ten days from the funeral. It runs from the moment you receive informationthat the person has died. If you are holding a friend’s will and hear about it three weeks late, your clock starts then. The same section makes the clerk retain and preserve the original in its original form for at least 20 years.
California: 30 days, and personal liability
California Probate Code § 8200gives a custodian 30 days after learning of the death to do two things: deliver the will to the superior court clerk of the right county, and send a copy to the named executor or a named beneficiary. Then subdivision (b) adds the consequence: a custodian who fails to comply “shall be liable for all damages sustained by any person injured by the failure.”
That is a personal exposure, sitting on an ordinary family member who was only ever doing a favor by keeping an envelope. The delivery fee is $50 under Government Code § 70626, reimbursable as an administration expense if an estate is opened.
What opening probate actually looks like
If someone does need to administer the estate, the will is one of three things filed at the start. Michigan Legal Help, a nonprofit legal-information service for Michigan, sets out the informal probate route: you file the application, the decedent’s will (if there is one) and a certified copy of the death certificate with the county probate court, and pay a $175 filing fee (Michigan Legal Help).
- Informal is the usual path in Michigan. Michigan Legal Help says most cases there start informally; formal probate is for disagreements about the will or about how property should be distributed.
- The court appoints, the will nominates. Naming an executor in a will is a nomination. The court grants the authority.
- No will is not no process.California’s guide describes a statutory priority list — surviving spouse or partner first, then children, then grandchildren (California Courts).
If you are the one holding a will right now
The whole duty is short, which is why so few people know about it. Find out what your own state’s deadline and clerk are — the county probate court or Surrogate’s Court clerk will tell you over the phone — and hand the original over. Keep the receipt. If you are unsure whether you count as the custodian, or whether a probate case is needed at all, that is a short conversation with an attorney licensed in your state, and a cheaper one than the alternative.
For what happens when the duty is ignored, see what happens if a will is not filed.
Sources
Every rule and figure on this page was read directly from the source below on the date shown. Statutes are amended; check the current text before you rely on it.
- Florida Statutes § 732.901 — Florida. Read 2026-08-21.
- California Probate Code § 8200 — California. Read 2026-08-21.
- Michigan Legal Help (nonprofit legal-information service) — An Overview of Informal Probate — Michigan. Read 2026-08-21.
- California Government Code § 70626 — California. Read 2026-08-21.
- California Courts Self-Help Guide — Estate representative — California. Read 2026-08-21.
Common follow-up questions
Does filing the will start probate?▾
No. They are separate steps. Filing is the custodian handing the original to the court so it is on the record. Probate is a case someone opens to administer the estate, with its own application, its own filing fee, and its own outcome. A will can be filed and no probate ever opened, if there is nothing that needs administering.
What if there is no property to probate?▾
The custodian's filing duty is written without a value threshold in the statutes we read — Florida's runs on receiving information that the testator is dead, not on the size of the estate. Whether anyone then needs to open a probate case is a separate question that depends on what the person owned and how it was titled.
How much does it cost to file?▾
The filing itself is cheap. California sets a $50 fee for delivering a will to the superior court clerk, reimbursable from the estate if probate is opened. Opening a probate case is a different charge — Michigan, for example, charges $175 to file for informal probate.
Can I file a will while the person is still alive?▾
In some states, as safekeeping rather than as a court case. Ohio and New York both have deposit procedures for a living person's will. That is optional, and separate from the mandatory post-death filing this page is about.
What happens once the will is filed?▾
It goes on the court's record and is preserved. Florida requires the clerk to retain and preserve the original in its original form for at least 20 years, even if it is digitized. Court records are commonly public, though access rules are set state by state and we did not read them.
Please read
This is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. We are not a law firm and no one here is your lawyer. Wills and estates are governed by state law, and the rules differ from one state to the next — a deadline or a form that is right in Florida can be wrong in Ohio. The statutes quoted on this site are the ones we read, cited by name so you can check them yourself. Before you sign, store, change or file anything, talk to an attorney licensed in your state, or start with your state bar’s lawyer referral service or your state court’s self-help center. More about who we are.