DISCOVERY AND SUBPOENA

(a) Adoption of Civil Rules. The following Florida Rules of Civil Procedure shall apply in all probate and guardianship proceedings: (1) Rule 1.280, general provisions governing discovery. January 1, 2026 Florida Probate Rules 52 (2) Rule 1.290, depositions before action or pending (3) Rule 1.300, persons before whom depositions may appeal. be taken. (4) Rule 1.310, depositions upon oral examination. (5) Rule 1.320, depositions upon written questions. (6) Rule 1.330, use of depositions in court proceedings. (7) Rule 1.340, interrogatories to parties. (8) Rule 1.350, production of documents and things and entry upon land for inspection and other purposes. (9) Rule 1.351, production of documents and things without deposition. (10) Rule 1.360, examination of persons. (11) Rule 1.370, requests for admission. (12) Rule 1.380, failure to make discovery; sanctions. (13) Rule 1.390, depositions of expert witnesses. (14) Rule 1.410, subpoena. (b) Limitations and Costs. In order to conserve the assets of the estate, the court has broad discretion to limit the scope and the place and manner of the discovery and to assess the costs, including attorneys’ fees, of the discovery against the party making it or against 1 or more of the beneficiaries of the estate or against the ward in such proportions as the court determines, considering, among other factors, the benefit derived therefrom. (c) Application. It is not necessary to have an adversary proceeding under rule 5.025 to utilize the rules adopted in January 1, 2026 Florida Probate Rules 53 subdivision (a) above. Any interested person may utilize the rules adopted in subdivision (a). Committee Notes Subdivision (b) is not intended to result in the assessment of costs, including attorney’s fees, in every instance in which discovery is sought. Subdivision (c) is not intended to overrule the holdings in In re Estate of Shaw, 340 So. 2d 491 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976), and In re Estate of Posner, 492 So. 2d 1093 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986). Rule History 1975 Revision: This rule is the same as prior rule 5.080, broadened to include guardianships and intended to clearly permit the use of discovery practices in nonadversary probate and guardianship matters. 1977 Revision: Editorial change in citation form in committee note. 1984 Revision: Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.290, 1.300, 1.351, and 1.410 have been added. 1988 Revision: Subdivision (a)(15) deleted as duplicative of