Under Florida law, creditors of a Florida decedent must present their claims within two years of the date of death. However, there is an exception to this rule for 401K accounts. 401K accounts are considered to be "retirement funds" under Florida law. Retirement funds are not subject to the two-year limitation for filing claims against a decedent's estate.
This means that creditors cannot make a claim against a Florida decedent's 401K account after two years from the date of death, even if the estate has not published a notice to creditors. Therefore, an estate is not required to place an ad in the newspaper to notify creditors of a death in South Carolina if the person was a legal resident of Florida and there are no assets other than a 401K.