Selling a House During Probate in Florida

¿Prefiere leer esto en español? Consulte la guía completa: Cómo vender una casa heredada en Florida.

Yes, you can sell a house during probate in Florida — and in most estates, the sale happens during administration rather than after it. What you cannot do is sign a deed before you know where your authority comes from. In Florida, that authority comes from exactly one of three places: a power of sale written into the will, a court order authorizing or confirming the sale, or — if the property is protected homestead — from the heirs themselves, because the personal representative never had it.

Get that question wrong and the contract still gets signed, the buyer still gets excited, and the deal still dies at the title table. We at Lorenzo Law handle Florida probate real estate matters statewide, and in our experience the most frequent reason a probate property sale collapses is that nobody asked, at the beginning, who actually had the power to convey.

This guide answers that question first, then walks the rest of the transaction: who actually owns the house while probate is open, whether you can sell before, during or after it, which kind of probate you are in, how court approval works and how to avoid needing a hearing, what the title underwriter will demand before it insures your buyer, what the sale costs, what you owe in taxes, and where the money goes after closing.

It is written for both audiences: the personal representative who has to run the sale, and the son or daughter who simply inherited a house in Florida and wants to know what happens next. If you are in the second group, start with who owns the house during probate and then read selling an inherited house in Florida when you are the heir. The law is the same either way; what changes is which parts of it are your problem.

Start here: three questions that decide everything

Before you interview a realtor, answer these three. Every other decision in a Florida probate house sale follows from them.

1. Was it the decedent’s home?

If the property was the decedent’s primary residence, it is probably protected homestead — and protected homestead is not an estate asset. Section 733.608(1), Florida Statutes, makes “all real and personal property of the decedent, except the protected homestead,” assets in the hands of the personal representative. Section 733.607(1) likewise excludes protected homestead from the personal representative’s right of possession.

That single exception changes who signs the deed. See Protected homestead below.

2. Does the will contain a power of sale?

If the will gives the personal representative a specific power to sell or mortgage real property — or a general power to sell any asset of the estate — section 733.613(2) lets the personal representative sell without court authorization or confirmation. If the will is silent, or the decedent died intestate, section 733.613(1) applies and no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms.

Read the will before you list the property. This one clause is worth weeks.

3. How was title actually held?

Pull the deed. The way title was held at death may mean there is no probate asset at all:

• Sole name of the decedent — probate is required to convey it.
• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or tenancy by the entireties — the survivor already owns it. Note that under section 731.201(33), property held this way is not protected homestead.
• Revocable living trust — the successor trustee sells it; no probate court involvement.
• Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed — title passed to the remainder beneficiaries at death.
• Owned by an LLC or corporation — the entity owns the real estate; what passes through probate is the decedent’s membership or stock interest, not the property.

Your situation	Who signs the deed	Court order needed?
Non-homestead, will grants power of sale	Personal representative	No — § 733.613(2)
Non-homestead, no power of sale or intestate	Personal representative	Yes — § 733.613(1); no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms
Protected homestead	The heirs or devisees	Order determining homestead status, in practice, because the title underwriter will require it
Summary administration	The distributees named in the order	The order of summary administration itself transfers title
Held in a revocable trust	Successor trustee	No — the property never enters probate
Joint tenancy w/ survivorship or entireties	The surviving owner	No probate asset

Who owns the house during probate?

Not the estate, and not the personal representative. This surprises almost everyone, and it is the reason the rest of this page works the way it does.

When a Florida owner dies, title does not go into limbo waiting for a judge. It moves immediately:

• Non-homestead real property vests in the devisees under the will, or in the heirs at law if there is no will, by operation of law at the moment of death — but subject to administration of the estate. Section 732.514 provides that the death of the testator is the event that vests the right to devises, and section 732.101(2) does the same for intestate property. Florida’s district courts have restated the rule recently in Hi-Land Properties, LLC v. Gantt (Fla. 4th DCA).
• Protected homestead vests in the heirs or devisees outright, and never becomes an estate asset at all.

So the heirs own it from day one. What the personal representative holds is not title — it is possession, control and the power to administer. Section 733.607(1) gives the personal representative the right to take possession of the decedent’s property, except protected homestead. Section 733.608(1) makes that property “assets in the hands of the personal representative” available to pay claims, taxes, family allowance, the elective share and the costs of administration.

The two ideas fit together like this: the heir’s ownership is real but subordinate. An heir owns a vested interest in the non-homestead house the day their parent dies, and that interest can be divested to pay the estate’s debts. That subordination is exactly what a title underwriter is worried about, and it is why an heir generally cannot simply sell the house out from under an open administration without the personal representative or a court order coming along for the ride.

On protected homestead there is no subordination, because there are no estate creditors reaching it. That is the whole difference.

Can the heirs sell it themselves before the estate closes?

Sometimes, and the answer splits the same way.

On protected homestead, yes — the heirs own it free of the administration, and they are the correct grantors. The practical requirement is proving homestead status to the title underwriter, which is what the order under Florida Probate Rule 5.405 does.

On non-homestead property, a devisee’s vested interest is real but divestible, so a deed signed by heirs alone during an open administration usually will not be insured on its own. What underwriters look for instead is one of: the personal representative joining in the deed, a court order authorizing or confirming the sale, the estate closed with an order of discharge and a recorded deed of distribution, or the passage of two years from death, after which section 733.710 has extinguished the claims that could have divested the title in the first place.

Who has authority to sell

This is the one place on this page where selling authority is explained, and every later section points back to it. In Florida, the officeholder is the personal representative. Other states call this role the executor or the administrator, and we use “executor” below where that is the word families search for — but personal representative is the legal term, and it is the term the court, the clerk and the title company will use.

When the will grants a power of sale — § 733.613(2)

Section 733.613(2) is direct:

When a decedent’s will confers specific power to sell or mortgage real property or a general power to sell any asset of the estate, the personal representative may sell, mortgage, or lease, without authorization or confirmation of court, any real property of the estate or any interest therein for cash or credit, or for part cash and part credit, and with or without security for unpaid balances. The sale, mortgage, or lease need not be justified by a showing of necessity, and the sale pursuant to power of sale shall be valid.

No petition. No hearing. No showing that the estate needed the money. The Florida Bar’s Uniform Title Standards say the same thing: a personal representative may sell non-homestead real property without court authorization or confirmation where the will confers the power.

One practice caution. Section 733.613(3) — the provision that gives your buyer title free of estate creditors’ claims and beneficiaries’ entitlements — refers to a sale under a specific power to sell or mortgage real property, or under a court order. Where the will’s power is only a broad general power to sell “any asset,” some title underwriters prefer to see a court order anyway, so that the subsection (3) protection is unmistakable. It costs a few weeks and removes an argument. Ask the closing agent early which they want.

When there is no power of sale, or the decedent died intestate — § 733.613(1)

Section 733.613(1) provides that the personal representative may sell at public or private sale, but:

No title shall pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale. No bona fide purchaser shall be required to examine any proceedings before the order of sale.

Authorization versus confirmation — and why you can sign the contract first

Read that sentence carefully, because it is the commercial heart of a Florida probate sale and almost nobody explains it. The statute does not say you may not sell until the court approves. It says no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms.

Florida practitioners read that distinction as leaving room to contract first and obtain the order afterward, and title underwriters transact on that basis every day. What the statute settles is when title moves; it does not by its terms resolve every question about enforcing a pre-order contract against the estate, which is one more reason the contingency language matters.

That means the personal representative can market the property, accept an offer and sign a contract before ever going to the judge. The order can come afterward, confirming a sale already negotiated. This is precisely why a court-approval contingency in the purchase contract works, and it is why you do not have to wait months with the house sitting empty before you can even take an offer.

What it also means: the closing itself cannot happen on the personal representative’s signature alone. Section 733.611 protects people who deal in good faith with a personal representative — but it does so “except as provided in s. 733.613(1).” That carve-out is the reason no title company in Florida will close an intestate probate sale without the order in hand.

Protected homestead — the personal representative has no authority at all

This is the section most often gotten wrong, including by lawyers in other states, and it is worth being precise. When Florida homestead is protected homestead, the personal representative does not have limited authority over it, or conditional authority, or authority subject to a court order. The personal representative has no authority over it, because it is not part of the probate estate.

The Florida Supreme Court and the district courts have said this repeatedly:

• Harrell v. Snyder, 913 So. 2d 749 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005) — a personal representative whose will granted her authority to dispose of “all or any part of the assets of the estate” still had no authority to sell the homestead, because homestead is not property of the probate estate. A power of sale in the will does not reach protected homestead.
• Clifton v. Clifton, 553 So. 2d 192 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989) — homestead, whether devised or not, passes outside the probate estate. No order of distribution is required to pass title, and no personal representative’s deed is required — or effective.
• McKean v. Warburton, 919 So. 2d 341 (Fla. 2005) — where the decedent leaves no spouse and no minor child, homestead passes to the residuary devisees rather than being used to satisfy general devises, unless the will specifically directs that the homestead be sold and the proceeds distributed. Homestead can also lose its protected character in another way: under Snyder, the creditor exemption inures only where the property passes to someone within the intestacy classes, so a devise to a friend or a non-relative strips it.
• Snyder v. Davis, 699 So. 2d 999 (Fla. 1997) — the exemption from forced sale inures to devisees who are also within the class of heirs. The test is not how title devolved but to whom it passed.

So who signs? On protected homestead, the heirs or devisees sign the deed. Title vested in them at the moment of death. A personal representative’s deed on protected homestead conveys nothing.

Why you still end up in court: the order determining homestead status

If the heirs already own it, why does anyone file anything? Because the buyer’s title underwriter has no way to know, from the public records, that the decedent actually lived there. Homestead is a question of fact — residence and family circumstances — and the deed does not record it.

So the underwriter asks for proof, and the cleanest proof is an order under Florida Probate Rule 5.405 determining the property to be protected homestead and identifying by name the persons entitled to it. Florida title practitioners are consistent on this point: without a homestead determination, many underwriters will not insure the sale.

The petition under Rule 5.405 must be verified and must state the petitioner’s interest, the date of death, the county of the decedent’s domicile at death, whether the decedent died testate or intestate, whether a spouse survived and whether that spouse waived homestead rights, the names of surviving descendants and whether any minor children survived, a legal description of the property, whether the property was the domicile of the decedent or a family member, and how the property was titled at death. Interested persons are served by formal notice.

Two homestead traps worth knowing before you file

Sequence matters. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit — Miami-Dade — warns in its own probate checklist that once the court has entered an order declaring the homestead nature of a property, the court loses jurisdiction to enter further orders about that property, including a petition for sale. If you need both a homestead determination and a court-approved sale, get the sale order first or simultaneously, not afterward. Practice varies by circuit and by judge; ask your probate counsel what your division expects.

The devise restriction. Under article X, section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution and section 732.4015, homestead cannot be devised at all if the owner is survived by a minor child. If there is a surviving spouse and no minor child, it may be devised only to the spouse. A devise that violates the restriction fails, and the property descends under section 732.401 instead — a life estate in the surviving spouse with a vested remainder in the descendants, unless the spouse elects otherwise.

The spouse’s election has a hard deadline. Section 732.401(2) lets the surviving spouse elect an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common instead of the life estate. The election must be made within 6 months after the decedent’s death and during the spouse’s lifetime, by recording a notice of election containing the legal description. The clock runs from the date of death — not from appointment, not from any notice — and once made, the election is irrevocable. This deadline is missed constantly, and it changes who has to sign your deed.

The personal representative’s preservation lien

Section 733.608(2) through (4) permits — but does not require — the personal representative to take possession of unoccupied apparent homestead property for the limited purpose of preserving, insuring and protecting it for the heirs, and gives the personal representative a lien for those expenditures. Under section 733.608(4), the lien attaches and takes priority as of the date and time a notice of that lien is recorded in the county’s official records. If you take that step, file a notice of taking possession under Rule 5.404 so the record shows the limited purpose. If you are buying, have the title search checked for exactly this instrument.

What section 733.612 actually covers

You will see section 733.612 cited for the proposition that a personal representative can sell estate property. Read the statute. Section 733.612 lists what a personal representative may do without court order, and as to real property it authorizes performing or compromising the decedent’s own contracts — including an enforceable contract the decedent signed to convey real property before death.

The disposal power is section 733.612(5), and it reads: “Acquire or dispose of an asset, excluding real property in this or another state, for cash or on credit and at public or private sale.” That exclusion is deliberate. It is why furniture, vehicles, jewelry and collections can be sold long before the house moves, and it is why section 733.613 exists separately.

Section 733.612(19) is the one worth knowing when you need a valuation: it authorizes the personal representative to employ appraisers, accountants, attorneys and other professionals to assist in administering the estate.

Selling an inherited house in Florida when you are the heir

Most of this page speaks to the personal representative. If you are simply someone who inherited a house in Florida and wants to sell it, here is the short version of where you stand.

You may already own it. If the property was your parent’s homestead and you are within the class of heirs, title is yours already — no personal representative’s deed will ever be needed. If it was a rental, a vacation condo or vacant land, you own a vested interest subject to the estate’s debts.

You may not need probate at all. Before assuming you do, check how title was held. A revocable trust, a Lady Bird deed, joint tenancy with right of survivorship or tenancy by the entireties all move title without a probate case. So does a summary administration, which is not really “probate” in the sense most people mean — no personal representative is appointed and the court’s order does the transferring.

Your tax position is usually better than you fear. The basis in an inherited home steps up to date-of-death fair market value, so selling soon after death often produces little or no taxable gain. See Taxes on the sale.

Your biggest practical risk is the calendar, not the tax. Every month the house sits, the estate or the heirs are paying property taxes at a post-death rate, insurance at vacancy pricing, association dues and any mortgage. See What holding the property costs.

If you inherited it with siblings, you own it as tenants in common, and one cotenant cannot force the others to sell simply by wanting out. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act gives you better options than an ordinary partition suit — including a buyout at a court-determined value. See Your sibling is living in the house and will not agree to sell.

On a cash offer. Investors buy inherited Florida houses as-is and close fast, and for a hoarded, storm-damaged or badly dated property that can be the right answer. It is not free: cash buyers price for the risk they are absorbing, and offers are commonly well below what a cleaned-out listed property brings. Before accepting one, get a date-of-death appraisal anyway — you need it for the basis regardless, and it tells you what you are giving up.

Which kind of probate you are in

Florida has formal administration, summary administration, ancillary administration and disposition without administration. Florida does not have “informal probate” — that is a Uniform Probate Code term used in other states, and if a source tells you Florida offers it, that source is describing another jurisdiction’s law.

	Formal administration	Summary administration	Ancillary administration
When it applies	The default for most estates with real property	Estate subject to administration in Florida, less exempt property, does not exceed $150,000 — or the decedent has been dead more than 2 years	Nonresident decedent who owned Florida real property
Personal representative appointed?	Yes — Letters of Administration issue	No. No personal representative, no letters	Yes — ancillary letters issue
Who signs the deed	The personal representative	The distributees named in the order	The ancillary personal representative
What clears the buyer’s title	§ 733.613(3), where the sale is under a specific power of sale or a court order	§ 735.206(4)(c)	§ 733.613(3), on the same condition
Typical timeline	6–12 months, longer with disputes	Often 4–8 weeks, plus homestead if needed	Add roughly 3–6 months

Formal administration

The court appoints a personal representative and issues Letters of Administration. Those letters are the document the title company will ask for first, because they are the proof of authority. Formal administration is the right track whenever the property needs active management, marketing and negotiation — which describes most house sales.

Summary administration — and the $150,000 threshold that changed on July 1, 2026

This is the most commonly out-of-date fact on the Florida probate internet. Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida (CS/HB 1337), amended section 735.201 effective July 1, 2026, raising the summary administration threshold from $75,000 to $150,000. Most articles, including several that rank at the top of Google today, still publish the old $75,000 figure.

The current test under section 735.201 is that the value of the entire estate subject to administration in Florida, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditors, does not exceed $150,000 — or that the decedent has been dead for more than two years. In a testate estate it is also available only if the will does not direct administration as required by chapter 733.

How a house actually gets sold in a summary administration

Here is the part that surprises people: summary administration appoints no personal representative. There are no Letters of Administration to obtain. The court enters an order of summary administration under section 735.206 allowing immediate distribution to the persons entitled, and that order is itself the instrument of title transfer. The distributees named in the order then sign the deed to the buyer.

Your buyer’s protection comes from section 735.206(4)(c):

After the entry of the order, bona fide purchasers for value from those to whom property of the decedent may be assigned by the order shall take the property free of all claims of creditors of the decedent and all rights of the surviving spouse and all other beneficiaries.

Two practical notes. First, the legal description in the order must match the deed exactly — a mismatch here is one of the most common reasons these closings stall. Second, section 735.2063 permits, but does not require, the petitioner to publish a notice to creditors after the order is entered, which bars unknown creditors three months after first publication. It protects the distributees’ proceeds more than it protects the buyer’s title, but where the decedent died less than two years ago, filing it is usually the right call.

If the property is homestead, expect a separate petition to determine homestead status filed alongside the summary administration petition, with both orders entered together.

Ancillary administration for out-of-state decedents

Your parent lived in New York, New Jersey or Ohio and owned a place in Florida. You opened probate at home. That does not reach the Florida house.

Real property is governed by the law of the state where it sits. Letters Testamentary issued by another state’s court do not authorize a conveyance of Florida land, and no Florida title company will insure a deed signed on that authority. You must open an ancillary administration under section 734.102 in the Florida county where the property is located.

Section 734.102 sets the order of appointment: first, a personal representative specifically designated in the will to administer the Florida property, if qualified to act here; then the foreign personal representative, if qualified in Florida; then an alternate or successor named in the will; then a person selected by those entitled to a majority interest in the Florida property; and in intestate cases, the order of preference in the Florida Probate Code. Section 734.102(2) then provides that ancillary administration is commenced as the Florida Probate Rules direct, and Rule 5.470 is the one that matters: the petition must attach authenticated copies of the domiciliary proceedings showing the will, the petition for probate, the order admitting the will, and the foreign representative’s authority.

Be aware of section 733.304, which limits who may serve: a nonresident cannot qualify as a Florida personal representative unless they are a spouse, an adopted child or adoptive parent, a person related by lineal consanguinity, or a brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece — or the spouse of someone otherwise qualified. A nonresident friend or business partner cannot serve.

The ancillary personal representative has the same powers as any Florida personal representative, including the power to sell, lease or mortgage the Florida property. One limit: no property may be sold, leased or mortgaged to pay a debt or claim already barred by a Florida statute of limitation or of nonclaim.

The small-estate shortcut — § 734.1025

If the nonresident decedent’s Florida property subject to administration does not exceed $50,000 at the date of death, and the decedent died within the last two years, the foreign personal representative may file an authenticated transcript of the foreign proceedings rather than opening a full ancillary administration. The catch is in section 734.1025(2): if any creditor claim is filed, the shortcut collapses and a personal representative must be appointed.

We handle ancillary probate for out-of-state families regularly, and in most cases you will never need to travel to Florida. See our guide for an out-of-state executor in Florida.

Before, during, or after probate: when can you actually sell?

“Can I sell before probate?” and “how long after probate can I sell?” are the two most common timing questions, and they have different answers.

When	Can you sell?	What it takes
Before probate is opened	Only if the property never needed probate	A revocable trust (the successor trustee sells), a Lady Bird deed, joint tenancy with survivorship, or tenancy by the entireties. If the deed is in the decedent’s sole name, nobody has authority to sign, and a contract signed now cannot close.
Before you are appointed, with the case filed	You can prepare, not convey	You can interview agents, order a date-of-death appraisal and secure the property. You cannot sign a listing agreement or a deed as personal representative until Letters issue.
During administration	Yes — this is the normal case	A power of sale in the will (§ 733.613(2)), or a court order authorizing or confirming (§ 733.613(1)). On protected homestead, the heirs sign.
After the estate is closed	Yes, and it is the simplest	The beneficiaries own it outright following the deed of distribution and the order of discharge. They sell as ordinary owners. There is no waiting period after discharge.
More than 2 years after death, nothing ever filed	Yes, and often easily	Section 733.710 has already barred claims against the decedent. Summary administration is available regardless of the estate’s value.

The point most people miss: you do not have to wait for probate to finish. Selling during administration is the common path, not the exception, and section 733.613(1) even lets you sign the contract before the judge signs the order.

How long after probate can you sell? Immediately. Once the estate is discharged and the deed of distribution is recorded, the beneficiaries hold ordinary marketable title. There is no statutory cooling-off period. The only thing worth watching is whether the two-year window in section 733.710 has run — before it does, a buyer’s underwriter may want to see how creditors were handled.

Getting court approval: the petition, the order, and the shortcut

When your authority comes from the court rather than the will, Florida Probate Rule 5.370 governs.

What Rule 5.370 requires

The personal representative files a verified petition that sets out three things:

1. The reasons for the sale — why it is in the best interest of the estate and those interested in it;
2. A description of the real property to be sold; and
3. The price and terms of the sale.

The order must describe the property. An order authorizing a private sale must specify the price and terms. An order authorizing a public sale must specify the type of notice the personal representative is to give.

These are not formalities. In In re Estate of Corbin, 637 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994), the First District reversed a sale order because the motion failed to specify the property description, the price and the terms, and because the trial court made no determination that the sale was necessary or in the best interest of the estate. A defective petition produces a defective order, and a defective order is a title problem.

You should also expect your circuit to want the estate’s paperwork in order before it signs. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit’s checklist for sale of real property, for example, looks for the verified inventory on file, proof of service of the notice of administration, and either notarized waivers and consents from interested persons or proof of formal notice. That circuit also requires an appraisal where value exceeds $600,000 (a broker’s comparative market analysis or letter otherwise), and requires the sale order to direct that proceeds be deposited into a restricted depository under section 69.031. Its separate homestead checklist adds the creditor-side items, including proof of publication and the verified statement regarding the diligent search. Other circuits differ — this is one of the places where local practice genuinely varies, and it is worth asking before you draft.

Notice, and the 20-day window

Interested persons are served with formal notice. Under Florida Probate Rule 5.040(a)(1), a person served with formal notice must “serve written defenses on the person giving notice within 20 days after service of the notice, exclusive of the day of service.”

You will see 15 days and 30 days quoted elsewhere online. The rule says 20.

The shortcut nobody explains: waivers and joinders

Here is the fastest path in a real Florida probate sale, and almost no consumer guide covers it. Notice is not required from interested persons who have joined in the petition or consented to the sale. If every beneficiary signs, you skip the objection window entirely.

Florida Probate Rule 5.180 governs the form. A waiver or consent must be in writing and signed by the person executing it, and it must be filed. It must state the signer’s interest in the matter, the nature of any fiduciary capacity, and expressly what is being waived or consented to. The rule itself does not require witnesses or notarization — writing, signature and filing. Local practice is another matter: several circuits, the Eleventh among them, ask for notarized waivers and consents. Ask your division before you circulate them, because re-executing signatures scattered across three states is exactly the delay you were trying to avoid.

When the family agrees, this turns a contested calendar problem into a paperwork problem. When one beneficiary will not sign, you set it for hearing on formal notice and proceed. Either way, ask for the consents first.

Where the property is: county and circuit practice

Florida probate is one statute book and one set of rules, applied by twenty judicial circuits with meaningfully different habits. Every guide on this subject writes “requirements vary by county” and stops there. Here is what actually varies.

What changes from circuit to circuit

• Whether a sale petition is heard or ruled on the papers. Some divisions will sign an unopposed order authorizing sale on submission. Others set every sale for hearing regardless of consents. This is the single biggest driver of how long your closing takes.
• Whether waivers and consents must be notarized. Florida Probate Rule 5.180 does not require it. Several circuits, including the Eleventh, ask for it anyway. Finding this out after you have collected five signatures across three states is an expensive lesson.
• What valuation the judge expects. The Eleventh Circuit requires a formal appraisal above $600,000 and accepts a broker’s comparative market analysis below it. Other divisions accept a CMA at any value, and some want an appraisal in every contested estate.
• Whether proceeds must go into a restricted depository. The Eleventh requires the sale order to direct deposit into a court-designated depository under section 69.031. Not every circuit does.
• How homestead is sequenced. The Eleventh warns in its own checklist that once an order determining homestead status is entered, the court loses jurisdiction to enter further orders about that property — including a petition for sale. Where that view is followed, the sale order must come first or simultaneously.
• Filing fees and e-filing quirks. A statutory base plus locally authorized surcharges means the number differs by a few dollars between clerks, and cover-sheet and proposed-order conventions differ more than that.

None of this changes the law. All of it changes the calendar. Ask before you draft.

Florida circuits by region

A note for Central Florida families

A disproportionate share of the estates we are asked about involve a house in the Orlando metro and the retirement communities north and west of it — Orange and Osceola counties, and the small municipalities across Lake, Volusia, Seminole, Sumter and Marion.

There is a reason. These are counties full of homes bought by retirees who moved to Florida from somewhere else, and that combination produces two of the hardest problems on this page at once: ancillary administration, because the owner may never have changed their legal domicile, and heirs scattered across other states who have to agree on a house none of them lives near. Add The Villages, which spans three counties and three circuits, and Lake County alone, where a single estate can involve Clermont, Leesburg, Eustis, Tavares, Mount Dora, Groveland, Minneola, Umatilla or Howey-in-the-Hills.

We handle probate throughout Florida — Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach in the south; Orange, Osceola, Lake, Seminole, Volusia, Sumter and Marion through the center; Hillsborough, Pinellas and Lee on the Gulf; Duval in the northeast; and Okaloosa and the Panhandle. If the property is in Florida, we can open the case in the county where it sits, and out-of-state families almost never need to travel.

What the title company will require before it insures your buyer

This is where probate real estate transactions actually live or die, and it is the section most guides skip. The buyer is not really buying your authority — the buyer is buying a title insurance policy, and the underwriter decides what it needs to see before issuing one.

The document package

Expect the closing agent to ask for all of these:

• Certified Letters of Administration. The single indispensable item in a formal administration.
• Certified death certificate, typically recorded in the county’s official records to establish the break in the chain of title.
• The order admitting the will to probate and appointing the personal representative.
• The will itself, if testate — the underwriter reads it for the power of sale and for how homestead was devised.
• The order authorizing or confirming the sale, where section 733.613(1) applies.
• An order determining homestead status, where the property was or may have been the decedent’s residence.
• The personal representative’s deed, properly executed and recorded.
• A seller’s affidavit signed by the personal representative in fiduciary capacity, addressing possession, construction liens and matters affecting title.
• Evidence on creditors — proof of publication of the notice to creditors, and the verified statement regarding the diligent search.
• The estate’s EIN, needed for the 1099-S and the estate account.
• An affidavit of heirs, in intestate estates and in homestead determinations.
• A municipal lien search. See below.

Why the creditor claim period matters — and what it actually delays

There is a persistent misunderstanding here worth correcting. People assume the house cannot close until the creditor claim period runs. That is usually not the case.

Under section 733.613(3), a purchaser buying under a specific power of sale or under a court order authorizing or confirming the sale takes title free of the claims of estate creditors and the entitlements of estate beneficiaries — except that existing recorded mortgages and other liens on the property are not affected. Section 735.206(4)(c) does the same job for a buyer taking from a summary administration distributee. The buyer’s title is cleared at closing by the statute, not by the calendar.

What gets held is the money. Sale proceeds go into the estate’s account — in some circuits, a court-designated restricted depository — and stay there through the claims period. The Eleventh Circuit even has a mechanism for selling property whose homestead status is not yet determined: publish the notice to creditors, obtain consents from interested persons and known creditors or set the matter for hearing, and deposit the proceeds into a restricted account styled a “Potential Homestead Property Account.”

The relevant deadlines:

• Section 733.702 — a claim is barred unless filed by the later of three months after the first publication of the notice to creditors, or 30 days after service on a creditor who was required to be served.
• Section 733.2121 — the personal representative must promptly publish the notice and must make a diligent search for reasonably ascertainable creditors and serve them. This is why the verified statement matters: under Jones v. Golden, 176 So. 3d 242 (Fla. 2015), a known or reasonably ascertainable creditor who was never served may file within two years of death notwithstanding the three-month bar.
• Section 733.710 — two years after death, the estate, the personal representative and the beneficiaries are not liable for any claim against the decedent, whether or not letters were ever issued. The Florida Supreme Court held in Tsuji v. Fleet, 366 So. 3d 1020 (Fla. 2023), that this is a self-executing absolute immunity, and in May v. Illinois National Insurance Co., 771 So. 2d 1143 (Fla. 2000), that the probate court has no power to extend it. The only two exceptions are in the statute: a creditor who filed a claim under section 733.702 within two years and whose claim has not been paid or disposed of, and the lien of a duly recorded mortgage or security interest.

The personal representative’s deed

Nobody explains this instrument, so here it is. The personal representative’s deed is a fiduciary deed. The personal representative signs in a representative capacity and does not give the general warranties of a Florida statutory warranty deed under section 689.02. Whether the deed carries a limited warranty of the grantor’s own acts, or no warranty at all, is a matter of negotiation and local practice rather than a fixed rule.

The deed should recite enough that an underwriter can read the packet and understand the authority without guessing:

• The decedent’s name and date of death;
• The fiduciary capacity, in both the grantor line and the signature block — “Jane Doe, as Personal Representative of the Estate of John Doe, Deceased”;
• The court and county and the probate case number;
• The Letters of Administration and their date;
• The order authorizing or confirming sale, by date and recording reference, where one was required;
• The legal description, the grantee’s name and address, and the intended form of ownership.

Execution. Section 689.01 requires the deed to be signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, and acknowledgment before a notary is required for recording. Section 695.26 requires printed names beneath the signatures of the grantor, the witnesses and the notary, with post-office addresses for the grantor and the witnesses, a preparer block, and the grantee’s address in the instrument. Since 2020, the two-witness requirement may be satisfied by witnesses present and signing electronically by audio-video communication technology.

The DR-312 problem

If a closing agent asks you for a Florida Affidavit of No Florida Estate Tax Due (DR-312) or a DR-313, cite them Florida Department of Revenue TIP No. 23C03-01 and Florida Administrative Code Rule 12C-3.0015. Effective July 1, 2023, personal representatives are no longer required to file those affidavits and no estate tax lien arises, for estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2004. The requirement applies to probate proceedings commenced on or after July 1, 2023, and to proceedings pending on that date for which no order of final discharge had been entered.

The affidavits are still requested regularly, because several widely circulated title-industry checklists predate the change.

The municipal lien search

A title search reads the county’s official records. A municipal lien search reads the municipality’s own books — utilities, code enforcement, building and permitting, solid waste, stormwater and special assessment districts. It catches what a title search structurally cannot: unpaid water and sewer balances, open code enforcement violations accruing daily fines, open or expired permits with no final inspection, and special assessments.

It is customary rather than statutory, but it matters more in probate than in an ordinary sale, because a vacant unmaintained house is exactly the fact pattern that accumulates lot-mowing liens, board-up charges and unpermitted-repair citations while the estate is open.

Why probate sales die at the title table

In rough order of frequency:

1. The wrong authority, or none. The personal representative signs without an order the file required, or signs a homestead deed he had no power to sign.
2. Homestead was never addressed before the contract was signed.
3. Missing or unknown heirs — a frequent Florida title defect, and often invisible in the public records.
4. Legal description errors. The order, the letters, the deed and the prior vesting deed must all match.
5. A surviving or estranged spouse whose interest was never resolved.
6. Defective notice to beneficiaries or creditors, or unresolved objections.
7. Liens — HOA and condominium, code enforcement, judgment, tax, and Medicaid estate recovery.
8. Contract defects — no court-approval contingency where an order was required.

Step by step: how to sell a house in probate in Florida

Step 1 — Open the estate and establish your authority. In a formal administration, that means obtaining Letters of Administration. In a summary administration, there are no letters — you are seeking an order of summary administration, and it is the order that will transfer title. Which track you are on depends on the value of the estate subject to administration and how long ago the decedent died.

Step 2 — Determine homestead status. Do this before you sign a listing agreement, not after you have a contract. If the property was the decedent’s residence, plan on a petition to determine homestead status, and remember that the heirs — not the personal representative — will be signing the deed.

Step 3 — Secure the property. Change the locks. Confirm the insurance is in force and that the carrier knows the owner has died; most homeowner’s policies contain vacancy exclusions and many carriers will not renew a deceased owner’s policy. Keep utilities on. Keep the lawn cut, because code enforcement fines accrue daily.

Step 4 — Establish value. Section 733.604 requires the inventory to state the estimated fair market value at the date of the decedent’s death. An appraisal is not statutorily required, but section 733.612(19) lets you employ an appraiser, and a defensible date-of-death appraisal is the personal representative’s best protection against a later claim that the property was sold too cheaply. Section 733.602(1) holds the personal representative to the standards of care applicable to trustees; documentation is how you meet that standard. Note that some circuits — the Eleventh among them — require an appraisal above a dollar threshold before they will approve a sale.

Step 5 — Hire a realtor who has closed probate sales before. The agent needs to understand probate addenda, court-approval contingencies, and why the closing date cannot be promised the way it can in an ordinary transaction.

Step 6 — List and market the property. Disclose in the listing that this is a probate sale so buyers understand the timeline going in.

Step 7 — Contract, then notice or consents. Remember that under section 733.613(1) you may contract before the order — title simply does not pass until the court authorizes or confirms. Get written waivers and consents from the beneficiaries under Rule 5.180 if you can. If you cannot, serve formal notice and count 20 days.

Step 8 — Petition and order, if required. File the verified petition under Rule 5.370 with the reasons, the legal description, and the price and terms. Confirm the order describes the property and specifies price and terms for a private sale.

Step 9 — Close, and hold the proceeds. On non-homestead estate property, the personal representative signs the deed in a fiduciary capacity. On protected homestead, the heirs or devisees sign individually. Either way, section 689.01 requires two subscribing witnesses and the deed must be acknowledged before a notary to be recorded. Proceeds go into the estate account — in some circuits, a court-designated restricted depository — and remain there until valid creditor claims and taxes are satisfied.

How a probate sale differs from a regular Florida home sale

If you have sold a house in Florida before, most of this will feel familiar. Five things are genuinely different.

	Regular sale	Probate sale
Who signs	The owner on the deed	The personal representative in a fiduciary capacity — or, on protected homestead, the heirs
Source of authority	Ownership	A power of sale in the will, a court order, or heirship. The closing agent verifies it before it insures anything
Closing date	Set by the parties	Set partly by the court’s calendar where an order is required
Disclosure	Seller usually knows the house	A fiduciary who never lived there discloses what the estate’s records show. Deaths on the property need not be disclosed (§ 689.25)
Where the money goes	To the seller at closing	To the estate account, then out in the § 733.707 priority order after creditors and taxes
Contract	Standard FR/BAR	Same form plus a court-approval contingency where an order is required, and a probate addendum

What is not different: you are not required to sell at auction, you are not required to accept a lowball offer, and there is no Florida procedure allowing a stranger to outbid your buyer in the courtroom. That last one is a California practice that gets repeated in national articles about probate sales; Florida has no equivalent.

Your situation, specifically

Most guides describe one linear process. Real estates do not look like that. Here are the situations we actually see.

You live out of state and do not want to fly to Florida

Common, and usually manageable. If your parent was a Florida resident, you open a Florida probate; if they were a resident elsewhere, you open an ancillary administration under section 734.102 in the county where the property sits. Either way, documents can be executed remotely, and remote online notarization is available in Florida. Check section 733.304 first: if you are not a spouse or a relative within the listed classes, you cannot serve as personal representative in Florida at all, and someone else will have to be appointed.

Your sibling is living in the house and will not agree to sell

If title has already vested in you and your siblings as tenants in common, and the property came to you from a relative, Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, sections 64.201 through 64.214, likely applies. The Act was written for exactly this situation, and it changes the ordinary partition rules in your favor.

Property is “heirs property” under section 64.202(6) when it is held in tenancy in common and, at the time the partition action is filed: there is no binding agreement among the cotenants governing partition; one or more cotenants acquired title from a relative; and a 20 percent threshold is met — 20 percent or more of the interests held by relatives, or 20 percent or more acquired from a relative, or 20 percent or more of the cotenants are relatives.

When it applies:

• Section 64.206 — the court determines the property’s value, ordinarily by ordering an appraisal.
• Section 64.207 — any cotenant who did not request partition by sale may buy out the requesting cotenant’s interest at the court-determined value. This is the provision that lets one sibling keep the house without forcing a sale on everyone.
• Section 64.208(1) — if the buyout does not resolve it, the court shall order partition in kind unless commissioners find that dividing the property would prejudice the cotenants as a group, weighing the factors in section 64.209.
• Section 64.210 — if partition in kind is not appropriate, the sale is ordinarily an open-market sale by a licensed broker, not a courthouse auction. That distinction is worth real money.

Whether an occupying cotenant owes rent to the others turns on ouster, which is a fact question. Before filing anything, it is usually worth a demand letter and a conversation. See our guide to the Florida partition action.

The property is a condominium

Condominiums carry disclosure obligations that single-family homes do not, and they are the most common reason an inherited-condo contract falls apart. See Selling an inherited Florida condo below.

Your parent died years ago and nothing was ever filed

Counterintuitively, this is often the easiest case. Section 733.710 bars claims against the decedent two years after death, and the Florida Supreme Court has held that bar to be self-executing and beyond the probate court’s power to extend. Two years out, there is very little left to threaten the title — recorded mortgages and security interests excepted.

Section 735.201 also makes summary administration available on the “dead more than two years” prong regardless of the estate’s value. A house that felt like an impossible problem for a decade is frequently a summary administration and a homestead determination.

There is a mortgage, or a reverse mortgage

The mortgage does not pause when someone dies. Payments keep coming due, and the lender’s right to foreclose is unaffected by the probate.

If the family wants to keep the house rather than sell it, the Garn-St Germain Depository Institutions Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3, is the provision to know. Subsection (d) bars a lender from exercising a due-on-sale clause on residential property of fewer than five dwelling units in defined circumstances, including “(3) a transfer by devise, descent, or operation of law on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety” and “(5) a transfer to a relative resulting from the death of a borrower.” In plain terms, the loan does not automatically accelerate because the borrower died and the house passed to family. Almost every article on this topic treats the choice as pay it off or keep paying; the federal exemption is why keeping the existing loan in place is often a third option.

Reverse mortgages are different, and the clock is short. On a HECM, HUD’s servicing guidance gives heirs a short initial window — HUD’s consumer guidance describes 30 days from the borrower’s death — with extensions available through the servicer and HUD in 90-day increments on a showing that the property is actively marketed or that payoff is being pursued. Separately, under 24 C.F.R. § 206.125, where the loan balance exceeds the property’s value, the property may be sold for not less than an amount set by HUD, which shall not exceed 95 percent of appraised value, and the lender accepts the net proceeds in satisfaction. Heirs who want to keep the home, rather than sell it, must repay the full loan balance.

Do not wait on this one. Contact the servicer in writing as soon as the death certificate is available.

Your parent received Medicaid

Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration recovers against the estates of Medicaid recipients under section 409.9101. The claim is filed against the estate as a Class 3 claim under section 733.707(1)(c). Recovery applies to assistance paid on behalf of a recipient age 55 or over — “payment of benefits to a person under the age of 55 years does not create a debt” — and recovery is waived where the decedent is survived by a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or permanently disabled child.

Section 409.9101(7) provides that no debt under the section is enforceable “against any property that is determined to be exempt from the claims of creditors under the constitution or laws of this state.” Florida homestead is exempt from forced sale under article X, section 4(a)(1) of the Florida Constitution, and under section 4(b) that exemption inures to the surviving spouse or heirs — which Snyder v. Davis reads as the intestacy classes.

The practical point: whether the property keeps its homestead character matters enormously here. This is one of the situations where the order determining homestead status is doing real protective work, not just satisfying a title underwriter. If the decedent was 55 or older and received Medicaid, get advice before anyone signs anything. Note also that the Eleventh Circuit’s homestead checklist requires notice to AHCA for decedents aged 55 and over.

There are minor heirs

A minor cannot convey Florida real estate. Where a minor holds an interest, expect the court to require a guardian of the property under chapter 744, and in contested or unrepresented-interest situations, a guardian ad litem. Remember also that under article X, section 4(c), homestead cannot be devised at all if the owner is survived by a minor child — which changes who owns the property in the first place.

Selling an inherited Florida condo

If the estate property is a condominium unit, the personal representative or the heirs are taking on disclosure obligations that did not exist a few years ago. These rules came out of the response to the Champlain Towers South collapse, and they apply to all sellers — including estates.

What the seller must deliver

Section 718.503 requires every non-developer seller — a personal representative included — to provide each prospective purchaser, at the seller’s expense, for contracts entered into after December 31, 2024:

1. The inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection report under section 553.899, if applicable. Milestone inspections are required for condominium and cooperative buildings three habitable stories or higher.
2. The association’s most recent structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) — or a statement that the association has not completed one. Under section 718.112(2)(g), existing associations controlled by unit owners were required to complete a SIRS by December 31, 2025 — though an association whose milestone inspection was due by December 31, 2026 may combine the two, with the SIRS then due by that later date. An association on the combined track is not delinquent.
3. A copy of the turnover inspection report described in section 718.301(4)(p) and (q), for a turnover inspection performed on or after July 1, 2023.

The contract must contain conspicuous statements about the status of the required inspections and studies — completed, not completed, or not required. A contract that does not conform is voidable at the buyer’s option before closing.

The resale cancellation period is now 7 days, not the 3 days many agents still quote — CS/CS/HB 913 (2025) extended it. A buyer who receives the required documents within 7 days of executing the contract, or who requests them in writing, has 7 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays) after execution and receipt to cancel. Alternatively, a buyer who receives all required documents more than 7 days before signing may acknowledge receipt and waive the cancellation period.

What HB 913 changed about reserves

You may read that Florida condominium boards can no longer vote to waive reserves for structural items. That is no longer the complete picture. CS/CS/HB 913 (2025) allows a board to pause reserve funding without unit owner approval where the building has been declared uninhabitable by the local building official, and permits an association that completed a milestone inspection within the prior two calendar years to pause or reduce reserve contributions for no more than two consecutive annual budgets, on a majority vote of the total voting interests, in order to fund the repairs the inspection recommended. That option sunsets December 31, 2028, and the association must complete a new structural integrity reserve study before contributions resume. HB 913 also extended the SIRS deadline to December 31, 2025 and narrowed milestone inspections to buildings three habitable stories or more.

What has not changed is the market consequence: assessments on older coastal buildings have risen sharply, and buyers are pricing that in.

The estoppel certificate

Every condominium and HOA closing needs an estoppel certificate showing what the unit owes. Under section 718.116(8), the association must deliver it within 10 business days of a written or electronic request; if it is not timely delivered, no fee may be charged.

The statutory fee caps are adjusted for inflation, and the currently published Department of Business and Professional Regulation maximums are $299 for a standard certificate, an additional $119 for expedited delivery within 3 business days, and an additional $179 where the account is delinquent. Order it early. In an estate where dues have gone unpaid for months, the estoppel amount is frequently the number that changes the deal.

What you must disclose — and what you do not

Florida imposes a duty on a residential seller to disclose known material defects that are not readily observable to the buyer. The obvious problem for a personal representative is that you very likely never lived in the house and know almost nothing about it.

The duty runs to what you actually know. A fiduciary who has never occupied the property generally has little to disclose — but “I didn’t know” is not a defense if the file contains a roof report, an insurance claim, a contractor’s estimate or a letter from the association. Read the decedent’s papers before you complete a disclosure form, and disclose what is in them.

Selling as-is does not switch the duty off. An as-is contract allocates the cost of repairs; it does not license concealment of a known defect.

Deaths on the property

Families ask this constantly, particularly when the decedent died at home. Section 689.25 answers it:

(1)(b) The fact that a property was, or was at any time suspected to have been, the site of a homicide, suicide, or death is not a material fact that must be disclosed in a real estate transaction.

Section 689.25(2) goes further and provides that no cause of action arises against an owner, an agent, or a licensee for failing to disclose that the property was or was suspected to have been the site of a homicide, suicide or death. The statute treats HIV and AIDS status of a former occupant the same way.

You are not required to disclose that your parent died in the house.

Timeline, costs, and the cost of waiting

How long it takes

Stage	Typical duration
Petition to Letters of Administration (formal)	4–8 weeks
Summary administration, start to order	Often 4–8 weeks
Creditor claim period	The later of 3 months from first publication, or 30 days after service on a creditor entitled to service (§ 733.702)
Petition to sell → order	3–6 weeks, longer if a hearing is set
Contract to closing	30–60 days; add time if a court date drives it
Homestead determination	Frequently adds ~3 months
Ancillary administration	Adds roughly 3–6 months
Date of death to closing, typical formal administration	6–12 months

Note what the claims period does and does not delay. The closing is generally cleared by section 733.613(3) or section 735.206(4)(c). What is statutorily held is the distribution: proceeds stay in the estate account until the creditor claim period has run and valid claims are resolved. Court scheduling, a homestead determination or a disagreement among the heirs is what stretches the overall timeline.

What it costs

Item	Amount	Note
Probate filing fee — formal or ancillary administration	~$401	As charged by the Miami-Dade and Broward clerks. Confirm with your county clerk — a statutory base plus local surcharges means figures vary by a few dollars
Probate filing fee — summary administration ($1,000+)	$346	$236 where the estate is under $1,000
Publication of notice to creditors	~$100–$250	Varies by county and newspaper
Date-of-death appraisal	~$350–$700	Higher for unusual or high-value property
Municipal lien search	~$100–$200
Estoppel certificate (condo/HOA)	Up to $299	+$119 expedited, +$179 if delinquent
Personal representative’s commission	3% of the first $1M	§ 733.617(2): then 2.5% to $5M, 2% to $10M, 1.5% above
Attorney’s fee	Negotiable	See below
Realtor commission	Typically 5–6%	Negotiable, and more so since the 2024 NAR settlement
Documentary stamp tax on the deed	$0.70 per $100	$0.60 per $100 in Miami-Dade; see below

About attorney’s fees — what the statute actually says

Section 733.6171 sets out a fee schedule that is presumed reasonable for ordinary services in a formal administration, computed on the compensable value of the estate: $1,500 for estates of $40,000 or less, an additional $750 for estates over $40,000 to $70,000, another $750 for estates over $70,000 to $100,000, 3% of the next $900,000, then 2.5%, 2%, 1.5% and 1% at the higher bands.

Under section 733.6171(2), an attorney intending to charge on that schedule must disclose in writing to the personal representative — and obtain a signed acknowledgment — that there is no mandatory statutory attorney fee for estate administration, that the fee is not required to be based on the size of the estate, that the fee is subject to negotiation, and that the personal representative is free to choose any attorney and is not required to use the one who prepared the will. If the attorney does not make those disclosures, the attorney cannot be paid without prior court approval or the written consent of all interested parties.

Read that again if you have been told a percentage is simply what probate costs. It is not.

What holding the property costs

This is the number families underestimate, and it is usually the real argument for selling sooner rather than later. While the estate is open you are paying:

• Property taxes — at a higher rate than your parent paid. The homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes assessment cap attach to the owner, not the house. Once the qualifying owner dies and the property no longer qualifies, the assessment resets and the exemption comes off. Many families are shocked by the first tax bill after a death.
• Insurance, often at vacancy pricing. Carriers routinely non-renew a deceased owner’s policy, and standard policies exclude losses on homes vacant beyond a stated period. Expect to place a vacant dwelling policy in the estate’s name.
• HOA or condominium assessments, which continue to accrue and which the association can lien and foreclose.
• Utilities, lawn care and basic maintenance — small individually, and the reason code enforcement liens appear.
• The mortgage, which does not pause.

Add it up before you decide to wait for a better market.

After the closing: where the money goes

Proceeds do not go to the beneficiaries at the closing table. They go into the estate’s account and are paid out in the order Florida law sets. Section 733.707(1) establishes eight classes:

Class	What it covers
1	Costs and expenses of administration, and compensation of the personal representative and their attorneys
2	Reasonable funeral, interment and grave marker expenses, not to exceed $6,000 in the aggregate
3	Debts and taxes with preference under federal law; claims under sections 409.9101 and 414.28 (this is where Medicaid estate recovery sits); state claims for unpaid court costs, fees or fines
4	Reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness
5	Family allowance
6	Arrearage from court-ordered child support
7	Debts acquired after death by continuation of the decedent’s business, limited to that business’s assets
8	All other claims, including judgments entered against the decedent during life

Where the assets are insufficient, creditors within a class are paid ratably. Protected homestead generally is not available to satisfy this hierarchy — its exemption comes from article X, section 4(a)(1) and (b) of the Florida Constitution, not from chapter 733. The exceptions are the ones written into the constitution itself: taxes and assessments, purchase-money obligations, and obligations for labor or materials furnished on the property — plus the personal representative’s own preservation lien under section 733.608(3), which is a debt charged against and secured by the homestead.

After claims and taxes, the personal representative files a final accounting and a petition for discharge under Florida Probate Rule 5.400; section 733.901 is what then discharges the personal representative and bars later actions. The beneficiaries are paid at that stage. The closing agent will issue a Form 1099-S for the sale, and the estate may need to file a Form 1041 income tax return if it had gross income of $600 or more during the tax year.

Taxes on the sale

Florida has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. What you may owe is federal capital gains tax, and the stepped-up basis usually makes it small.

Stepped-up basis

The estate’s basis in inherited property is generally its fair market value at the date of death, not what the decedent originally paid. If your father bought the house in 1978 for $40,000 and it was worth $500,000 the day he died, the basis is $500,000. Sell for $515,000 and the gain is $15,000, not $475,000.

This is the single best reason to obtain a date-of-death appraisal even where the court does not require one: the appraisal is what substantiates the basis.

The details most guides skip

• The gain is always long-term. Under IRC § 1223(9), and as IRS Publication 559 explains in its discussion of holding period, gain or loss on the sale of inherited property is treated as long-term regardless of how long the estate or the heir actually held it. Sell three weeks after death and it is still long-term.
• You may be able to deduct a loss. If the property sells below the date-of-death value after selling expenses, that can be a deductible capital loss — one reason not to guess at the appraisal.
• Selling expenses reduce the gain. Commission, doc stamps and closing costs come off the amount realized.
• The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax can apply on top of capital gains tax where modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 (single or head of household) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). These thresholds are not indexed for inflation.
• The $250,000/$500,000 primary residence exclusion generally does not apply to an inherited house the heir did not live in as a principal residence for two of the last five years.
• Federal estate tax is not a concern for the overwhelming majority of estates. The basic exclusion amount for decedents dying in 2026 is $15,000,000.
• Foreign heirs. If a beneficiary is a foreign person, FIRPTA withholding may apply to the sale, along with Forms 8288 and 8288-A and, potentially, a withholding certificate application on Form 8288-B. Plan for this early; it changes the closing math and the timeline.

Documentary stamp tax

Florida charges documentary stamp tax on deeds at $0.70 per $100 of consideration statewide. Miami-Dade County is $0.60 per $100, plus a $0.45 per $100 surtax that applies to transfers of property other than single-family residences.

A deed distributing property from the personal representative to a beneficiary in accordance with the will is not taxable under Florida Administrative Code Rule 12B-4.014(4) — with two caveats. If a beneficiary receives more than their share and gives consideration for the excess, tax applies on the excess. And under section 201.02(1)(a), if the property passes subject to an outstanding mortgage, that mortgage balance counts as consideration and doc stamps are due on it.

Myths about Florida probate sales

Myth: You have to wait until probate closes to sell. No. Most probate properties are sold during active administration. Under section 733.613(1) you can even sign a contract before the court order, because the statute delays the passing of title, not the making of the contract.

Myth: The summary administration threshold is $75,000. It was, until July 1, 2026. It is now $150,000 under chapter 2026-57. A great deal of published material has not caught up.

Myth: The will gives me a power of sale, so I can sell the homestead. This is the most consequential misunderstanding on this page. Harrell v. Snyder holds otherwise. Protected homestead is not property of the probate estate, and a power of sale in the will does not reach it.

Myth: All heirs must agree before anything can be sold. Not necessarily. On non-homestead property with a valid power of sale, the personal representative can act without unanimous consent, though interested persons still receive notice. On protected homestead, the heirs own it and they do sign.

Myth: Having a will avoids probate. A will directs who receives the asset. It does not transfer title. If the deed is in the sole name of the decedent, the property goes through probate whether or not there is a will.

Myth: You must disclose that someone died in the house. Section 689.25(1)(b) says you do not.

Myth: The house cannot close until the creditor period ends. The buyer’s title is cleared at closing by section 733.613(3) or section 735.206(4)(c). It is the proceeds that are held through the claims period.

Myth: We need a DR-312. Not for probate proceedings commenced on or after July 1, 2023. See Florida Department of Revenue TIP 23C03-01.

Frequently asked questions

Can you sell a house during probate in Florida?

Yes. Selling real estate is one of the most common actions taken during a Florida probate. Authority comes from a power of sale in the will (section 733.613(2)), from a court order authorizing or confirming the sale (section 733.613(1)), or — for protected homestead — from the heirs, who already own it.

Who signs the deed in a Florida probate sale?

For non-homestead estate property, the personal representative signs in a fiduciary capacity. For protected homestead, the heirs or devisees sign, because title vested in them at death and the property never became an estate asset. In a summary administration, the distributees named in the order sign.

Does a probate sale need court approval in Florida?

Only when the will does not confer a power of sale or the decedent died intestate. In that case, section 733.613(1) provides that no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms the sale. Where the will grants a power of sale, no order is required for non-homestead property.

Can I sell my deceased parent’s house without probate?

Generally no, unless title passed outside probate — through a revocable trust, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, tenancy by the entireties, or a Lady Bird deed. If the deed is in the decedent’s sole name, probate is required to convey it.

What is the difference between summary and formal administration?

Formal administration appoints a personal representative and issues Letters of Administration. Summary administration appoints no one; the court enters an order of summary administration that itself transfers title to the distributees. Summary administration is available where the estate subject to administration in Florida, less exempt property, does not exceed $150,000, or where the decedent has been dead more than two years.

How long does it take to sell a house in probate in Florida?

Typically 6 to 12 months from the date of death to closing in a formal administration. Letters usually issue within 4 to 8 weeks; the creditor claim period runs three months from first publication; contract to closing is 30 to 60 days. A homestead determination or a dispute among heirs extends it.

Can a personal representative sell homestead property in Florida?

No. Protected homestead is excluded from the personal representative’s possession under section 733.607(1) and from estate assets under section 733.608(1). Harrell v. Snyder holds that even a broad power of sale in the will does not reach it. The heirs convey it, and the title company will generally want an order determining homestead status.

What is an Order Determining Homestead Status and why does the title company want one?

It is a court order under Florida Probate Rule 5.405 finding the property to be protected homestead and identifying by name the persons entitled to it. Homestead is a factual question that the public records do not answer, so title underwriters use the order as proof that the heirs — not the estate — own the property.

Do all heirs have to agree to sell an inherited house in Florida? Can a personal representative sell property without heir consent?

For non-homestead property sold by a personal representative with a power of sale, no — a personal representative can sell without heir consent, though interested persons still receive notice and may object. For protected homestead, the heirs own the property and generally must all sign. Where heirs are deadlocked, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (sections 64.201–64.214) provides a cotenant buyout and a preference for open-market sale over auction.

My sibling refuses to sell the inherited house. What can I do?

If title is held in tenancy in common and came from a relative, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act likely applies. Section 64.206 has the court determine value, section 64.207 lets a non-requesting cotenant buy out the requesting cotenant at that value, and section 64.208 prefers partition in kind before any sale. If a sale is ordered, section 64.210 favors an open-market sale by a broker rather than a courthouse auction.

How long does a surviving spouse have to elect the one-half interest in homestead?

Six months from the date of death, under section 732.401(2), and during the spouse’s lifetime. The election is made by recording a notice of election containing the legal description in the county where the property sits, and it is irrevocable once made. The deadline runs from death, not from appointment or notice.

Can the personal representative sell the house to themselves?

It is self-dealing and it is heavily scrutinized. A personal representative is held to the standards of care applicable to trustees under section 733.602(1). If it is going to happen at all, it needs full written consent from every beneficiary, a documented fair market value, and a court order approving the transaction.

How do I sell a Florida house if my parent lived in another state?

You open an ancillary administration under section 734.102 in the Florida county where the property sits. Out-of-state Letters Testamentary do not authorize a Florida conveyance. If the Florida property is worth $50,000 or less and the death was within two years, section 734.1025 offers a shortcut — unless a creditor files a claim, which collapses it.

Do I pay taxes on the sale of an inherited house in Florida?

Florida has no estate or inheritance tax. Federally, the basis is stepped up to date-of-death fair market value, so the taxable gain is usually only the appreciation between death and sale. That gain is always treated as long-term regardless of holding period. The 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax may apply above $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly) of modified AGI.

I received a 1099-S for an inherited house. What do I do with it?

Report the sale on Form 8949 and Schedule D, using the date-of-death fair market value as your basis and reducing the amount realized by selling expenses. If the estate rather than the heirs sold the property, the sale is generally reported on the estate’s Form 1041. Talk to a CPA — this is one of the few places where a modest fee reliably saves money.

What happens to the mortgage when the owner dies?

It continues. Payments remain due and the lender’s foreclosure rights are unaffected. If the family wants to keep the property, the Garn-St Germain Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)(3) and (d)(5), bars the lender from accelerating on a transfer by descent or a transfer to a relative on the borrower’s death, for residential property of fewer than five units. If the property is sold, the mortgage is paid from the proceeds at closing.

What if the house has a reverse mortgage?

Move quickly. HUD’s servicing guidance gives heirs a short initial window — HUD describes 30 days from the borrower’s death — with extensions available in 90-day increments where the property is actively being marketed. Separately, under 24 C.F.R. § 206.125, where the loan balance exceeds the property’s value, the property may be sold for not less than an amount set by HUD not exceeding 95 percent of appraised value. Heirs who want to keep the home must repay the balance in full.

Will Medicaid take the house?

Florida’s AHCA files a claim against the estate under section 409.9101 for assistance paid on behalf of a recipient aged 55 or over. Recovery is waived where a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or permanently disabled child survives. Section 409.9101(7) bars enforcement against property exempt from creditors’ claims under Florida law, and Florida homestead is exempt under article X, section 4(b) — which is one more reason homestead status matters.

Who pays the property taxes, insurance and HOA dues during probate?

The estate does, from estate funds. Expect the tax bill to increase after the owner’s death, because the homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes cap attach to the qualifying owner. Confirm insurance early — carriers frequently non-renew a deceased owner’s policy, and standard policies exclude losses at vacant properties.

Do I have to disclose that someone died in the house?

No. Section 689.25(1)(b) provides that a death — including a homicide or suicide — on the property is not a material fact that must be disclosed, and section 689.25(2) bars a cause of action for failing to disclose it.

Can I sell the house before the creditor claim period ends?

In most cases, yes. Section 733.613(3) gives a purchaser under a specific power of sale or a court order title free of estate creditors’ claims and beneficiaries’ entitlements, other than existing recorded mortgages and liens. Section 735.206(4)(c) does the same for a buyer from a summary administration distributee. What waits out the claims period is the distribution of proceeds.

My parent died years ago and no probate was ever opened. Can we still sell?

Usually, and often more easily than you expect. Section 733.710 bars claims against the decedent two years after death, and the Florida Supreme Court has held that bar self-executing and beyond the probate court’s power to extend. Summary administration is also available on the “dead more than two years” prong regardless of estate value.

What documents will the title company ask for?

Certified Letters of Administration, a certified death certificate, the order appointing the personal representative, the will, an order authorizing or confirming sale where required, an order determining homestead status where applicable, the personal representative’s deed, a seller’s affidavit, evidence on creditor notice, the estate’s EIN and a municipal lien search. In an intestate estate or a homestead determination, expect an affidavit of heirs.

Do I need a lawyer to sell a house in Florida probate?

In practical terms, yes. Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires representation in most administrations, and beyond the rule, the sale of estate real property is where personal liability for a personal representative most often arises. The title company will also expect an attorney’s involvement in preparing the deed and the order.

What extra rules apply to selling an inherited condominium?

Section 718.503 — as built out by HB 1021 (ch. 2024-244) and CS/CS/HB 913 (ch. 2025-175) — requires every non-developer seller, including an estate, to deliver the milestone inspection report summary, the association’s most recent structural integrity reserve study or a statement that none exists, and the turnover inspection report, at the seller’s expense, for contracts entered after December 31, 2024. A nonconforming contract is voidable by the buyer before closing, and the resale cancellation period is 7 days.

Who owns a house during probate in Florida?

The heirs or devisees do. Non-homestead real property vests in them by operation of law at the moment of death under sections 732.514 and 732.101(2), subject to administration of the estate. Protected homestead vests in them outright and never becomes an estate asset. The personal representative holds possession and the power to administer under section 733.607(1) — not title.

Can you sell a house before probate in Florida?

Only if the property never needed probate — a revocable trust, a Lady Bird deed, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or tenancy by the entireties. If the deed is in the decedent’s sole name, no one has authority to convey until the court acts, and a contract signed beforehand cannot close.

How long after probate can you sell the house?

Immediately. Once the estate is discharged and the deed of distribution is recorded, the beneficiaries hold ordinary marketable title with no statutory waiting period. The one thing a buyer’s underwriter may still ask about is how creditors were handled, until two years have passed from the date of death and section 733.710 has barred claims outright.

How is a probate sale different from a regular home sale in Florida?

Six things: who signs the deed, where the authority to sign comes from, whether the court’s calendar controls the closing date, what a fiduciary seller must disclose, that proceeds go to the estate rather than the seller, and that the contract carries a court-approval contingency where an order is required. Florida has no courtroom overbid procedure — that is a California practice often wrongly described as applying nationally.

Can the heirs sell the house themselves before the estate closes?

On protected homestead, yes — the heirs already own it, and the practical requirement is proving homestead status to the title underwriter. On non-homestead property, a devisee’s interest is vested but can be divested to pay estate debts, so underwriters generally want the personal representative joining in the deed, a court order, the estate closed with a recorded deed of distribution, or two years elapsed since death.

Does it matter which Florida county the house is in?

The law does not change; the calendar does. Circuits differ on whether an unopposed sale petition is ruled on the papers or set for hearing, whether waivers must be notarized, what valuation the judge expects, whether proceeds go into a restricted depository, and how a homestead determination is sequenced against a sale order. Ask before you draft the petition.

I inherited a house in Florida and live out of state. What do I do first?

Pull the deed and find out how title was held, because that determines whether probate is needed at all. Then confirm the property is insured and secured — carriers often non-renew a deceased owner’s policy. Then get a date-of-death appraisal, which you will need for your tax basis whether you sell or not. If your parent was not a Florida resident, you will need an ancillary administration under section 734.102, and in most cases you will not have to travel to Florida for it.

Talk to a Florida probate attorney

Selling a house in probate is a legal procedure that happens to involve a real estate transaction, not the other way around. One mistake about homestead, creditor notice or the source of your authority can cloud the title, kill the closing, or create personal liability for the personal representative.

We at Lorenzo Law handle probate and probate real estate matters throughout Florida — Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Osceola, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Duval and beyond. We work with title underwriters and probate realtors to clear title, obtain the orders your closing needs, and get the transaction to the table.

Tell us briefly what you are dealing with. A short call will tell you where you stand and what your deadlines are, at no cost.

Call (305) 224-6811 or send us a message.

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Reviewed and updated August 2026 by Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr., Esq., Florida Bar No. 107002. This article is general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Statutes, rules and court practice change, and the right answer depends on the facts of your estate. For advice about your situation, speak with a Florida probate attorney.

Related reading

• Florida partition actions: forcing the sale of inherited property
• The Lady Bird deed in Florida
• Serving as an out-of-state executor in Florida
• What is the Florida probate court?
• Florida quit claim deed: property transfer guide
• Is there an inheritance tax in Florida?