Selling an Inherited House in Florida: Probate, Homestead & Options

By Adrian Rodriguez, licensed Florida real estate broker, Golex Properties. Buying Florida homes since 2017. Updated October 22, 2026.

If you’ve inherited a house in Florida, you usually can sell it, but first someone has to have the legal authority to sign. How you get there depends on how the house was owned, whether there’s a will, how big the estate is, and whether the house was the owner’s homestead. This guide walks through each of those in plain terms, then your options for the house itself.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. A Florida probate attorney can tell you what applies to your situation. If you don’t have one, we can recommend probate attorneys we work with.

Step 1: Find out how the house was owned

Not every inherited house goes through probate.

Owned jointly with survivorship, or by a married couple as tenants by the entirety: the house usually passes to the surviving owner automatically, outside probate. The will doesn’t control it.
Owned by a living trust: the trustee usually handles the sale under the trust’s terms, without full probate. A title company may still ask for a court order on homestead status (Step 4).
Owned in the person’s name alone: the house is part of the probate estate, and someone needs court authority before it can be sold.

Step 2: Locate the will and deposit it

If there’s an original will, Florida law requires whoever has it to deposit it with the Clerk of Court in the county where the person lived, within 10 days of learning of the death. The Clerk’s probate office can tell you how to deposit it. No will means Florida’s intestacy rules decide who inherits.

Step 3: Summary or formal administration

Florida has two main kinds of probate.

Summary administration is the faster, simpler route. It’s available when the estate subject to probate (not counting creditor-exempt property such as a protected homestead) is worth $150,000 or less, or when the person died more than two years ago. The $150,000 limit took effect July 1, 2026; before that it was $75,000. Ask your attorney which limit applies to your case.
Formal administration is used for larger or more complicated estates. The court appoints a personal representative (an executor), who manages the estate, notifies creditors and, with the right authority, can sell the house.

Step 4: Check whether the house was homestead

Florida’s homestead rules are strict and often surprise families.

If the owner left a spouse and no minor children, the homestead can generally go only to the spouse. A will leaving it to someone else doesn’t work, and the house passes as if there were no will.
If the owner left a minor child, the homestead can’t be left by will at all; it passes by law.
Homestead that passes to heirs is generally protected from the owner’s unsecured creditors.
Before insuring a sale, title companies usually want a court order determining homestead status, even when the house was in a trust.

Because these rules decide who owns the house, settle them with your attorney before you sign anything to sell.

Step 5: Get authority to sell

If the will gives the personal representative a power of sale, the personal representative can usually sell without asking the court to approve the sale.
If it doesn’t, the court has to authorize or confirm the sale, and title doesn’t pass until it does.
In summary administration, the court’s order typically distributes the house to the heirs, who can then sell it themselves.

You can usually line up a buyer and sign a contract while the authority is pending, with closing set for after the court order. Ask your attorney before signing. (More on this in can a house be sold for cash during probate in Florida?)

Step 6: Creditors and timing

In formal administration, the personal representative publishes a notice to creditors. Most claims must be filed within 3 months of the first publication, or 30 days after a known creditor is served, whichever is later. Unfiled claims are generally barred 2 years after the death. A mortgage on the house still has to be paid at closing; heirs who want time to sell should keep the payments current and tell the servicer about the death.

Your options for the house

Keep it. Live in it or rent it. Check the mortgage, insurance (the policy may need changing once the house is vacant) and property taxes, which can change when the homestead exemption ends.
List it with an agent. Usually brings the highest price for a house in good condition, if the heirs agree, can pay for any repairs and can wait for a buyer.
Sell it as-is for cash. Makes sense when the house needs work, is full of belongings, has tenants, is far from where the heirs live, or the heirs want a fixed closing date and an even split without months of showings.
One heir buys out the others. Common when someone wants to keep the family home; get the house appraised so the price is fair.

If you do sell for cash, get the offer in writing, have a licensed title company or attorney handle the closing, and make sure the sale fits the court’s or the attorney’s timeline.

Taxes, in one paragraph

For federal income tax, the basis of an inherited house is generally its fair market value on the date of death (or an alternate valuation date the personal representative may choose). If you sell soon after the death for about that value, there’s often little or no capital gain. Our guide on capital gains tax on inherited property goes further; a tax professional can confirm your numbers. Florida has no state inheritance tax.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell a house before probate is finished?

Often yes, once the personal representative has authority to sell (from the will’s power of sale or a court order), or once a summary administration order distributes the house. You can usually sign a contract while that’s pending, with closing set for after.

What if one of the heirs doesn’t want to sell?

In probate, the personal representative may be able to sell with court approval. If heirs already own the house together, a disagreement can end in a partition case. Talk to an attorney before it gets there; a buyout is often simpler.

Do we have to clean out the house first?

Not when you sell to us. Take what you want to keep and leave the rest.

The heirs live out of state. Can we still sell?

Yes. Signing can usually be done remotely or by mail through the title company, and we work with out-of-state heirs regularly.

We don’t have a probate attorney. Can you recommend one?

Yes. We have a network of Florida probate attorneys we can introduce you to. You choose who to hire, and there’s no obligation to sell to us.

Is there a Florida inheritance tax?

No. Federal estate tax applies only to very large estates.

Where we buy

We buy houses across Florida and Georgia. See what selling looks like in Jacksonville, Tampa, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach, or find your area.

Talk to us, with no pressure

If selling is right for your family, Golex Properties can make a written cash offer on the inherited house as-is, with no fees or commissions. We work with personal representatives, heirs and probate attorneys, and we can time the closing to the court’s schedule. If you don’t have a probate attorney yet, we can recommend ones we work with. Most of our closings take about 3 weeks.

Since 2017 we’ve bought 2,784 homes. We’re BBB accredited and rated 4.9 from 197 Google reviews. If another option is better for your family, we’ll tell you.

Get your written cash offer or call (844) 697-9737.