If you're the personal representative of an estate in Florida and there's a house that needs to be sold, you're dealing with a process that has real legal steps and real timelines. Probate can feel overwhelming, especially when you're grieving and suddenly responsible for managing someone else's assets. But the process is well established in Florida, and once you understand the steps, it's a lot more manageable than it seems.
Does every inherited property in Florida have to go through probate?
No. Before you assume you're in for a long legal process, check how the property was titled. If the home was held in a revocable living trust, the property passes to the beneficiary outside of probate entirely. The trustee can sell the property once the trust terms are satisfied. If the home was owned as joint tenants with rights of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety between spouses, the property passes directly to the surviving owner by operation of law. If the deceased had a Lady Bird deed (enhanced life estate deed) in place, the property automatically transfers to the named beneficiary at death without going through probate.
If none of those apply and the property was solely in the deceased person's name, probate is required before the property can be sold.
Formal administration vs summary administration in Florida
Florida has two main probate tracks, and which one you qualify for determines how long this is going to take.
Summary administration
Summary administration is the faster track. You may qualify if the total value of the estate (excluding exempt property like the homestead) is less than $75,000, or if the person has been deceased for more than two years. Summary administration skips the appointment of a personal representative entirely. Instead, the court issues an order distributing the assets directly. The whole process can wrap up in 60 to 90 days in straightforward cases.
Formal administration
Formal administration is the standard probate process in Florida. It involves appointing a personal representative (what other states call an executor), notifying creditors, paying debts, and then distributing the remaining assets to the beneficiaries. Creditors have a minimum of 90 days to file claims against the estate after being notified. The entire process typically takes six to twelve months, sometimes longer if there are disputes among heirs or complications with the estate.
What does the personal representative do when selling a probate property in Florida?
The personal representative is the only person legally authorized to sign a sale contract on behalf of the estate. Their responsibilities include maintaining the property during probate, which means keeping up with insurance, property taxes, and basic upkeep. They need to get the property appraised or pull comparable sales to establish fair market value. They list or market the property for sale. They negotiate with buyers and sign the purchase agreement. And they coordinate with the probate attorney and title company to close the transaction.
In Florida, the personal representative generally has the authority to sell real property without getting separate court approval, unless the will specifically restricts that authority or the court has imposed limitations. This makes the process smoother than states where every estate sale requires a judge's sign-off.
Can you sell a probate property before probate is finished in Florida?
You can get the process started, but you can't close until the personal representative has their Letters of Administration from the court. Those letters are what give them the legal authority to execute a deed. Getting Letters of Administration typically takes a few weeks to a couple of months after the probate case is opened.
Cash buyers like us will often sign a purchase agreement before the letters are issued. The contract includes a contingency that closing happens once probate clearance is obtained. This locks in the sale price and gives the estate certainty while the legal process catches up.
What about the creditor period in Florida probate?
After the personal representative is appointed, they're required to publish a notice to creditors in a local newspaper and directly notify any known creditors. Creditors then have 90 days from the first publication date (or 30 days from receiving direct notice, whichever is later) to file claims against the estate. During this period, debts and liens against the estate are sorted out.
This creditor period is one of the main reasons probate takes as long as it does. You can list and even go under contract on the property during this window, but you need to be aware that claims filed by creditors could affect the estate's bottom line and potentially the net proceeds from the sale.
What it costs to sell a house through probate in Florida
The costs add up faster than most people expect. Probate attorney fees in Florida are set by statute and based on the value of the estate. For an estate valued at $100,000, the attorney fee is $3,000. For $300,000, it's $7,500. For $1 million, it's $18,000. The personal representative is entitled to the same fee schedule as compensation for their work, although family members often waive this.
Court filing fees run a few hundred dollars. Title search and curative work varies depending on the complexity of the title. And then there are the carrying costs during probate. Every month the property sits in the estate, someone is paying taxes, insurance, utilities, and possibly a mortgage. On a South Florida property, those carrying costs can easily run $2,000 to $3,000 a month or more. The faster the property gets to closing, the more of the estate's value is preserved for the beneficiaries.
When does selling to a cash buyer make sense for a probate property in Florida?
Listing a probate property on the open market can work if the home is in good condition, there's no rush, and the personal representative has the time and energy to manage showings and negotiations on top of the legal process. But in many cases, a direct cash sale makes more sense. The property needs work that the estate doesn't have the budget to do. The heirs live out of state and can't manage the sale remotely. Multiple heirs want the chapter closed as quickly as possible. The carrying costs are eating into the estate's value every month. Or the personal representative simply doesn't want to juggle a listing on top of everything else they're dealing with.
A cash sale eliminates the repairs, the showings, and the uncertainty. We close at a title company on your timeline, and the estate gets a clean resolution.
