Selling an Inherited House in Florida: A Step-by-Step Guide
By Alon Melamed, Head of Acquisitions · Updated
Short answer: before an inherited house in Florida can be sold, someone needs the legal authority to sign the deed. If the house was in the deceased person’s name alone, that usually means probate, where the court appoints a personal representative who can sell. Probate is not needed when the home was in a living trust, owned jointly with a right of survivorship, or held under a lady bird deed. Florida has no inheritance or estate tax, and inherited homes get a stepped-up tax basis, so heirs who sell soon often owe little or no capital gains tax.
Step 1: Find Out How the House Passes
Look at the deed (your county clerk’s official records search) and any will or trust:
| How the house was held | Who can sell it | Probate? |
|---|---|---|
| In the owner’s name, with a will | The personal representative named in the will, once appointed by the court | Yes |
| In the owner’s name, no will | A personal representative appointed by the court; the heirs are set by Florida law | Yes |
| In a living trust | The successor trustee | No |
| Jointly with right of survivorship, or by a married couple | The surviving owner, after recording the death certificate | No |
| Lady bird deed (enhanced life estate) | The named beneficiaries, after recording the death certificate | No |
Step 2: Open Probate if You Need It
Florida has two main kinds of probate:
- Summary administration, a shorter process for estates worth $150,000 or less (not counting property exempt from creditors, such as a protected homestead), or when the person died more than two years ago. The ceiling was $75,000 until July 1, 2026, so older articles quote the wrong number.
- Formal administration for everything else. The court appoints a personal representative and issues letters of administration, the document a title company needs before a sale.
Selling during probate. If the will gives the personal representative a power of sale, they can sell without a court order. If there is no will, or the will gives no such power, the court must authorize or confirm the sale (Florida Statutes §733.613).
Creditors. The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors, who then have three months to file claims. Claims not filed are generally barred two years after the death in any case. Title companies take these dates into account when they insure a sale, so ask the estate’s attorney early how they affect your timeline.
Step 3: Check Whether It Was a Florida Homestead
If the house was the owner’s permanent residence, Florida’s homestead rules apply. A homestead that passes to the owner’s heirs is generally protected from the owner’s creditors, and if the owner left a spouse or a minor child, the Florida Constitution limits who could receive the home. Title companies usually want a court order determining homestead before they insure a sale. This is the part of an inherited sale where a Florida probate attorney earns their fee.
Step 4: Get the Heirs on the Same Page
Everyone who inherits a share has to sign. Decide together whether to keep, rent or sell, and who pays the bills in the meantime. If agreement is impossible, a co-owner can file a partition action, and a court can order a house sold when it cannot be divided. Most families settle long before that, often by having one heir buy out the others or by selling and splitting the proceeds.
Step 5: Protect the House While You Decide
- Insurance: tell the insurer the owner has died. Many policies limit coverage for a home left vacant, so ask about a vacant-home policy.
- Mortgage: keep paying it. Federal law generally stops the lender from calling the loan due because the house passed to a relative on the owner’s death.
- Utilities and upkeep: keep power and water on, the lawn cut and the house locked. Code fines become liens that come out of the sale.
- Property taxes: the deceased owner’s homestead exemption ends. The home is reassessed at market value on January 1 after the change of ownership, so the next tax bill can be much higher. An heir who moves in can apply for their own exemption.
Taxes When You Sell an Inherited House in Florida
| Tax | What applies |
|---|---|
| Florida inheritance tax | None. Florida has no inheritance tax. |
| Florida estate tax | None for deaths after 2004. An Affidavit of No Florida Estate Tax Due (DR-312) clears the old lien from the title. |
| Federal estate tax | Only on estates above $15 million per person (2026) |
| Capital gains tax | Stepped-up basis: your cost is the value on the date of death, so a prompt sale at about that value has little or no gain |
| Florida income tax | None |
| Doc stamps on the deed | $0.70 per $100 of the price, customarily paid by the seller |
How Long Do You Have to Sell an Inherited House?
Florida sets no deadline. What sets the pace is money: every month the estate or the heirs pay the mortgage, insurance, utilities and maintenance, and the property tax bill usually jumps the January after the death. A long wait can also let the stepped-up basis fall behind the market, which creates a taxable gain on the increase.
Your Options for the House
- Move in. Possible if the heirs agree; you take on the mortgage payments and can apply for your own homestead exemption.
- Rent it out. Brings in income, but the heirs become landlords and the house needs to meet rental standards.
- List it. Usually the highest price for a house in good shape, after clean-out, repairs and showings. See what seller closing costs come to.
- Sell it as-is for cash. No clean-out, repairs or showings, and a closing date that suits the family and the probate timeline. See how a cash offer works.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to go through probate to sell an inherited house in Florida?
Usually, if the house was in the deceased person’s name alone. Probate is how someone gets legal authority to sign the deed. You can skip it when the house was in a living trust, owned jointly with a right of survivorship (including a married couple’s tenancy by the entirety), or held under a lady bird deed.
How long do you have to sell an inherited house in Florida?
There is no legal deadline. In practice the clock is set by costs: the mortgage, insurance, utilities and upkeep continue, and the property taxes usually rise on January 1 after the owner’s death because the homestead exemption and its assessment cap end. Most title companies also look at whether the creditor period has run.
Do you pay taxes when you sell an inherited house in Florida?
Florida has no inheritance tax, no estate tax and no state income tax. For federal tax, an inherited home gets a stepped-up basis equal to its value on the date of death, so if you sell soon for about that value there is little or no capital gain. Federal estate tax applies only to estates above $15 million per person in 2026.
Can you sell a house during probate in Florida?
Yes. The personal representative can sell once the court issues letters of administration. If the will gives a power of sale, no court order is needed for the sale; otherwise the court must authorize or confirm it. The buyer’s title company will ask for the letters and, for a homestead, usually an order determining homestead.
Can one heir force the sale of an inherited house in Florida?
Every owner has to sign the deed. If the heirs cannot agree, any co-owner can ask the court to divide the property through a partition action, and when a house cannot be split the court can order it sold. It is slow and expensive, so most families negotiate a buyout or a sale first.
What happens to the mortgage on an inherited house?
The loan stays on the house and must be paid from the estate or by the heirs, or paid off at closing when the house sells. Federal law generally stops a lender from calling the loan due just because a home passed to a relative on the owner’s death, so keep making the payments while the sale is arranged.
Alon Melamed is Head of Acquisitions at CASA One Residential, the Jacksonville company behind Florida Cash Home Buyer. He leads the team that reviews each house and makes the cash offers to homeowners across northeast Florida.
Sources
- Florida Statutes §735.201: summary administration ($150,000 since July 1, 2026)
- Florida Statutes §733.613: personal representative’s power to sell real property
- Florida Statutes §733.702: three-month creditor claim period
- Florida Statutes §733.710: claims barred two years after death
- Florida Statutes §193.155: reassessment after a change of ownership
- Florida Department of Revenue Rule 12C-3: no Florida estate tax for deaths after 2004
- IRS: estate tax
- IRS Publication 551: basis of assets (inherited property)
This guide is general information about Florida real estate, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and fees change; check your own situation with a Florida real estate attorney, title company or tax professional.