When a parent, spouse, or relative passes away and leaves a house behind, the grief is the hard part. The paperwork that follows is the confusing part. If the property is in Florida and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this article is for you.
Most heirs I talk to start the same way: "I don't know where to begin." Florida has a well-defined path for this, and knowing it removes most of the anxiety.
First, the basics: what is probate?
Probate is the legal process of settling a deceased person's estate. In Florida, it is supervised by the Circuit Court in the county where the person lived — so for a Pinellas County resident, that is the Sixth Judicial Circuit, filed through the Pinellas Clerk's office.
Probate has three basic jobs:
- Verify the will, if there is one, or apply Florida's intestacy rules if there is not.
- Pay any legitimate debts of the deceased, including final taxes.
- Distribute what remains — including real estate — to the rightful heirs.
Real estate almost always has to go through some version of this process before it can be sold or transferred, unless the property was already titled in a way that avoids probate (more on that below).
The three probate paths in Florida
1. Formal administration
This is the full probate process. It is used when the estate does not qualify for summary administration — in plain terms, when the non-exempt assets are above the summary limit and the death was less than two years ago (or the will directs formal administration). A personal representative (often called an executor in other states) is appointed, notices go out to creditors, an inventory is filed, and at the end the judge signs orders distributing the estate.
Timeline: usually 6 to 12 months in Pinellas for a straightforward case. Longer if anyone contests the will or if the estate has complications like a business interest or out-of-state assets.
2. Summary administration
A streamlined process available when either of two things is true (Florida Statutes §735.201): the value of the estate subject to administration, minus property exempt from creditors' claims, is within the limit — $150,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026 (raised from $75,000 by ch. 2026-57; the old limit still applies to earlier deaths) — or the person has been dead for more than two years, regardless of size. Protected homestead is exempt from creditors and does not count toward the limit, which is why many estates with a house still qualify. There is no personal representative; the court issues an Order of Summary Administration distributing assets directly to the beneficiaries.
Timeline: 2 to 4 months if the paperwork is clean.
3. Disposition without administration
This is for very small estates with essentially no non-exempt property. It rarely applies when there's a house involved, so if you're reading this because you inherited real estate, this path probably isn't yours.
The two-year line matters
If it has been more than two years since the date of death and probate was never opened, the estate qualifies for summary administration regardless of its size (§735.201(2)). Many families discover an old inherited property years later and are surprised to learn they can skip the full process.
What the personal representative actually does
If the estate goes through formal administration, the court appoints a personal representative — usually a surviving spouse, adult child, or someone else named in the will. This is a real job with real fiduciary duties:
- Locate and inventory the estate's assets.
- Notify known creditors and publish a notice to unknown creditors.
- Pay legitimate debts, taxes, and administrative expenses from the estate.
- Maintain the real estate — pay the property taxes, keep the insurance active, keep the lights on, handle anything urgent like a roof leak.
- Eventually, either transfer the property to beneficiaries or sell it through the estate.
If you have been appointed personal representative, you do not own the house — the estate does. But you are the one with the legal authority to sign contracts about it. You'll usually see the title in the deed read something like "Jane Doe, as Personal Representative of the Estate of John Doe, deceased."
The decisions heirs actually face about the house
Keep it
One or more heirs move in, or one heir buys out the others. This is clean when it works, messy when siblings don't agree. How the house gets into someone's individual name depends on what kind of property it is: ordinary probate real estate is conveyed by the personal representative once the court allows; protected homestead is not an estate asset at all — it passes directly to the heirs under Florida's homestead rules, usually confirmed by a court order determining homestead; and property already held jointly with right of survivorship or in a trust never enters probate. A probate attorney tells you which one you have.
Rent it
Some families decide to hold the property as a rental. This requires agreement among all heirs, a plan for ongoing maintenance, and — in most cases — the property eventually coming out of the estate. A rental in an estate is functionally difficult to manage long-term.
Sell it
Most inherited Pinellas properties we see eventually sell. The reasons are usually practical: heirs don't live in Florida, the house needs more work than anyone wants to manage from a distance, or the beneficiaries simply prefer the cash. Ordinary probate real estate can be sold during formal administration by the personal representative — under the powers in the will, or with a court order when the will is silent or there is no will — or after title passes to the heirs. Protected homestead generally cannot be sold by the estate; the heirs sell it after their title is confirmed. Our guide to selling an inherited house during probate in Florida walks through who can sign and when.
The things nobody warns you about
The house still costs money while probate runs
Property taxes keep accruing. Homeowner's insurance has to stay current — and many insurers will cancel a vacant-home policy after 30 or 60 days, leaving the estate exposed. Utilities need to run at least at a minimum level to keep the HVAC on and prevent mold in Florida humidity. Someone has to mow the lawn. All of this adds up to real money month after month.
Homestead rules complicate things
If the deceased was using the property as their homestead, Florida's constitutional homestead rules apply: with a surviving spouse or minor child the home cannot be freely devised by will, it is exempt from most creditors' claims, it does not count toward the summary-administration limit, and it is handled differently from ordinary probate real estate (Florida Courts' probate guidance says as much). If this applies to your situation, get legal advice before assuming who inherits or who can sign a sale.
Contents of the house
The question "what do we do with all this stuff" is not a minor one. Sorting through decades of belongings while grieving is one of the hardest parts of inheriting a property. Many families spend months on this step alone. If you sell the house to a buyer who takes it as-is with contents, you skip this entire burden.
The property tax status
Check it. Heirs regularly discover taxes have gone unpaid because the bill went to the deceased's old address — and a neglected inherited property can reach a tax deed sale while probate is still running. Look the parcel up at the Pinellas Tax Collector (pinellas.county-taxes.com) and read what to do if a sale is scheduled.
Practical first steps if you just inherited
- Find the will, if there is one. Check the safe deposit box and the filing cabinet.
- Get 8-10 certified copies of the death certificate from the funeral home or Florida Department of Health.
- Talk to a Florida probate attorney — many offer free initial consultations for straightforward estates.
- Make sure the homeowner's insurance is still in force and the premium is paid.
- Pull the property tax bill and check it is current.
- Take photos of the property's condition today, for your own records.
- Don't sign anything from a "quick close" buyer until you actually understand the estate's situation.
Inherited a Pinellas property and feeling stuck?
Most of these conversations start before the estate can sell. We coordinate with the family's probate attorney, wait out the process, and tell you plainly if selling to us isn't the best option.
Get in touchThis article is general education about Florida probate. It is not legal or tax advice. Please consult a Florida probate attorney for guidance on your specific estate.
AL Cakici · Owner, HomeSellerCashOffer (Tampete Homes LLC)
AL buys houses in Pinellas County for his own account and has personally purchased and assisted with 100+ transactions over 10+ years across the country. He is not an attorney; this article is general information drawn from the Florida Statutes and county sources linked in the text, not legal advice. Facts checked against those sources on September 5, 2026.