Inheriting a House in Florida: Probate, Taxes, and Selling

You inherited a house in Florida - here’s what actually happens

First: nothing has to happen this week. The house is not going anywhere, and the mortgage company cannot demand immediate payoff just because the owner died.

Florida is a special case among inheritance states for two reasons. First, an enormous share of Florida homeowners are retirees whose children live somewhere else - so if you are reading this from another state, you are the typical case, not the exception. Second, Florida’s constitutional homestead protection gives an inherited primary residence some unusual and genuinely helpful properties, along with some paperwork quirks.

What happens next depends on how the home was titled, whether it was the owner’s homestead, and whether there is a will or trust.

Does it go through probate?

Frequently yes, but there are several exceptions and shortcuts:

• Living trust. A house held in a revocable living trust skips probate. The successor trustee handles or sells it directly.
• Lady bird deed. Florida does not have a statutory transfer on death deed for real estate, but it is one of the few states that recognizes the “enhanced life estate” or lady bird deed. If one was recorded, the property passes automatically to the named beneficiary at death, outside probate.
• Joint ownership with survivorship. Property owned as joint tenants with right of survivorship, or by spouses as tenants by the entirety, passes to the survivor by operation of law.
• Summary administration. Florida’s shortcut probate applies when the estate subject to probate is worth $75,000 or less (not counting exempt property - and the protected homestead is generally excluded from that cap) or when the person has been dead more than two years. It is a petition-based process with no personal representative appointed, often finished in one to a few months.
• Disposition without administration. A very narrow no-probate option for tiny estates - essentially reimbursement of funeral and final medical costs. It does not transfer a house.

The homestead wrinkle. If the house was the owner’s Florida homestead, the constitution says it passes directly to heirs at death, largely protected from most creditors of the estate. But heirs still do not have marketable title until a court enters an Order Determining Homestead - typically obtained through a petition filed alongside a summary or formal administration. Practical translation: even “automatic” homestead inheritance usually involves a court filing before a title company will insure a sale.

Everything else - a solely owned non-homestead house, or estates above the limits - goes through formal administration in the circuit court of the county where the person lived.

The Florida probate timeline

• Summary administration: commonly one to three months, sometimes faster when courts are not backlogged. Petition in, order out, no personal representative.
• Formal administration: commonly six to twelve months for a straightforward estate. The court appoints a personal representative and issues letters of administration (month one to two), creditors get a three-month window after published notice, then debts, taxes, and distributions are handled and the estate closes.
• Complications - will contests, hard-to-find heirs, creditor disputes, or property in multiple states - stretch this well past a year.

One more Florida-specific case: if the person lived in another state but owned Florida property, the Florida house needs its own ancillary administration in Florida, alongside the home-state probate. Snowbird estates hit this constantly.

Taxes when you inherit

The essentials: Florida has no state inheritance tax and no state estate tax. Nothing is owed to Florida for inheriting.

Federal estate tax applies only above $15 million per person (2026), so nearly all families are unaffected.

The most valuable concept for inheritors is the stepped-up basis. The house’s cost basis for capital gains tax resets to fair market value on the date of death. A condo bought for $90,000 that is worth $450,000 when you inherit it gives you a $450,000 basis - sell around that price soon after and there is little or no capital gains tax. All the appreciation during the owner’s life escapes income tax entirely. Federal law, applies in every state.

Property taxes deserve attention in Florida. The deceased owner’s Save Our Homes cap and homestead exemption kept the assessed value artificially low, often for decades. Those benefits do not transfer to an heir who does not make the home their own primary residence. Once the property changes hands, the assessment resets to market value - so an inherited house you keep as a rental or vacation home can see its property tax bill jump sharply the following year. Heirs who move in and file for their own homestead exemption fare much better.

Can you sell during probate in Florida?

Usually yes, with the mechanics depending on the path:

• Formal administration. If the will gives the personal representative a power of sale, they can sell the house without a separate court order. Without that power, the representative petitions the court for authorization - routine, but it adds a step. Proceeds go to the estate account for distribution at closing of the estate.
• Summary administration. There is no personal representative, so the property is first vested in the beneficiaries by court order; they then sell as owners.
• Homestead property. In practice the sale usually waits for the Order Determining Homestead so title is insurable. Many probate attorneys file the homestead petition immediately for exactly this reason. Once entered, the heirs sell as regular owners - and because the homestead passes outside the claims of most estate creditors, the sale proceeds are largely theirs rather than the estate’s.
• Trust or lady bird deed. No probate at all - the trustee or beneficiary sells directly.

If you live out of state

Most inherited Florida homes have out-of-state heirs. The system runs on it:

• Florida restricts who may serve as personal representative - a non-resident generally qualifies only if they are a close relative of the decedent. For most families inheriting from a parent, that works fine.
• Filings are electronic and hearings, when needed at all, are commonly handled by the attorney or by remote appearance. Plan on little or no travel for the legal side.
• The physical side is the real burden from a distance: hurricane-season insurance on a vacant home (vacancy can void a standard policy - call the insurer early), humidity and mold if the AC is off, lawn upkeep that draws code notices, and clearing out a lifetime of belongings.
• A local agent who handles inherited sales becomes your on-the-ground partner: property checks, cleanout crews, repair triage, and the sale itself while you stay home.

What’s the house worth?

Every decision downstream - keep, rent, or sell, repair or sell as-is - hangs on an accurate number. Automated portal estimates are weakest on exactly the kind of home people inherit in Florida: original-condition, in buildings or neighborhoods where renovated units sell for wildly different prices, sometimes with insurance or assessment issues (older condos especially) that an algorithm cannot see.

Get two numbers: fair market value at the date of death (documents your stepped-up basis) and today’s realistic as-is value. A local agent can pull both for free, and for condos can also flag association and insurance factors that change what the property can actually sell for.

Frequently asked questions

How long does probate take in Florida? Summary administration: often one to three months. Formal administration: commonly six to twelve months, longer with disputes or ancillary filings. Trust and lady bird deed transfers skip court entirely.

Do I pay taxes on a house I inherit in Florida? Florida charges no inheritance or estate tax, and federal estate tax starts above $15 million (2026). With the stepped-up basis, capital gains tax generally applies only to appreciation after the date of death. Watch property taxes, though - the assessment resets once the prior owner’s homestead benefits end.

The house was my parent’s homestead. Do we still need court? Almost always yes, at least a petition for an Order Determining Homestead, so a title company will insure your sale. The good news: homestead passing to heirs is largely protected from the estate’s ordinary creditors.

My parent lived up north but owned a Florida condo. What now? The home state handles the main probate, and Florida requires a separate ancillary administration for the Florida property before it can be transferred or sold with clear title.

Can I sell the house before probate ends? Often yes - a personal representative with a power of sale can sell during formal administration, and beneficiaries can sell right after a summary administration order vests title in them.