What to Do When You Inherit a Property in Florida

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.

We meet heirs and personal representatives every month in Pinellas County. Most of the conversations start the same way: "I don't even know where to start." The good news is that Florida has a fairly well-defined path for these situations. Understanding the path removes a lot 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 required when the estate's non-exempt assets exceed $75,000 or when the death occurred less than two years ago and does not qualify for a shortcut. 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 for smaller estates — available when the non-exempt assets are under $75,000 or when the person died more than two years ago. 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.

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. The house needs to come out of the estate and into someone's individual name via a personal representative's deed once probate allows.

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. The property can be sold during probate (with court approval in most cases) or after probate closes and title is in the heirs' names.

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 and there is a surviving spouse or minor child, Florida's constitutional homestead protections kick in — and they can override even a clear will. If this applies to your situation, get legal advice before assuming who inherits.

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. We meet heirs every year who did not realize taxes had gone unpaid — sometimes because the bill was being sent to the deceased's old address. In a worst-case scenario, a neglected inherited property can actually end up in a tax deed sale while probate is still running. Check the current tax bill at the Pinellas Property Appraiser.

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.

How we fit in

We specialize in Pinellas County probate properties. Most of our probate conversations start before the estate is ready to sell — heirs call us because they need someone to help them understand where the case actually is and what a sale would look like when probate is far enough along. We coordinate with probate attorneys regularly, and we're patient enough to wait out the process. Sometimes we buy. Sometimes we just point the family toward a better option.

This 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.