Selling estate real estate during Florida probate means the personal representative (executor) marketing and conveying a deceased owner’s property while the estate is open and supervised by the circuit court. In most Florida estates the personal representative can sell property either under authority granted in the will, or by obtaining a court order under section 733.613 of the Florida Statutes. The sale proceeds become an estate asset that must first satisfy valid creditor claims, costs of administration, and taxes before any money reaches the beneficiaries.
That last sentence is where Palm Beach families most often get tripped up. People assume the house is “theirs” the moment a parent passes. In Florida probate, it usually is not — at least not free and clear, and not until the creditor period has run its course. Below is how these sales actually work, and where the landmines sit.
Who Has the Authority to Sell Estate Property in Florida?
Only the personal representative appointed by the court can sign a deed conveying estate real estate. A named executor in the will has no power until the judge issues Letters of Administration. Until those Letters are in hand, any listing agreement or contract a family member signs is, at best, premature and, at worst, unenforceable.
Where the authority comes from depends on the will:
- The will grants a power of sale. A well-drafted Florida will gives the personal representative express authority to sell real property without further court approval. This is the cleanest path and the one most title companies prefer.
- The will is silent, or there is no will. The personal representative typically petitions the court for authority to sell under Fla. Stat. § 733.613. The court can authorize the sale when it is in the best interest of the estate and necessary to pay debts, taxes, devises, or expenses of administration.
- The property is specifically devised. If the will leaves “my house at 123 Ocean Drive” to a named person, the rules tighten. A specifically devised property generally should not be sold to pay debts unless other assets are insufficient, per the statutory order of abatement in Fla. Stat. § 733.805.
Even when the will grants a power of sale, a prudent personal representative will sometimes seek a court order anyway. A court-approved sale insulates the personal representative from later claims by beneficiaries that the price was too low or the buyer too cozy. In a creditor-heavy estate — our firm’s particular focus — that protection is worth the modest delay.
Creditor Claims Come First: Why the Sale May Be Necessary
This is the heart of it. When a Florida estate carries significant debt — medical bills, a reverse mortgage, unpaid taxes, credit card balances, a hospital lien, or a Medicaid estate-recovery claim — the real estate is frequently the only asset large enough to make creditors whole. Selling the property is not optional in those cases; it is the mechanism by which the estate pays what it owes.
The personal representative must publish a Notice to Creditors and serve known or reasonably ascertainable creditors directly. Under Fla. Stat. § 733.702, most creditors must file claims within three months of first publication, or within 30 days of being served, whichever is later. Claims filed after the limitations period in Fla. Stat. § 733.710 — generally two years from death — are barred entirely.
Why this matters for a sale: if you distribute or spend the proceeds before the claims picture is clear, the personal representative can be held personally liable to a creditor who later surfaces with a timely, valid claim. We have seen executors forced to repay tens of thousands out of pocket because they handed sale proceeds to siblings the week after closing.
The disciplined sequence looks like this:
- Open the estate and obtain Letters of Administration.
- Publish Notice to Creditors and serve ascertainable creditors.
- Market and sell the property (with court authority where required).
- Hold the net proceeds in the estate account.
- Resolve, object to, or pay claims in the statutory order.
- Distribute the remainder to beneficiaries.
The general principle that estate debts are satisfied before beneficiaries receive their inheritance is consistent across states; our colleagues handle the same logic in New York’s surrogate courts in their work on . Florida’s deadlines and homestead rules, however, are distinctly our own.
The Homestead Wrinkle Every Palm Beach Family Should Know
Florida’s constitutional homestead protection is unlike anything else in American probate. If the decedent’s home qualified as protected homestead and passes to a surviving spouse or heirs, the property generally passes outside the estate and is shielded from most of the decedent’s creditors under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution.
The practical consequences are significant:
- Protected homestead is usually not available to pay general creditors. Heirs can often sell it and keep the proceeds free of those claims, though certain obligations — mortgages, tax liens, and debts for work on the property — still attach.
- Whether the home is homestead is a legal determination, not an assumption. The personal representative frequently files a petition to determine homestead status, and a title company will want that order before insuring a sale.
- Investment property, second homes, and out-of-state owners generally do not get homestead protection, which puts those parcels squarely within reach of creditors.
Because homestead can flip an asset from “creditor target” to “protected inheritance,” nailing down its status early often changes the entire strategy of an estate. For a deeper look at how property and family interests interact with a Florida will, see our overview at wills and estate planning.
Mechanics of the Sale: From Listing to Closing
Getting the Property Market-Ready and Priced
The personal representative has a fiduciary duty to obtain a fair price. That means an arm’s-length transaction, a credible valuation (an appraisal or broker’s price opinion), and a marketing process that would survive scrutiny. Selling to a relative at a friendly number is the fastest way to draw a surcharge action from disgruntled beneficiaries or an objecting creditor.
The Contract and Court Approval
Florida residential contracts can and should reference that the seller is an estate and that closing is contingent on probate authority where applicable. If court approval is required, the personal representative petitions for an order authorizing the sale, often attaching the executed contract. Interested persons receive notice and a chance to object. A clean order naming the buyer, price, and terms is what makes the title underwriter comfortable.
Title, Deed, and the Two-Year Cloud
Title companies treat Florida estate sales cautiously because of the two-year creditor window in Fla. Stat. § 733.710. When a property is sold soon after death, underwriters may require the estate to be opened, creditors noticed, or an order of summary administration entered before they will insure. The personal representative signs the deed — typically a personal representative’s deed — conveying the estate’s interest to the buyer.
This is one reason rushing a sale rarely works. Buyers want clean, insurable title; the probate process is what produces it.
Summary Administration vs. Formal Administration
How you sell depends partly on which probate track the estate is on:
- Formal administration is the full process, with an appointed personal representative and Letters of Administration. It is required for larger estates and is the norm when real estate must be actively sold to pay claims.
- Summary administration is available under Fla. Stat. § 735.201 when the estate’s value (excluding exempt property) is $75,000 or less, or the decedent has been dead more than two years. There is no personal representative, so selling real estate generally requires the heirs to join in the deed, and the court’s order of summary administration becomes the key title document.
The two-years-after-death option is genuinely useful in Palm Beach, where a family may inherit a home and only decide to sell years later. Once that two-year creditor bar has run, the title picture is dramatically cleaner.
Common Disputes — and How Creditor Pressure Fuels Them
Sales go sideways when beneficiaries and creditors pull in opposite directions. Heirs want to keep the house or sell high and slow; creditors want cash now. Contests over the will itself can freeze a sale entirely while authority is litigated — the same dynamic our New York colleagues navigate when a . In Florida, a pending will contest or a fight over who serves as personal representative can stall a closing for months.
Other recurring flashpoints:
- An heir living in the property who refuses to leave or cooperate with a showing.
- Disputes over whether the home is protected homestead — and therefore beyond creditor reach.
- Creditors objecting that the sale price was too low or the buyer not at arm’s length.
- Multiple co-personal-representatives who cannot agree on terms.
An experienced probate attorney heads most of these off by documenting the valuation, noticing interested persons properly, and, where appropriate, getting the court to bless the deal before the deed is signed.
Working With a Palm Beach Probate Attorney
Selling estate real estate in a debt-laden estate is part real estate transaction, part fiduciary risk management, and part litigation avoidance. Order the steps wrong and the personal representative absorbs the loss. Order them right and the property converts cleanly into cash that satisfies creditors and leaves a defensible balance for the family.
Our Palm Beach probate practice concentrates on creditor-and-claims-heavy estates — the ones where the house is the whole ballgame. We coordinate the probate, the homestead determination, the court authorization, and the closing so the pieces fit together. You can learn more about our Florida probate work at Morgan Legal’s Florida probate practice, and our affiliated team handles complex estate administration through as well.
If you are an executor staring at a Palm Beach property and a stack of unpaid bills, the worst move is to act on instinct. Contact our office before you list, sign, or distribute anything — and review our Florida probate overview to understand the road ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell my deceased parent's Florida house before probate is finished?
Usually not free of restrictions. You need Letters of Administration appointing a personal representative before signing a deed, and if creditors have claims, the net proceeds typically must stay in the estate account until those claims are resolved. Title companies often require the estate to be opened and creditors noticed before they will insure the sale, especially within two years of death.
Do I need a court order to sell estate real estate in Florida?
It depends on the will. If the will grants the personal representative an express power of sale, a court order may not be required. If the will is silent or there is no will, you generally petition for authority to sell under Fla. Stat. section 733.613. Even when a court order is optional, getting one protects the personal representative from later disputes over price or buyer.
Can creditors take the proceeds from selling the home?
They can if the property is not protected homestead. Sale proceeds are an estate asset used to pay valid creditor claims, administration costs, and taxes before beneficiaries receive anything. If the home qualified as constitutional homestead passing to a spouse or heirs, it is generally shielded from most creditors, though mortgages, tax liens, and property-related debts still attach.
What is the deadline for creditors to file claims against a Florida estate?
Most creditors must file within three months of the first publication of the Notice to Creditors, or within 30 days of being personally served, whichever is later, under Fla. Stat. section 733.702. An absolute bar applies at two years from the date of death under Fla. Stat. section 733.710, after which untimely claims are extinguished.
How long after a death can heirs sell an inherited Florida home cleanly?
Once two years have passed since the decedent’s death, the absolute creditor bar in Fla. Stat. section 733.710 has run and summary administration becomes available regardless of estate size, which dramatically simplifies title. Many families wait out or work within this window to sell with insurable, clean title.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of probate and estate administration in Florida. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .