Selling an Inherited House When Probate Is Not Finished

Yes. You can sell an inherited Florida house before probate is finished, but only the personal representative can sign the deed, and unless the will gives a power of sale, no title passes until the court approves the sale (Florida Statute 733.613). If the house was the owner's protected homestead, it passes outside the personal representative's control, and the heirs who received it sign instead. If the estate is worth $150,000 or less, not counting exempt property, or the owner died more than two years ago, the faster summary administration may be available (Florida Statute 735.201).

Sources verified: September 27, 2026

This is general information, not legal advice.

Who can actually sign the deed

The short answer is the personal representative, and how much freedom they have depends on what the will says.

Florida Statute 733.613 splits this into two cases. Under 733.613(2), where "a decedent's will confers specific power to sell or mortgage real property or a general power to sell any asset of the estate," the personal representative may sell "without authorization or confirmation of court." The statute adds that such a sale "need not be justified by a showing of necessity."

Under Florida Statute 733.613(1), where there is no will, or the will confers no power of sale (or one too limited to be conveniently exercised), the personal representative may still sell — but the section is blunt about the consequence: "No title shall pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale."

That single sentence explains most stalled inherited-house sales. A contract can be signed, a buyer can be ready, and the closing still cannot happen until a judge signs an order.

There is a further point worth knowing if you are the buyer or the seller. Florida Statute 733.613(3) says that in a sale under a specific power to sell, or under a court order authorizing or confirming it, "the purchaser or lender takes title free of claims of creditors of the estate and entitlements of estate beneficiaries," though "existing mortgages or other liens against real property are not affected." Note the wording: subsection (3) names a specific power and court orders. A general power of sale is not in that list.

Homestead is treated differently

Florida Statute 733.607(1) gives the personal representative the right to take possession or control of the decedent's property — but with an express carve-out "except the protected homestead." The protection itself is constitutional, not statutory: it comes from Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution.

If the house was the decedent's homestead, it may not be part of the estate the personal representative controls at all. Where it was not left by will, Florida Statute 732.401(1) says homestead "shall descend in the same manner as other intestate property" — that is, under the intestate succession rules in Florida Statutes 732.101 through 732.103 — "but if the decedent is survived by a spouse and one or more descendants, the surviving spouse shall take a life estate in the homestead, with a vested remainder to the descendants in being at the time of the decedent's death per stirpes."

Florida Statute 732.401(2) gives the surviving spouse an alternative: instead of a life estate, they may "elect to take an undivided one-half interest in the homestead as a tenant in common," with the other half vesting in the descendants. That election has a hard deadline. Under 732.401(2)(b), it "must be made within 6 months after the decedent's death and during the surviving spouse's lifetime," and the statute says the time "may not be extended" except in the narrow circumstance in paragraph (c). Under 732.401(2)(d), "once made, the election is irrevocable."

Because the house passes to those people rather than into the estate, the deed has to be signed by all of them — whoever took it under the will, or, where it was not devised, the spouse and descendants Florida Statute 732.401 identifies. Note that the will route is narrower than it sounds: Article X, Section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution says homestead "shall not be subject to devise if the owner is survived by spouse or minor child," except that it may be devised to the spouse where there is no minor child.

The practical effect is that a homestead can end up owned by several people in different capacities — a spouse holding a life estate, children holding a remainder — none of whom can sell the whole house alone. That is a different problem from an unfinished probate, and it does not get solved by waiting. If the heirs can't agree on selling, see our guide on what happens when heirs disagree.

The creditor clock is what probate is mostly waiting on

Most of the delay in probate is about giving creditors their statutory window.

Florida Statute 733.2121 requires the personal representative to publish a notice to creditors. Under 733.2121(2), "publication shall be once a week for 2 consecutive weeks, in a newspaper published in the county where the estate is administered."

Florida Statute 733.702(1) then sets the filing window. A claim is not binding on the estate "unless filed in the probate proceeding on or before the later of the date that is 3 months after the time of the first publication of the notice to creditors or, as to any creditor required to be served with a copy of the notice to creditors, 30 days after the date of service on the creditor."

Under Florida Statute 733.702(3), a claim not timely filed "is barred even though no objection to the claim is filed," unless the court extends the time — and an extension "may be granted only upon grounds of fraud, estoppel, or insufficient notice of the claims period."

There is a longer backstop as well. Florida Statute 733.710(1) provides that "2 years after the death of a person, neither the decedent's estate, the personal representative, if any, nor the beneficiaries shall be liable for any claim or cause of action against the decedent," with exceptions set out in the section.

A mortgage is not a creditor claim

This is the point families most often get wrong, and it matters a great deal if the house has a loan on it.

Florida Statute 733.702(4)(a) says nothing in the claims section "affects or prevents ... a proceeding to enforce any mortgage, security interest, or other lien on property of the decedent." Florida Statute 733.710(3) says the same thing about the two-year bar: it "shall not affect the lien of any duly recorded mortgage or security interest ... or the right to foreclose and enforce the mortgage or lien."

So the lender does not have to file a claim in the probate case, and the two-year rule does not extinguish the mortgage. The loan keeps running, the arrears keep growing, and the lender can foreclose while probate is still open. If the loan is a reverse mortgage, the federal deadlines in 24 CFR 206.125 run on their own schedule too — see our page on selling a house with a reverse mortgage.

Probate has its own pace. The mortgage does not respect it.

Objections have a deadline too

Florida Statute 733.212 requires the personal representative to serve a notice of administration. Under 733.212(3), an interested person served with it "must object to the validity of the will, the venue, or the jurisdiction of the court by filing a petition or other pleading requesting relief in accordance with the Florida Probate Rules on or before the date that is 3 months after the date of service of a copy of the notice of administration on the objecting person, or those objections are forever barred."

Two things to be clear about. The three months runs from service on that person, not from the death or the filing. And the window covers the will's validity, the venue and the court's jurisdiction — it is not a general window for objecting to who was appointed as personal representative. Removal of a personal representative runs through different sections of the probate code.

Older guidance, written before 2015, also applied this deadline to objections to the personal representative's qualifications; that language has since been removed.

The shorter route: summary administration

Not every estate needs full formal administration. Florida Statute 735.201 allows summary administration where, under 735.201(2), "the value of the entire estate subject to administration in this state, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditors, does not exceed $150,000 or ... the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years."

That $150,000 figure is current as of July 1, 2026. It was raised from $75,000 by chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida. If you are reading older guidance that gives the lower number, it is out of date.

Florida Statute 735.203(1) sets out who files. The petition "may be filed by any beneficiary or person nominated as personal representative in the decedent's will offered for probate," and "must be signed and verified by the surviving spouse, if any, and any beneficiaries" — with an exception for a beneficiary who will receive a full distributive share. Where a beneficiary does not join, "formal notice of the petition must be served on a beneficiary not joining in the petition."

The second limb of 735.201(2) is the one families overlook. If the decedent has been dead more than two years, summary administration is available regardless of the value of the estate. On an old, long-neglected property, that is often the fastest route to a signature that a title company will accept.

What this means if you want to sell now

A few things follow from the above, and they are worth checking before anyone markets the house.

Find out whether the will contains a power of sale. That single fact decides whether you need a court order under Florida Statute 733.613(1) or not.

Find out whether the house was the decedent's protected homestead, because Florida Statute 733.607(1) excludes it from the personal representative's control and Florida Statute 732.401 may have already split the ownership.

Find out whether summary administration is available under Florida Statute 735.201, especially if the death was more than two years ago.

And find out where the mortgage stands, because Florida Statutes 733.702(4)(a) and 733.710(3) mean the lender is not waiting for probate to finish.

Where we fit

Investor Trustee Services buys houses in Florida for cash, including houses still in probate, and we are used to closings that have to wait on a court order under Florida Statute 733.613(1). Where the property was left behind by a reverse mortgage, that is a particular focus of ours: Investor Trustee Services is an approved bidder in HUD's reverse-mortgage (HECM) loan sales and an active buyer of houses left behind by reverse mortgages.

Every section named here is free to read at leg.state.fl.us or flsenate.gov, and the probate file itself is a public record at the clerk of court in the county where the case was opened.

Selling a Florida house in this situation? Get a written cash offer — no fees, no repairs, and no obligation.