Selling an inherited house in Jacksonville: Florida probate, homestead, and who can sign

When a parent or relative who owned a house in Jacksonville, Orange Park or Middleburg passes away, the family is usually left with a property nobody lives in and no clear answer on who is allowed to sell it. Florida's rules are different from most states, mainly because of homestead. This guide lays them out in plain terms.

It is general information, not legal advice. A Florida probate attorney can tell you exactly what applies to your family, and for most estates you will need one.

Does the house need probate at all?

Check these first. Any one of them can mean no probate is needed for the house:

• It was in a living trust. The successor trustee can usually sell without going to court.
• It was owned with a spouse as tenants by the entirety, or with someone as joint tenants with right of survivorship. The survivor owns it. Recording a death certificate is typically all the title company needs.
• There was an enhanced life estate deed, often called a Lady Bird deed. The person named on it becomes the owner at death.

If the house was in the person's name alone, with none of those in place, it goes through probate in the county where they lived: Duval County in Jacksonville, or Clay County in Green Cove Springs.

The two kinds of probate

Summary administration is the shorter process. It is generally available when the estate, not counting exempt property like a protected homestead, is under a set dollar limit, or when the person has been deceased for more than two years. There is no personal representative. The court signs an order that says who gets what.

Formal administration is the full process. The court appoints a personal representative and issues Letters of Administration, which is the proof of authority a title company asks for. Creditors get a notice and a window, generally about three months, to file claims.

Who can sign the deed

This is the question that decides how a sale is written, and it depends on two things.

If the house is not homestead, it is an asset of the estate, and the personal representative sells it. If the will gives the representative a power of sale, they can sell without asking the court. If there is no will, or the will is silent, the sale generally needs the court's authorization or confirmation.

If the house was the owner's homestead, Florida treats it differently. When the owner is survived by a spouse or by heirs, the homestead is usually protected from most of the owner's creditors and passes directly to the heirs. The attorney asks the court for an order determining homestead, which confirms that and names who owns it. After that, the heirs sign the deed, not the estate.

That has two practical effects. Every heir with a share has to agree and sign. And if the owner left a spouse or a minor child, the law limits who the house could be left to, whatever the will says.

Several heirs, one house

Many of the estate houses we see in Jacksonville have three, four or more owners after the homestead order: brothers, sisters, and the children of a sibling who has also passed. Nobody can sell alone. Things that help:

• Get the family tree written down early. The attorney and the title company will both need it.
• Agree on who the buyer and the attorney should talk to.
• Get real numbers for each choice before anyone takes a position.

If one heir refuses, the others can ask a court to order the property sold, which is called a partition. It works, but it is slow and the legal fees come out of everyone's share.

How long it takes

Formal administration commonly runs six months to a year, longer if heirs disagree or a creditor files a claim. Summary administration can be much faster. The house can often be sold before the estate closes, once the representative has Letters or the homestead order is entered.

What to do with the house while you wait

• Insurance. A standard policy may not cover a house that sits vacant. Call the insurer.
• Secure it. Change the locks and have someone check on it weekly. Empty houses get broken into.
• Keep the yard up. Jacksonville cites overgrown and unsecured properties, and the fines and cleanup costs become liens. How code enforcement liens work in Jacksonville.
• Property taxes. They keep coming, and Florida sells tax certificates on unpaid bills. What happens when taxes go unpaid.
• The mortgage. If there is a loan, call the servicer. If it is a reverse mortgage, the clock is short. What heirs can do when a reverse mortgage comes due.

Fix it up, list it, or sell as it sits

Fix and list usually brings the most, when the family has cash for repairs and can wait.

List as-is works for a dated but sound house. It gets harder when the roof is too old to insure or the wiring and plumbing are original. Why an old roof stops a sale in Florida.

Sell as-is for cash brings a lower price, because the buyer takes on the repairs and the risk. In return the family gets a fixed number, no repair bills, no cleanout and no loan that can fall through. It tends to fit when the house needs major work, the heirs live elsewhere, or several heirs just want it settled.

How we buy estate houses

We buy inherited houses across Duval County and Clay County for cash, as they sit, with everything still inside. We can agree on a price before the court has acted and close when there is authority to sign. We work with the family's attorney and the title company to collect every signature the sale needs.

If listing would clearly bring the family more, we will tell you. To see a number, send us the address. There is no charge and no obligation.