I inherited a Florida property: what happens now

The right passes at death; the proof comes from the court

Without a will, the decedent's death is the event that vests the heirs' right to the decedent's intestate property (Florida Statutes § 732.101). With a will, the death of the testator is the event that vests the right to devises, unless the testator in the will has provided that some other event must happen before a devise vests (Florida Statutes § 732.514).

Proof is a separate provision. Until a will is admitted to probate in Florida or in the state where the decedent was domiciled, it is ineffective to prove title to, or the right to possession of, property of the testator (Florida Statutes § 733.103).

The validity and effect of a disposition of real property in Florida, whether intestate or testate, is determined by Florida law (Florida Statutes § 731.1055).

The custodian of a will must deposit it with the clerk of the court having venue of the estate within 10 days after receiving information that the testator is dead (Florida Statutes § 732.901).

Which court, and who may act for the estate

Venue is the county in Florida where the decedent was domiciled; if the decedent had no domicile in Florida, any county where the decedent's property is located; and if the decedent had no domicile and possessed no property in Florida, the county where any debtor of the decedent resides (Florida Statutes § 733.101).

The person who acts for the estate is the personal representative. Subject to the limitations in that part of the Probate Code, any person who is sui juris and is a resident of Florida at the time of the death is qualified to act (Florida Statutes § 733.302). A person is not qualified who has been convicted of a felony; has been convicted in any state or foreign jurisdiction of abuse, neglect or exploitation of an elderly person or a disabled adult; is mentally or physically unable to perform the duties; or is under the age of 18 years (Florida Statutes § 733.303).

A person who is not domiciled in Florida cannot qualify as personal representative unless the person is a legally adopted child or adoptive parent of the decedent; related by lineal consanguinity to the decedent; a spouse or a brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece of the decedent, or someone related by lineal consanguinity to any such person; or the spouse of a person otherwise qualified under that section (Florida Statutes § 733.304).

In an intestate estate, the order of preference in granting letters is: the surviving spouse; the person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs; the heir nearest in degree, and if more than one applies the court may select the one best qualified (Florida Statutes § 733.301).

Under the Florida Probate Rules, every personal representative, unless the personal representative remains the sole interested person, must be represented by an attorney admitted to practice in Florida; a personal representative who is an attorney admitted to practice in Florida may represent himself or herself (Florida Probate Rule 5.030).

Formal administration: the full procedure

Except as otherwise provided by the decedent's will, every personal representative has a right to, and takes possession or control of, the decedent's property, except the protected homestead; but any real property may be left with, or surrendered to, the person presumptively entitled to it unless possession by the personal representative will be necessary for purposes of administration; and the personal representative has no right to, and may not knowingly take possession or control of, a surviving spouse's one-half share of property to which the Florida Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act applies (Florida Statutes § 733.607). Unless an inventory has been previously filed, the personal representative must file an inventory of the estate within 60 days after issuance of letters, a time the court may extend on petition for cause shown (Florida Probate Rule 5.340).

An interested person on whom a copy of the notice of administration is served must object to the validity of the will, the venue or the jurisdiction of the court on or before the date that is 3 months after the date of that service, or those objections are forever barred; the 3-month period may only be extended for estoppel based upon a misstatement by the personal representative regarding the time period within which an objection must be filed (Florida Statutes § 733.212). Unless creditors' claims are otherwise barred by section 733.710, the personal representative promptly publishes a notice to creditors, once a week for 2 consecutive weeks, in a newspaper published in the county where the estate is administered or, if there is none, in a newspaper of general circulation in that county (Florida Statutes § 733.2121).

If not already barred by the 2-year limit of section 733.710, a claim against the estate that arose before the death is not binding on the estate, the personal representative or any beneficiary unless it is filed in the probate proceeding on or before the later of 3 months after the first publication of the notice to creditors or, for a creditor who is required to be served with a copy of the notice, 30 days after the date of service on the creditor; a claim not timely filed is barred unless the court extends the time, which it may do only upon grounds of fraud, estoppel, or insufficient notice of the claims period; and the section does not affect a proceeding to enforce any mortgage, security interest, or other lien on property of the decedent (Florida Statutes § 733.702). There is also an outer limit: 2 years after the death of a person, neither the decedent's estate, the personal representative nor the beneficiaries are liable for any claim or cause of action against the decedent, except as that section provides: it does not apply to a creditor who filed a claim within 2 years after the death and whose claim has not been paid or otherwise disposed of, and it does not affect the lien of a duly recorded mortgage or security interest (Florida Statutes § 733.710).

Summary administration: the shorter route, and its limits

Summary administration may be had in the estate of a resident or a nonresident decedent when the value of the entire estate subject to administration in Florida, less the value of property exempt from the claims of creditors, does not exceed $150,000, or when the decedent has been dead for more than 2 years; in a testate estate, the will must also not direct a formal administration (Florida Statutes § 735.201).

Upon the filing of the petition, the will, if any, is proved and admitted to probate, and before the order is entered the petitioner must make a diligent search and reasonable inquiry for any known or reasonably ascertainable creditors, serve a copy of the petition on them, and make provision for payment for those creditors to the extent that assets are available (Florida Statutes § 735.206). The court may then enter an order of summary administration allowing immediate distribution of the assets to the persons entitled to them, and after the entry of the order bona fide purchasers for value from those to whom property is assigned by the order take the property free of all claims of creditors of the decedent and all rights of the surviving spouse and all other beneficiaries (Florida Statutes § 735.206).

The section lists further effects of the order. Property of the decedent that is not exempt from claims of creditors and that remains in the hands of those to whom it is assigned continues to be liable for claims against the decedent until barred as provided in the code; the recipients are personally liable for a pro rata share of all lawful claims against the estate, but only to the extent of the value of the estate each actually received, exclusive of exempt property; after 2 years from the death, neither the estate nor those to whom it is assigned are liable for any claim against the decedent, unless proceedings have been taken to enforce the claim; and an heir or devisee who was lawfully entitled to share in the estate but was not included in the order may enforce all rights against those who procured the order (Florida Statutes § 735.206).

No administration is required upon the estate of a decedent leaving only personal property exempt under section 732.402, personal property exempt from the claims of creditors under the State Constitution, and nonexempt personal property the value of which does not exceed the sum of the amount of preferred funeral expenses and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness (Florida Statutes § 735.301).

Selling an inherited property during probate

When the estate is intestate, or the testator has not conferred a power of sale, or has granted one that is so limited by the will or by operation of law that it cannot be conveniently exercised, and the personal representative considers that it is for the best interest of the estate and of those interested in it that real property be sold, the personal representative may sell it at public or private sale, and no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms the sale (Florida Statutes § 733.613). When the 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 (Florida Statutes § 733.613).

In a sale that occurs under a specific power to sell real property, or under a court order authorizing or confirming it, the purchaser takes title free of claims of creditors of the estate and entitlements of estate beneficiaries, except that existing mortgages or other liens against real property are not affected (Florida Statutes § 733.613).

If the home was the owner's homestead

The Probate Code defines protected homestead as the property described in section 4(a)(1) of Article X of the State Constitution on which at the death of the owner the exemption inures to the owner's surviving spouse or heirs, and says that real property owned in tenancy by the entireties or in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship is not protected homestead (Florida Statutes § 731.201). All real and personal property of the decedent, except the protected homestead, is among the assets in the hands of the personal representative; if property that reasonably appears to the personal representative to be protected homestead is not occupied by a person who appears to have an interest in it, the personal representative is authorized, but not required, to take possession of it for the limited purpose of preserving, insuring and protecting it for the person having an interest in the property, pending a determination of its homestead status (Florida Statutes § 733.608).

As provided by the State Constitution, the homestead is not subject to devise if the owner is survived by a spouse or a minor child or minor children, except that it may be devised to the owner's spouse if there is no minor child (Florida Statutes § 732.4015). If not devised as authorized by law and the constitution, the homestead descends in the same manner as other intestate property; but if the decedent is survived by a spouse and one or more descendants, the surviving spouse takes 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 Statutes § 732.401). In lieu of the life estate, the surviving spouse may elect to take an undivided one-half interest in the homestead as a tenant in common; the election must be made within 6 months after the decedent's death and during the surviving spouse's lifetime, and that time may not be extended except when an attorney in fact or a guardian of the property of the surviving spouse timely petitions for court approval to make the election, in which case it is extended for at least 30 days after the rendition of the order allowing the election (Florida Statutes § 732.401).

The Constitution's homestead exemptions inure to the surviving spouse or heirs of the owner (Florida Constitution, Article X, § 4). An interested person may file a petition to determine the protected homestead status of real property owned by the decedent (Florida Probate Rule 5.405). This guide does not say whether any particular house was protected homestead on the date of death.

When there is no will, and when the deed names two people

The intestate share of the surviving spouse is the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving descendant of the decedent, or if the decedent is survived by one or more descendants, all of whom are also descendants of the surviving spouse, and the surviving spouse has no other descendant. It is one-half of the intestate estate if there are one or more surviving descendants of the decedent who are not lineal descendants of the surviving spouse, or if all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has one or more descendants who are not descendants of the decedent (Florida Statutes § 732.102).

The part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, descends to the descendants of the decedent; if there is no descendant, to the decedent's father and mother equally, or to the survivor of them; and if there is none of the foregoing, to the decedent's brothers and sisters and the descendants of deceased brothers and sisters. If there is none of those either, the section goes on to the paternal and maternal kindred, half to each side, and after them to the kindred of the last deceased spouse of the decedent (Florida Statutes § 732.103).

Except in cases of estates by entirety, a devise, transfer or conveyance to two or more creates a tenancy in common, unless the instrument creating the estate expressly provides for the right of survivorship (Florida Statutes § 689.15).

Keeping or selling: what the statutes say about the property's taxes

Except as section 193.155 provides, property assessed under the homestead limit is assessed at just value as of January 1 of the year following a change of ownership, which means any sale, foreclosure, or transfer of legal title or beneficial title in equity to any person (Florida Statutes § 193.155). The section says there is no change of ownership when legal or equitable title is changed or transferred between husband and wife, including a change or transfer to a surviving spouse; when the transfer occurs by operation of law to the surviving spouse or minor child or children under section 732.401; when, upon the death of the owner, the transfer is between the owner and another who is a permanent resident and who is legally or naturally dependent upon the owner; or when multiple owners held title as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, one or more of them were entitled to and received the homestead exemption, one or more owners die, and the surviving owner or owners previously entitled to and receiving the homestead exemption continue to be entitled to and receive it (Florida Statutes § 193.155). The same paragraph lists further cases, in which the same person is entitled to the homestead exemption after the transfer as before (Florida Statutes § 193.155).

For nonhomestead residential property, the rule is in another section: except as it provides, the property is assessed at just value as of January 1 of the year following a change of ownership or control, and there is no change of ownership if the transfer of title is to correct an error, if the transfer is between legal and equitable title, or if the transfer is between husband and wife, including a transfer to a surviving spouse or a transfer due to a dissolution of marriage; a fourth case concerns publicly traded companies (Florida Statutes § 193.1554).

A person who, on January 1, has the legal title or beneficial title in equity to real property in Florida and who in good faith makes the property his or her permanent residence, or the permanent residence of another or others legally or naturally dependent upon him or her, is entitled to the homestead exemption, and before the exemption may be granted the deed or instrument must be recorded in the official records of the county in which the property is located; the exemption applies only to parcels classified and assessed as owner-occupied residential property; and a person who is receiving or claiming the benefit of an ad valorem tax exemption or a tax credit in another state where permanent residency is required as a basis for it is not entitled to the homestead exemption, unless that person has title to real estate in Florida and maintains on it the permanent residence of another legally or naturally dependent upon the owner (Florida Statutes § 196.031). The application is filed with the county property appraiser on or before March 1 of each year, and failure to apply by that date constitutes a waiver of the exemption privilege for that year, except as subsections (8) and (9) of that section provide: the value adjustment board grants the exemption to an otherwise eligible applicant who can clearly document that the failure to apply by March 1 was the result of postal error, and a qualified applicant who fails to file by March 1 must file with the property appraiser on or before the 25th day following the mailing of the notice of proposed property taxes, and the property appraiser may grant the exemption upon sufficient evidence that the applicant was unable to apply in a timely manner or of extenuating circumstances the property appraiser judges to warrant it (Florida Statutes § 196.011).

A constitutional amendment on the 2026 general election ballot, number 3, titled "Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments", says in its ballot summary, among other things, that it increases the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, adjusted for inflation thereafter; that persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for one, with the increased exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution; that it reduces the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%; and that it takes effect January 1, 2027; this guide states the law as it stood on October 13, 2026 (Florida Division of Elections).

Florida's Department of Revenue states that a federal change eliminated Florida's estate tax on people who died after December 31, 2004. Federal estate tax is a separate system: the IRS says that the executor for a nonresident who was not a U.S. citizen must file Form 706-NA if the fair market value at death of the decedent's U.S.-situated assets exceeds $60,000. On a later sale, the IRS says that the basis of property inherited from a decedent is generally one of the following: the fair market value of the property at the date of the individual's death; the fair market value on the alternate valuation date if the personal representative for the estate chooses to use alternate valuation; the value under the special-use valuation method for real property used in farming or a closely held business if chosen for estate tax purposes; or the decedent's adjusted basis in land to the extent of the portion of the value excluded from the decedent's taxable estate as a qualified conservation easement; that rule does not apply to appreciated property received from a decedent if the recipient or the recipient's spouse originally gave the property to the decedent within 1 year before the decedent's death (IRS Publication 551).