How to Sell Land in Florida Probate

A separate court order is usually not required when the will gives the personal representative a specific power to sell real property or a general power to sell estate assets. Florida Statutes section 733.613 allows the representative to sell estate real property without court authorization or confirmation when that power exists and can be used.^[3] The probate attorney must read the actual will and every relevant order. A general statement that the representative may administer the estate should not be treated as a verified power of sale without that review.^[5]

Court action is required when the estate is intestate, meaning there is no controlling will, or when the will does not grant a usable sale power. In that situation, the representative may negotiate a public or private sale, but no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms it.^[3] Florida Probate Rule 5.370 requires a verified petition explaining the reason for the sale, describing the property, and stating the price and terms. The resulting order must describe the property, and an order authorizing a private sale must state its price and terms.^[5]

The cleanest time to sign is after the court appoints the personal representative, issues Letters, and the probate attorney confirms whether the will supplies a power of sale. Florida Statutes section 733.601 says the representative's duties and powers begin upon appointment.^[2] The statute gives certain beneficial pre-appointment acts later effect and lets an appointed representative ratify proper acts that others took for the estate. Neither provision gives a relative automatic authority to bind the estate before appointment.^[3][5]

When court approval is required, the contract should not state that approval already exists. Rule 5.370 covers real property sold or proposed to be sold and requires the verified petition to state the price and terms.^[5] Probate counsel can decide whether and how the agreement should be conditioned on court authorization or confirmation. Section 733.613 says no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms a sale that lacks a usable will power.^[3] Do not promise a closing date before probate and title review are complete.^[2]

Ask the selected title company for its written document list. The current deed identifies the record owner and includes or refers to the legal description. Letters show that the judge appointed the personal representative, while the admitted will and relevant probate orders show the authority being used.^[1] If court approval is required, Rule 5.370 says the order must describe the real property, and an order authorizing a private sale must specify its price and terms.^[5] For joint representatives, provide the will, Letters, and any delegation or order that affects who must act.^[7][6]

The transfer still requires a properly executed deed. Florida Statutes section 689.01 requires a real-estate conveyance to be in writing and signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, subject to the statute's electronic-witness provisions.^[6] The title company determines its underwriting requirements from the deed history and probate record. Provide certified or recorded documents when requested rather than relying on screenshots, and follow the title company's written signing instructions.^[1][5][7]

Protected homestead is a major exception. Section 733.608 excludes protected homestead from the estate assets in the personal representative's hands, although the representative has limited authority to preserve, insure, and protect property that reasonably appears to be protected homestead while its status is decided.^[4] A web guide cannot determine whether a particular parcel qualifies. Probate counsel and title should resolve the status before anyone relies on the personal representative as the seller.^[7]

Multiple personal representatives add another authority check. Unless the will provides otherwise, section 733.615 generally requires a majority for representatives appointed under a will or codicil executed on or after October 1, 1987, or in an intestate estate when the decedent died on or after that date. The older categories require all representatives to concur, and the statute lists limited exceptions for receiving property, emergency preservation, and delegated action.^[7] Give title the will, Letters, and any delegation or order, then follow its written signing instructions.^[4]

A signed contract does not finish the probate work. The title company still checks the ownership chain, the representative's authority, recorded liens, taxes, legal description, and any required probate order. Section 733.613 provides that a buyer in a sale under a specific power to sell real property or under a court order takes title free of estate-creditor claims and beneficiary entitlements; existing mortgages and other real-property liens remain unaffected.^[3] The closing file still needs any required payoffs or releases.^[1]

Parcel Buyers buys land in Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, and Colorado and uses an independent, licensed title company for its purchases. On purchases it completes, there is no seller fee or commission, and Parcel Buyers covers closing costs. This process does not replace probate authority or promise that every estate can close. Electronic signing or a mail-away closing may be available after title approves the seller and documents, with payment by check or wire. Sale proceeds remain subject to estate administration, including payment of proper claims and expenses before beneficiary distributions.^[1][3]

This page gives general information, not legal or tax advice. Use a Florida probate attorney when title, probate authority, protected homestead, competing ownership, a court order, or signing rights are unclear. The Florida Bar explains that the personal representative's attorney advises the representative about duties and represents the representative in the probate proceeding, not every beneficiary.^[1] Ask a CPA about basis, gain, estate income, or reporting questions tied to the estate's facts. Title can close an approved transaction, but it does not replace either professional's advice.