Inherited a House in Jacksonville? Florida Probate Has Four Doors — and the House Decides Which One Is Yours

Florida does not have one probate process. It has several — and which one your family’s estate fits determines everything downstream: whether you need a lawyer (in Florida, usually yes, by court rule), what the Clerk charges, how long the house is frozen, and when someone can finally sign a deed. This page walks the four doors the way the Clerk’s counter would ask it: formal administration, summary administration, the homestead track, and the door people assume exists but doesn’t — doing nothing and hoping the house sorts itself out.

That last one is where Jacksonville families lose houses, because the property-tax clock does not pause for grief, for probate, or for partial payments. We buy inherited houses in Duval County; we also know exactly where our role stops and the estate attorney’s begins, and this page is honest about both.

Investors: this page is for heirs and personal representatives settling an estate — it is not a deal-sourcing guide.

Free and no-obligation. If the better move for your family is keeping the house — or opening the estate first and deciding later — we will tell you that and point you to the offices below.

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Door 1 — Formal Administration: the Workhorse for a House Sale

When an estate holds Jacksonville real estate that needs to be sold, formal administration under Chapter 733 of the Florida Statutes is the door most families end up walking through. The Fourth Judicial Circuit runs two dedicated probate divisions (PR-A and PR-B) at the Duval County Courthouse, and the process starts at the Clerk’s Probate Department — 501 West Adams Street, Room 1260. The court appoints a personal representative and issues letters of administration, the document every title company will ask to see. Who gets appointed follows a statutory pecking order (§ 733.301): the person the will nominates comes first; in an estate with no will, the surviving spouse, then whoever a majority of the heirs select, then the nearest heir.

Two Florida rules surprise out-of-town families here. First, the attorney requirement is real: under Florida Probate Rule 5.030, every personal representative must be represented by an attorney admitted in Florida, unless the personal representative is the only interested person in the estate — or is a Florida attorney themselves. The Duval Clerk quotes this rule on its own probate page; it is not optional and no clerk can waive it. Budget for it like a filing fee. Second, not everyone can serve: a personal representative who lives outside Florida must be family — related by blood or adoption, or a spouse, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew (or the spouse of someone qualified). An unrelated out-of-state friend, however trusted, is disqualified by § 733.304.

Once letters issue, the estate publishes a notice to creditors, and the claim windows start: creditors get 3 months from first publication (or 30 days from direct service, whichever is later) to file claims (§ 733.702).

What it costs, from the published schedules: the Clerk’s formal administration filing fee is $401; a personal representative’s commission of 3% of the first $1 million of the estate is presumed reasonable (§ 733.617); and attorney fees are presumed reasonable on a statutory schedule that starts at $1,500 for small estates and runs at 3% on estate value between $100,000 and $1 million (§ 733.6171). Those presumptive numbers are negotiable in both directions — but they are the honest planning figures, and anyone who quotes you “probate costs” without them is rounding to a story.

Door 2 — Summary Administration: the $75,000-or-Two-Years Shortcut

Florida’s abbreviated process, summary administration (§ 735.201), is available in two situations: when the value of the entire estate subject to administration — after subtracting property that is exempt from creditor claims — does not exceed $75,000, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years, at any estate value. Read that second clause again, because it is the one Jacksonville families never seem to have been told: if your mother passed three years ago and no probate was ever opened, the estate may now qualify for the shortcut regardless of what the house is worth. The reason is § 733.710 — Florida’s absolute bar: two years after a death, creditor claims against the estate are extinguished, whether or not letters ever issued. With no creditor exposure left, the court can enter an order of summary administration allowing immediate distribution of the assets to the people entitled to them (§ 735.206).

The arithmetic in the $75,000 branch is friendlier than it looks, because “exempt” subtracts real things: the protected homestead (next section), up to $20,000 of household furnishings, and two vehicles (§ 732.402). The Clerk’s filing fee is $346 for estates of $1,000 or more ($236 under $1,000). One honest caution: summary administration is a distribution mechanism, not a management one — the court’s order distributes the estate, and it does not put anyone in charge afterward to sign, fix, or negotiate, so families who need to sell the house often still choose Door 1 deliberately. Which door fits is exactly the kind of question the estate’s attorney answers in one conversation.

Door 3 — The Homestead Track: When the Family Home Is Protected From the Estate’s Debts

If the house was your loved one’s primary residence, Florida gives it a status most states don’t have: the constitutional homestead exemption survives death. Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution shields the homestead from forced sale by creditors, and subsection (b) says that exemption “shall inure to the surviving spouse or heirs of the owner.” In plain terms: the credit-card companies and medical billers filing claims against the estate generally cannot reach the family home — it passes to the spouse or heirs protected. The probate court makes this official through a petition to determine protected homestead status (Florida Probate Rule 5.405), and title companies in Duval County expect to see that order before they insure a sale by the heirs.

Three homestead rules shape who ends up owning it. If there is a surviving spouse and descendants, the default is a life estate for the spouse with a vested remainder to the descendants — or the spouse may elect an undivided half-interest instead (§ 732.401). If the owner was survived by a spouse or a minor child, the homestead largely cannot be given away by will at all (§ 732.4015) — Florida decides, not the document. And the protection has explicit exceptions written into the constitution itself: taxes and assessments on the property, the mortgage, and construction liens still attach. Hold that thought — it is the whole next section.

Free, no-obligation. Tell us where the estate stands and we will start there — which door it is in, and what each path leaves your family.

Door 4 — The Door That Isn’t There: Doing Nothing

Why “we just left it in Mom’s name” doesn’t work

Florida does have a no-court procedure — “disposition without administration” (§ 735.301) — and families regularly hope it covers the house. It cannot. It is limited to small amounts of personal property; real estate is outside its scope entirely. A house cannot leave a deceased owner’s name without one of the doors above. Until then the family can mow it, pay its bills, even live in it — but nobody can sell it, insure it properly, or borrow against it, because nobody can sign for it. Every year that passes makes the eventual paperwork harder: heirs scatter, heirs of heirs appear, and what one probate would have solved becomes three.

The partial-payment myth — the most expensive misunderstanding in Jacksonville

Here is the version we hear on real calls from Duval County families, almost word for word: “As long as we’re paying something toward the taxes, they can’t take the house.” That is not how Florida tax law works, and believing it costs families their largest asset. Property taxes are the homestead protection’s built-in exception — Article X, Section 4 exempts the home from most creditors “except for the payment of taxes and assessments thereon.” When taxes go delinquent, a tax certificate is sold against the property; after the statutory waiting period the certificate holder can apply for a tax deed, and the Clerk schedules the house for public auction. Sending $50 a month does not stop that machine — stopping it requires redemption, which means paying the full delinquent amount with interest, costs, and fees.

A house can be five years into this process while the family believes their partial payments have it “handled,” and none of it waits for probate to be opened. Our Duval County tax-delinquency guide walks the certificate-to-deed process step by step. If the estate you are handling has both problems — no probate opened and taxes running — tell us a bit about your situation and we will walk you through both clocks honestly: the tax deadlines and, for heirs, how probate timing interacts with them.

Selling the Estate House in Jacksonville — What Florida Actually Requires

The rule that governs the sale is § 733.613, and it turns on the will. If the will gives the personal representative a power of sale (or a general power to sell estate assets), the personal representative may sell the house without any court order. If there is no will, or the will grants no such power, the sale needs the court to authorize or confirm it — the statute is blunt that “no title shall pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale.” Neither version is exotic; the probate divisions handle these routinely, and your attorney will know which posture your estate is in from the will’s first read. For a protected homestead passing to the spouse or heirs, the sale runs through them once the homestead order is in hand. Either way, the closing itself does the cleanup: the delinquent taxes, the mortgage payoff, and any liens that legitimately attach are paid through the title company out of the proceeds at settlement, and the remaining equity lands where the court’s paperwork says it belongs.

If Selling Is the Right Answer

For many families the honest math says: nobody is moving back to Jacksonville, nobody wants to landlord from three states away, and every month the house sits vacant costs the estate money. If that is where your family lands, here is exactly what working with us looks like — and what we will not promise.

• We are a buyer. We buy inherited houses in Duval County directly. We are not a probate service, a counseling agency, or a law firm. We do not prepare filings, we do not represent you before the Clerk or the probate divisions, and we cannot speed up the court — anyone who claims they can is describing a power they do not have. Florida’s Rule 5.030 means the estate will have its own attorney; the probate is theirs to run, and our purchase runs through the title company alongside it.
• The estate’s obligations end at closing, not at signing. When the sale closes, the delinquent taxes, the mortgage payoff, and recorded liens are paid through the title company out of the sale proceeds. The estate receives the remaining equity for distribution.
• Speed, honestly stated. Most sellers have a written, no-obligation offer within 24 hours. Most of our closings take two to three weeks. When the title is already clean, we’ve closed in as little as 7 days. But we will not promise you a closing by any particular date against the court’s calendar or a tax deadline — anyone who does is guessing with the estate’s money.
• As-is means as-is. No repairs, no cleaning, no clean-out — if furniture and belongings need to stay behind, leave them. We cover closing costs at settlement, and the valuation and written offer are free with no obligation.

Between the offer and the closing table

• The price we write is the price we close at. We never renegotiate just to renegotiate. The number only changes if the property’s condition turns out to be materially different from what we could see or were told.
• Proof of funds comes with the offer. You will not have to take our word that the money is real — it is on the table when the number is. That matters in an estate sale, where a personal representative answers to other heirs — and sometimes a judge — for the buyer they chose.
• We keep visits to a minimum — scheduled around you, typically a single walkthrough before we finalize our number.
• You deal with Jacob from the first call to the closing table. If you tell us no, you get one follow-up and then we leave you alone — you will not be handed off to a call center or sold as a lead to five other investors.
• No pressure to sign. Accept it, or take time to think it over — either way, we understand. A real offer survives a second opinion, and an estate decision should get one.
• Closings run through established, independent local title companies. A neutral title company handles the settlement and the funds.

Our standard is simple: “We get paid for the value we provide. If a deal isn’t providing real value to the seller, it’s not a deal for me — ever.” — Jacob. Tell us where the estate stands and we will start there — which door it is in, what the payoff figures actually are, and what each path leaves your family — not with a pitch:

Where We Buy in Duval County

We buy estate and inherited houses across Duval County — Jacksonville from the Northside to Mandarin, the Westside to Arlington, plus Jacksonville Beach and the beach towns. Older estate homes with a decade of deferred maintenance are our normal work, not a problem to apologize for. That is what as-is means.

Questions Duval County Heirs Actually Ask

Do I really have to hire a lawyer for Florida probate?

For formal administration, almost always yes — Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires every personal representative to be represented by a Florida-admitted attorney, unless the personal representative is the estate’s only interested person (or is a Florida attorney). This is a court rule, not our opinion, and the Duval Clerk publishes it verbatim. If cost is the barrier, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid serves qualifying families.

Mom passed more than two years ago and nobody ever filed anything. Is it too late?

No — in one specific way, it is easier. After two years, Florida’s absolute bar (§ 733.710) extinguishes creditor claims against the estate, and summary administration becomes available at any estate value (§ 735.201). The danger was never the courthouse; it is what accrued while nothing was filed — especially property taxes, which kept running the whole time. Check the account, then call the estate’s attorney or us.

Can the estate sell the house before probate is finished?

Yes, in the ordinary course. With a power of sale in the will, the personal representative sells without a court order; without one, the court authorizes or confirms the sale (§ 733.613). The sale happens during administration — the proceeds flow into the estate, obligations are paid, and the balance distributes under the court’s supervision.

I live out of state. Can I even be the personal representative?

If you are family, yes: nonresidents may serve when related to the decedent by blood or adoption, or as a spouse, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew (or the spouse of someone qualified). An unrelated out-of-state person cannot (§ 733.304). Plenty of Duval County estates are administered from Georgia, Virginia, or New York — through a Florida attorney, per Rule 5.030.

Is the house protected from Mom’s credit-card and medical debts?

If it was her homestead — her primary residence — generally yes: the constitutional exemption inures to the surviving spouse and heirs, so ordinary creditors of the estate cannot force its sale. The exceptions are the ones written into the constitution: property taxes and assessments, the mortgage, and liens for work on the property. The probate court confirms the status through a homestead petition (Rule 5.405).

We’ve been sending the tax office something every month. Doesn’t that stop a tax deed?

No. Once taxes are delinquent and a certificate has sold, only full redemption — the whole delinquent amount, with interest and costs — stops the tax deed process. Partial payments do not pause it, and neither does an unopened probate. If this is your situation, read our Duval County tax-delinquency guide today, not next month, and check the property on the Clerk’s records.

What does probate actually cost in Duval County?

From the published schedules: the Clerk charges $401 to open formal administration, $346 for summary administration ($236 for estates under $1,000), and $231 for disposition of personal property. On top sit the statutory presumptive professional fees — 3% of the first $1 million for the personal representative, and an attorney schedule starting at $1,500 and running 3% on value between $100,000 and $1 million. Real estates negotiate; these are the planning numbers.

Official Contacts — Verify Everything Here

The Florida law referenced on this page, at the Legislature’s official site: § 733.301 (who is appointed), § 733.304 (nonresident personal representatives), § 733.613 (sale of real property), § 733.617 (personal representative compensation), § 733.6171 (attorney compensation), § 733.702 and § 733.710 (creditor claim windows and the two-year bar), § 735.201 (summary administration), § 735.301 (disposition without administration), § 732.401, § 732.4015, and § 732.402 (homestead descent, devise restrictions, exempt property), and Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution. Florida Probate Rules 5.030 and 5.405 are published by the Florida Supreme Court.

Who You Are Dealing With

Other Ways We Help Duval County Families

• Sell a house in Duval County — for sales outside probate
• Behind on property taxes in Duval County — certificates, tax deeds, and every exit
• Duval County code violations
• Eviction help in Duval County
• Handling an estate nearby: St. Johns County or Nassau County
• ← All probate resources

Important Disclaimer

Consistent Homebuyers is a real estate investment firm — not a law firm, not a financial advisor, not a tax preparer. Jacob Simpson is not a licensed attorney or accountant, and nothing on this page constitutes legal, tax, or financial advice. In Florida, the estate’s probate is run by its attorney — that is the law’s design, and this page is not a substitute for it.

The county and statutory information on this page is sourced from the Duval County Clerk of Courts (duvalclerk.com), the Fourth Judicial Circuit (jud4.org), the City of Jacksonville, and the Florida Statutes and Constitution as published by the Florida Legislature (2025 Statutes), and was verified on July 23, 2026. Estates vary enormously. Before acting on anything you read here you should:

• Call the Clerk’s Probate Department at (904) 255-1990 — or check the estate’s docket on CORE — to learn what has and hasn’t been filed
• Check the property’s tax status while you are at it; the tax clock runs whether or not probate is open
• Consult a Florida-admitted attorney — for formal administration, Rule 5.030 requires it anyway
• Read the statutes yourself at the Florida Legislature’s website — every section cited above is linked

This page is updated periodically but should not be your only source of information for decisions involving an estate and its property. Verify everything.