Probate from a distance
If your parent lived in Florida, probate is filed in their Florida county and you never need to appear. The attorney files everything electronically through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal; your signatures on the petition, consents, and waivers are handled by mail, e-sign where the court allows it, or a mobile notary. An out-of-state child can serve as personal representative (§ 733.304 allows non-resident relatives), and most of our personal representatives do exactly that from another state.
If your parent lived in another state and merely owned a Florida house, their home-state probate doesn’t reach the Florida property; a short ancillary administration is opened in the Florida county where the house is (§ 734.102). We pay for that too.
Getting into the house
For our walkthrough we need about twenty minutes inside. A neighbor, a relative, a friend with a key, or a lockbox you have a locksmith install all work; we can arrange a locksmith if there is no key at all. We send you photos and a written summary of what we found, good and bad. Nothing needs to be cleaned or emptied first.
The real risk: a house sitting empty 1,000 miles away
This is what we would worry about if we were you:
- Insurance. Homeowner’s policies often exclude or cancel coverage on a house vacant more than 30–60 days, and the policy may lapse when the premium was on your parent’s autopay. A fire or a burst pipe in an uninsured empty house is a total loss.
- Squatters. Vacant houses in Florida get occupied. Alex has worked with police to remove squatters under Florida’s squatter law — Tampa Bay 28 covered it — but it’s far better not to need to.
- Hurricanes. No one to put up shutters, no one to file the claim, no one to dry it out. Mold starts within days.
- Taxes and code. Unpaid property taxes become tax certificates and eventually a tax deed sale; an unmowed lawn or a green pool draws code-enforcement fines that become liens.
Every month a house sits is money and risk. That, more than the price, is why many out-of-state heirs choose a direct sale: it ends the exposure on a date certain.
Short version: if you want the house sold, we pay for the probate and get the attorney working within 24 hours — call or text (727) 353-6206, or use the form.
Closing remotely
The title company sends the closing package to a mobile notary who meets you at your home or office — anywhere in the U.S. For heirs abroad, documents are signed at a U.S. embassy or consulate, or with an apostille where the country allows. Proceeds are wired to your account the day of closing. We have closed with heirs in Romania and across the United States without anyone boarding a plane.
Your parent’s belongings
Take what matters — tell us what to look for and we can set it aside and ship it to you, and we photograph rooms before anything is touched. The rest stays; we clear the house after closing. Families often ask us to look for specific things (a ring, photo albums, military papers) and we take that seriously.
Heirs outside the United States
Foreign heirs can inherit and sell Florida real estate. Two extra steps: FIRPTA withholding on the sale (see taxes for foreign heirs), and translated, apostilled identity and heirship documents for the probate. We have done both.
Questions people ask
Can an out-of-state person be the personal representative of a Florida estate?
Yes, if they are a close relative of the person who died — a child, grandchild, parent, sibling, spouse, niece or nephew, and certain others under § 733.304. Non-relatives who live outside Florida cannot serve.
Do I need a Florida probate if my parent lived in another state?
If they owned Florida real estate in their own name, yes — an ancillary administration in the Florida county where the property is located. It is usually shorter than a full probate, and we pay for it when we buy the house.
How do I sign closing documents if I live in another country?
At a U.S. embassy or consulate, or before a local notary with an apostille where the country participates in the Hague Convention. The title company prepares the package and walks you through it.