If you have just inherited a house or a piece of land in the St. Petersburg area, you are probably feeling two things at once: grief, and a long list of questions nobody prepared you for. Do you have to go through probate? Whose name is the property in now? Can you sell it, rent it, or move in? What happens if a brother or sister inherited it too? These are the exact questions families bring to us every week.

Here is the short version. In Florida, real estate that was titled only in the deceased owner’s name generally has to pass through probate before it can be transferred or sold. If the property was held jointly with right of survivorship, in a living trust, or through a Lady Bird deed, it usually transfers outside probate. Which path applies to you depends entirely on how the property was titled, and that is the first thing we check.

When probate is required, the size of the estate decides how involved it is. Smaller estates can often use Florida’s summary administration, a faster and lighter process, while larger ones go through formal administration, which appoints a personal representative and usually runs several months. There is good news for heirs either way: Florida charges no inheritance tax, and the transfer from the estate to you is exempt from documentary stamp tax.

If you want to sell the inherited home, you usually can, even during probate, but the title has to be clean and the sale has to follow the right steps so the closing does not fall apart. And if you inherited the property alongside siblings or other relatives, you all become co-owners, which is straightforward when everyone agrees and needs a clear legal path when they do not.