If the house was deeded into a revocable living trust, it usually skips probate. Alex helps trustees price, prepare, and sell it.
Who signs depends on where things stand
The person who made the trust is alive
- They’re often their own trustee and can sell like any owner.
- They sign the deed as trustee.
After their death
- The successor trustee named in the trust takes over.
- No court appointment is needed for property already in the trust.
- Florida law lets a trustee sell trust property, unless the trust document limits it.
How a trustee sells the house
- Confirm the house is in the trust.Check the recorded deed. If it was never deeded into the trust, probate may still be needed.
- Gather what the title company will ask for.Usually a certification of trust instead of the full trust, the death certificate, any amendments, and the trustee’s ID. The title company will confirm the list.
- Price, prepare, and list.Alex prepares a comparative market analysis, flags vacant-home issues, and handles showings, offers, and negotiation.
Beneficiaries, homestead, and other snags
After the grantor’s death, the trustee owes duties to the beneficiaries. The trustee must notify qualified beneficiaries, generally within 60 days, and they can ask for a copy of the trust.
Beneficiaries who think a sale breaches the trust can ask a court to step in.
The trustee may also have to pay the grantor’s debts and taxes. Ask the attorney before distributing proceeds.
Alex isn’t an attorney or CPA. Ask a Florida trust or estate attorney about the trustee’s authority and a CPA about taxes.
Raise these with the attorney
- The house was the grantor’s homestead and a spouse or minor child survived. Florida’s homestead rules can apply to a house in a trust and change who receives it.
- There are co-trustees, or the trust limits the power to sell.
- A beneficiary wants to keep the house.
- The grantor can no longer act and was their own trustee. Florida law bars an agent under a power of attorney from acting as trustee.
Alex Silva, broker
Voyance Real Estate is led by its broker and owner, Alex D. Silva, who has more than 30 years in real estate and holds Florida broker license BK3153327.
Short-sale negotiation is his specialty: lender approvals, second liens, and valuation disputes.
He works with homes, condos, rentals, and commercial property across Central and South Florida, in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Trust sale questions
Can a successor trustee sell a house without probate?
Usually, yes, if the house was titled in the trust. The trustee has authority at death without a court appointment, unless the trust says otherwise.
Do I have to show the buyer or title company the whole trust?
Generally, no. Florida lets a trustee give a certification of trust instead. It confirms the trustee’s powers without showing who inherits what. The title company can still ask for excerpts naming the trustee and the power to sell.
What about capital gains?
For inherited property, the IRS generally uses the value at the date of death as the starting basis. Ask a CPA whether that applies to your trust.
Official sources: Florida Bar on revocable trusts · Certification of trust (s. 736.1017) · Duty to inform beneficiaries (s. 736.0813) · IRS on inherited property
General real estate information, not legal, tax, or financial advice.
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Selling a house held in a trust?
Tell Alex where the property is, who the trustee is, and where the trust stands.