Estate / Collect Credits / Manage Real Estate
Manage Real Estate
If the deceased owned property, whether it's kept and maintained, or sold for its cash value, depends on the financial circumstances of the Estate.
A deceased person's property can be managed in the following ways during Probate:
For Beneficiaries who inherit a property, or Executors or Administrators who manage an Estate, they may:
When selling property after Probate it helps to hire a real estate broker experienced with Probate and Trust sales because the process and documentation can be different from a typical real estate transaction.
Note: only the Executor or Administrator are authorized to list and sell the property; until they are identified in Probate Court, the sale of the property cannot be completed.
Regardless of what happens to the property, if Probate takes a long time, make sure to maintain the property to prevent damage and unwanted costs that lower its value.
Note: property left to Beneficiaries in certain ways may not go through Probate regardless if a Last Will & Testament exist and will therefore be managed differently.
These situations include, but are not limited to, if the property was:
See the Manage Real Estate Property section of the checklist to review how property is distributed to Beneficiaries in these situations.
Review the links below for more information about managing real estate during Probate.
A deceased person's property can be managed in the following ways during Probate:
- Transferred to Beneficiaries named in a Will
- If no Will exists, transferred to Heirs or Next of Kin based upon state Probate law, also known as Intestate Succession law
- If no Will exists, and no Beneficiaries exist, then the property is sold by the state with Probate Court oversight
For Beneficiaries who inherit a property, or Executors or Administrators who manage an Estate, they may:
- Keep the property -- if mortgage payments are still required, transfer to an heir or Beneficiary, or refinance the home
- Sell the property -- if the property is worth more than the mortgage balance, then the difference will go to Beneficiaries
When selling property after Probate it helps to hire a real estate broker experienced with Probate and Trust sales because the process and documentation can be different from a typical real estate transaction.
Note: only the Executor or Administrator are authorized to list and sell the property; until they are identified in Probate Court, the sale of the property cannot be completed.
Regardless of what happens to the property, if Probate takes a long time, make sure to maintain the property to prevent damage and unwanted costs that lower its value.
Note: property left to Beneficiaries in certain ways may not go through Probate regardless if a Last Will & Testament exist and will therefore be managed differently.
These situations include, but are not limited to, if the property was:
- If property was left to Beneficiaries through a Living Trust
- Was jointly owned
- Has been designated Transfer-On-Death
- Was owned in a Community Property Law state then the property will go through Probate regardless if a Last Will & Testament exists
See the Manage Real Estate Property section of the checklist to review how property is distributed to Beneficiaries in these situations.
Review the links below for more information about managing real estate during Probate.