Last updated September 27, 2026
When Heirs Disagree About Selling an Inherited House in Florida
Short answer: While the estate is open, the personal representative decides within the authority the will or the court gives them (section 733.613). Once the heirs own the house together, any one of them can compel a sale through partition, and because inherited property is usually "heirs property" under Florida's Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (sections 64.201 to 64.214), the court sets a value, gives the other heirs 45 days to buy out the one who wants to sell, and if nobody does, orders an open-market sale through a licensed broker at no less than that value. A written agreement reached before any of that starts nets the family more, every time.
Key takeaways
- During probate the personal representative controls non-homestead property; beneficiaries can petition the court but not veto a sale within the personal representative's authority.
- After distribution, or for protected homestead from the start, the heirs are tenants in common and any one may file for partition.
- Florida's Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (ch. 2020-55) replaces the forced auction with a court-determined value, a cotenant buyout right and a broker-run open-market sale.
- Equitable accounting adjusts the split for who paid the taxes, insurance, mortgage and repairs, so records matter from the first month.
- Every month of stalemate costs carrying charges and, in a softening market, price; the heirs who agree on a number early keep control of it.
Informational purposes only. This is not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is created by reading it. PBP Real Estate, LLC is a licensed Florida real estate brokerage (License CQ1064615), not a law firm. Whether to file, defend or settle a partition action is a decision for the family's attorney.
Who has the final say depends on where the estate is
Most disputes among heirs are really disputes about who is in charge, and the answer changes as the estate moves.
| Stage | Who decides about the house | What a dissenting heir can do |
|---|---|---|
| Formal administration, non-homestead property, will with power of sale | Personal representative, without court order (s. 733.613(2)), as a fiduciary for all interested persons (s. 733.602) | Petition the court alleging breach of fiduciary duty or an improper price; cannot veto |
| Formal administration, intestate or no power of sale | Personal representative, but no title passes until the court authorizes or confirms (s. 733.613(1)) | Object at the hearing on the petition to sell; the court weighs the objection |
| Protected homestead | The heirs who took title at death, as co-owners; not the personal representative (s. 733.608(1)) | Refuse to sign, then face partition |
| Summary administration | The persons named in the order, as co-owners; no personal representative exists | Refuse to sign, then face partition |
| After distribution | The co-owners | Refuse to sign, then face partition |
| House in a living trust | The successor trustee, under the trust and s. 736.0816(2) | Petition the court if the trustee breaches the duty of loyalty (s. 736.0802) |
The pattern is that disagreement has real leverage only when the heirs are co-owners, and co-ownership is exactly the state in which Florida law refuses to leave people trapped. Any tenant in common may sue for partition under section 64.031. The only question is on what terms.
What is "heirs property" and why does it change the rules?
Florida adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act in 2020 (chapter 2020-55, Laws of Florida, now sections 64.201 to 64.214). It exists because ordinary partition ended in a forced sale, often to an investor at a courthouse auction for a fraction of value, which is how family land was lost for a century. The act applies when the property is heirs property under section 64.202(6): tenancy in common, no recorded agreement among the co-owners governing partition, at least one co-owner who acquired title from a relative, and at least twenty percent of the interests held by relatives or by people who got title from a relative, or twenty percent of the co-owners being relatives.
A house left to three siblings meets every element. So does a house where one sibling has since sold a share to a cousin. The act then changes three things about the partition: how the house is valued, who gets the first chance to buy it, and how it is sold if nobody does.
How the court values the house
Under section 64.206 the court must determine fair market value before anything else happens. The default is a court-ordered appraisal by a disinterested Florida-licensed appraiser, valuing the property as if held in fee simple by a single owner, filed under oath with the court. Within 10 days of filing the court notifies each party of the figure and that they have 30 days to object; the court then holds a hearing no sooner than 31 days after notice and fixes the value.
Two exceptions matter to families. If all co-owners agree on a value or a method of arriving at one, the court adopts it (section 64.206(2)). And if the court finds the appraisal's evidentiary value is outweighed by its cost, it may set the value after an evidentiary hearing instead (section 64.206(3)). The practical lesson is that a family that agrees on a number, even while disagreeing about everything else, keeps control of the figure that will govern both the buyout and the sale floor.
The 45-day buyout: the heirs who want to keep the house go first
Section 64.207 is the heart of the act. Once value is determined and any co-owner has asked for a sale, the court notifies the parties that every co-owner who did not request a sale may buy the interests of those who did. The price is the court's value multiplied by the selling co-owner's fractional share; the election must be made within 45 days of the notice; if several co-owners elect, the right is divided among them in proportion to their existing shares.
| Illustration | Figure |
|---|---|
| Court-determined value | $600,000 |
| Three siblings, equal shares | One-third each |
| One sibling requests sale | Buyout price for that share: $200,000 |
| Both remaining siblings elect | Each buys half of the departing share: $100,000 apiece, ending with one-half each |
The figures are an arithmetic illustration of the statute, not a market opinion. What the illustration hides is the mortgage, the equitable accounting for who paid the carrying costs, and the source of the buyout funds, all of which the family's attorney and lender have to work through inside the 45 days. Heirs who know they want to keep the house are well advised to have that conversation before the value is even determined.
If nobody buys: partition in kind or an open-market sale
If no co-owner elects to buy, section 64.208 directs the court to order partition in kind, physically dividing the property, unless commissioners find under section 64.209 that division would prejudice the co-owners as a group. A single-family house or a condominium unit cannot be divided, so the outcome for almost every inherited home in Palm Beach and Broward is a sale under section 64.210.
That sale is an open-market sale, not an auction, unless the court finds sealed bids or an auction would be more economically advantageous for the co-owners as a group. If the parties agree on a Florida-licensed real estate broker within 10 days of the order, the court appoints that broker and sets a reasonable commission; if they cannot agree, the court appoints a disinterested broker. The broker must market the property in a commercially reasonable manner at a price no lower than the court's determination of value and, on receiving an acceptable offer, file a report under section 64.211 before the sale completes under ordinary Florida closing law.
The design of the act rewards agreement at every stage: agree on a value and you avoid the appraisal fight; agree on a broker and you avoid the court choosing one; agree on a sale and you avoid all of it.
What the stalemate costs while nobody decides
A house in dispute is still a house. Property taxes in Palm Beach and Broward are due in November with discounts for early payment and become delinquent April 1; a lapsed homeowner's policy on an empty house is difficult to reinstate in South Florida; association assessments accrue whether or not anyone lives there; a lawn that goes uncut draws a code case. Section 64.202(5) and section 64.081 allow the court to adjust the final split for contributions one co-owner made, so the sibling paying the bills should keep every receipt, and the sibling not paying should understand that their share is shrinking.
The market moves too. On our Delray Beach and Boynton Beach seller pages, houses that took more than 180 days to go under contract closed roughly 12% below their original asking price, and long-marketed condominiums in Boynton Beach closed almost 20% below [BeachesMLS, twelve months to 2026-08-31]. A house held off the market for a year of family argument does not escape that arithmetic; it just meets it later, with a year of carrying costs added.
How we work with heirs who do not agree
- One number for everyone. We prepare a written opinion of value by hand from current BeachesMLS sales and deliver it to every co-owner at the same time. Nobody gets an early copy and nobody gets a different one.
- Every owner signs. We require every co-owner, or a personal representative with authority over the property, to sign the listing agreement before the property is entered in BeachesMLS. A listing one heir signs alone is not a listing.
- Written, to all. Showing feedback, offers and counteroffers go to every owner together. We will not carry one sibling's terms to another as a favor.
- Neutral on the family question. Whether to keep, sell, buy out or file is not our call, and we do not pretend it is. We can and do serve as the court-appointed or agreed broker under section 64.210 when a partition reaches sale.
- Referrals when needed. If the family has no attorney, we can refer several who handle Palm Beach and Broward estates and partition matters regularly. Mediation, which many probate judges encourage, is often where the agreement the act rewards is finally reached.
Where we fit
We are not lawyers and we do not advise anyone whether to file for partition. What we do is the property: a single written opinion of value shared with every heir, preparation and marketing once the owners have agreed or the court has ordered a sale, a listing run commercially reasonably at or above the court's value where the act applies, and a closing that does not reopen the argument. If a family does not yet have a probate attorney, we can refer several who handle Palm Beach and Broward estates regularly.
Related
- Stepped-up basis: what the heirs owe in tax when they sell
- Selling an inherited condominium: assessments, estoppel and the association
- Probate real estate in South Florida — the full guide for executors and personal representatives
- Personal representative's guide to selling a house in Florida probate — who decides while the estate is open
- Homestead property in a Florida probate — why the heirs, not the personal representative, control the family home
- Selling a house held in a living trust
- Do I qualify for summary administration? — the route that leaves heirs as co-owners with no personal representative
- Probate house buyers in Palm Beach County — what a cash offer to a divided family actually nets
- Selling an inherited house in Palm Beach County, step by step
See what the property is worth
Every heir's position starts with the same question: what is the house worth today? Gia Freer, our Broker of Record, prepares a written opinion of value from our own BeachesMLS data, delivered to every owner at the same time. No automated estimate is published on this site and no price here is produced by software.
Heirs who disagree: questions and answers
Can one heir force the sale of an inherited house in Florida?
Eventually, yes. Once the heirs hold the property as co-owners, any one of them may file for partition under chapter 64, Florida Statutes, and a court will not make co-owners stay co-owners. Inherited property usually qualifies as heirs property under the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, sections 64.201 to 64.214, which replaces the old courthouse auction with a court-determined value, a 45-day right for the other heirs to buy out the one who wants to sell, and if nobody buys, an open-market sale through a licensed broker at no less than the court's value.
Who decides whether to sell while the estate is still in probate?
The personal representative, within their authority. If the will grants a power of sale the personal representative may sell without a court order under section 733.613(2); without one, the court authorizes or confirms the sale under section 733.613(1) and any interested person may be heard. The personal representative is a fiduciary under section 733.602 who must act in the best interests of the estate and all interested persons, so a beneficiary who objects can petition the court, but cannot simply veto. Protected homestead is different: it is not an estate asset and the heirs themselves must agree or partition.
What is heirs property under Florida law?
Under section 64.202(6), real property held in tenancy in common, with no recorded agreement among the co-owners about partition, where at least one co-owner acquired title from a relative, and where twenty percent or more of the interests are held by relatives, or by co-owners who acquired title from a relative, or twenty percent or more of the co-owners are relatives. Nearly every house inherited by siblings in Palm Beach or Broward meets that definition.
How does the court value the house in a heirs property partition?
Section 64.206 requires the court to determine fair market value, normally by ordering an appraisal from a disinterested Florida-licensed appraiser, unless all co-owners agree on a value or on another method, or the court finds the appraisal's cost outweighs its usefulness. Parties have 30 days from notice to object to the appraisal. Because the appraised figure becomes the buyout price and the floor for any sale, heirs who agree on a value early keep control of the number; heirs who do not get the court's number.
Can the heirs who want to keep the house buy out the one who wants to sell?
Yes. Under section 64.207, after the value is determined the court notifies the parties that any co-owner who did not request a sale may buy the interests of those who did, at the court's value multiplied by the selling co-owner's fractional share. The election must be made within 45 days of the notice. If more than one co-owner elects, the right is allocated in proportion to their existing shares. Only if nobody elects does the case move to partition in kind or sale.
If the court orders a sale, is it an auction?
Not by default. Section 64.210 requires an open-market sale unless the court finds sealed bids or an auction would be more economically advantageous for the co-owners as a group. If the parties agree on a Florida-licensed broker within 10 days of the order the court appoints that broker; otherwise the court appoints a disinterested one. The broker must offer the property in a commercially reasonable manner at a price no lower than the court's determination of value and report offers under section 64.211.
What does a partition action cost the family?
Filing and service fees, an appraisal, attorney's fees for each side, and time: partition actions in the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Circuits can run many months. Section 64.081 allows the court to apportion costs and attorney's fees among the parties in proportion to their interests, and the act's equitable accounting under section 64.202(5) adjusts for who paid taxes, insurance and repairs. The house keeps costing money throughout. In almost every case the family that reaches a written agreement early nets more than the family that lets the court decide.
How does PBP work with heirs who do not agree?
We give every co-owner the same written opinion of value, prepared by hand from current BeachesMLS sales, at the same time. We require every co-owner, or the personal representative with authority over all of them, to sign the listing before the property is entered in BeachesMLS. We communicate in writing to all owners together rather than through one sibling, and we will not act as a messenger for one side's terms. Legal questions, including whether to file for partition, go to the family's attorney; if there is none, we can refer several who handle Palm Beach and Broward estates.
Sources and legal references
This page summarizes Florida law and court procedure for property owners. The primary sources are below; for your own estate, rely on a Florida-licensed probate attorney.
- Chapter 732, Florida Statutes: Probate Code; Intestate Succession and Wills — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)
- Chapter 733, Florida Statutes: Probate Code; Administration of Estates — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)
- Section 733.613, Florida Statutes: Personal representative's right to sell real property — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)
- Section 735.201, Florida Statutes: Summary administration; nature of proceedings — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)
- Section 732.401, Florida Statutes: Descent of homestead — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)
- Section 733.702, Florida Statutes: Limitations on presentation of claims — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine)
- Florida Probate Rules (Florida Rules of Court Procedure) — The Florida Bar
- 26 U.S. Code Section 1014: Basis of property acquired from a decedent — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Publication 559, Survivors, Executors, and Administrators — Internal Revenue Service
- Property tax exemptions, including homestead — Florida Department of Revenue
- Probate Division, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit (Palm Beach County) — Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
- Probate Division, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit (Broward County) — Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
- Probate and Guardianship, Broward County Clerk of Courts — Broward County Clerk of Courts
Families we have helped through an estate sale
PBP Real Estate holds 86 Google reviews at an average of 5.0 out of 5. Every quote below is a verbatim excerpt from a public review on that profile, shortened only where marked.
Gia and John from PBP Real Estate exceeded expectations in selling my mother's Delray Beach condo, which had previously failed to sell with another firm. Despite being in New York, I experienced excellent communication and responsiveness via phone, text, and email, making the remote process, including the closing, stress-free.
★★★★★ Robert S. · Google review, December 2024
I needed to sell my mothers home from out of state and Gia made the whole process very easy. She helped me getting the right people to get the house emptied and cleaned.
★★★★★ Roger D. · Google review, December 2024
We live in Ohio and had to sell a home in South Florida that needed a lot of work. She is extremely knowledgable and very helpful when it came to what should be done and what could be left alone to get us the most profit. Gia has a large network of reliable contractors.
★★★★★ A Google reviewer · Google review, April 2020
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