Selling a Tampa Bay Home Held in a Trust or Estate

How do you sell a Tampa Bay home held in a trust or estate?

The path depends on how the home is titled. A home in a revocable living trust sells almost exactly like one in your own name — the trustee signs, supported by a Certificate of Trust under F.S. 736.1017. A home owned by someone who has died, where title was not pre-funded into a trust, has to move through Florida probate first; the personal representative then sells under F.S. 733.612 and 733.613, sometimes with a court order. Federal step-up in basis under IRC §1014 usually softens the tax bite, and Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax — but documentary stamp taxes, attorney coordination, and Florida’s homestead-descent rules still need to be handled correctly.

When a Tampa Bay home is owned by a trust, an estate, or someone who recently passed away, selling it isn’t harder — it’s just different. The mechanics shift, the signatures change, and the estate attorney becomes a real partner in the process instead of a background advisor. Here’s what changes, what doesn’t, and how to keep the closing on track.

Selling out of a revocable living trust

Most of my high-end sellers in South Tampa, Harbour Island, and Hyde Park hold their primary home or second home in a revocable living trust (an “RLT”). They’re usually the trustee while alive and competent, which means selling the home looks almost identical to selling in their own name.

Three things change at closing:

• The signature line reads, for example, “Jane Smith, as Trustee of the Smith Family Revocable Trust dated June 10, 2014.”
• The title company will request a Certificate of Trust under F.S. 736.1017 — a short affidavit confirming the trust exists, who the trustee is, and what powers the trustee holds. You generally do not need to hand over the full trust document.
• Title insurance, deed prep, and survey work run the same as a non-trust sale.

While the grantor is alive, a revocable trust is a pass-through for tax purposes. The IRS treats the sale as if the grantor sold it directly, including the IRC §121 primary-residence exclusion if it applies.

If the original grantor has passed away and the home is now being sold by a successor trustee, the federal step-up in basis under IRC §1014 typically resets the cost basis to fair market value as of the date of death — which, in a market that has appreciated like Tampa Bay over the last decade, often eliminates most or all of the federal capital gain.

Selling out of an irrevocable trust

Irrevocable trusts are common in higher-net-worth Tampa Bay estate plans, often holding non-homestead waterfront property or branded-condo positions at buildings like the Ritz-Carlton Residences Tampa or Waldorf Astoria Residences St. Petersburg.

The mechanics still work — the trustee signs and the title company relies on the certificate — but two things tighten up:

• The trustee has to follow the four corners of the trust, including any requirement to consult or obtain consent from beneficiaries before listing, and any directives on use of proceeds.
• Step-up in basis is not automatic. Per the IRS’s Revenue Ruling 2023-2, assets in a completed-gift irrevocable grantor trust that are excluded from the grantor’s taxable estate do not receive a basis step-up at death. If the trust was structured to keep assets inside the estate (often through a power of substitution in an “intentionally defective grantor trust”), the step-up can still apply. This is where your estate attorney earns their fee — not your real estate agent.

Selling a home that has to move through probate

If the seller passed away and the home was titled in their individual name, the property has to be administered through the Hillsborough, Pinellas, or Pasco county probate court before a marketable title can transfer.

Florida offers two paths:

• Summary administration — available when non-exempt probate assets are at or below the statutory threshold (currently $75,000; increasing to $150,000 for decedents who die on or after July 1, 2026 under CS/SB 1500), or when the decedent has been deceased more than two years. Often closes in 4–10 weeks.
• Formal administration — required for larger or more complex estates, and the only path that produces a personal representative with full statutory powers. Most formal probate cases run 6–12 months, with the home often listed several months in.

For Tampa Bay homes at $1M and up, summary administration is rarely the right path. Most upper-end probate sales sit in formal administration.

Personal representative authority — and why the will language matters

Once a personal representative (PR) is appointed, F.S. 733.612 lays out the broad authority to manage estate assets. F.S. 733.613 governs real estate specifically, and the practical question is whether the will grants the PR a power of sale.

• If the will grants a power of sale (specific or general), the PR can list, contract, and close without a separate court order. Title passes free of creditors and beneficiaries.
• If the will is silent — or if the decedent died without a will — the PR can still sell, but title does not pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale by separate order. Florida title companies will require that order before insuring.

Most modern Florida wills include the broader power of sale, but this is the first question I want answered before I take a probate listing in Tampa Bay. It directly affects timing, contract language, and what a buyer’s lender will tolerate.

A practical timing note: in formal administration, the three-month creditor claims period under F.S. 733.2121 starts when notice to creditors is published. Many PRs and estate attorneys prefer to wait until that window closes before closing on a sale, simply to remove uncertainty. That’s a major reason a probate sale often closes 4–6 months after death rather than 6–10 weeks.

Florida homestead descent — the trap most out-of-state heirs don’t see coming

If the decedent was a Florida resident and the home was their homestead, Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution restricts who they can leave it to. If the decedent was survived by a spouse or a minor child, the homestead generally cannot be devised by will or trust except to the spouse — and only if there is no minor child.

When the constitutional rule is violated — say the decedent left the home to one adult child while there’s a surviving spouse — the home descends as if there were no will: the surviving spouse takes a life estate (or, by election, an undivided one-half interest under F.S. 732.401), with the remainder to the descendants per stirpes.

That has direct sale consequences. Every person with a constitutional interest typically has to sign the deed. I’ve seen otherwise straightforward sales of a Davis Islands waterfront home stall for weeks while a surviving spouse and three adult children worked through life-estate-versus-half-interest elections. The estate attorney drives that resolution; the listing agent’s job is to time the marketing and offer review around it.

Taxes at the closing table

A few Florida-specific items show up regardless of whether the seller is a trust or an estate:

• No state estate or inheritance tax. Florida has neither. The federal estate tax filing threshold is $15M in 2026, so it’s only relevant at the highest end of the Tampa Bay market.
• Documentary stamp tax on the deed — $0.70 per $100 of sale price in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties. On a $2.5M Beach Park sale, that’s $17,500 paid by the seller side.
• Capital gains. With a step-up in basis on a sale shortly after death, federal capital gain is often modest. Where the home appreciates after death — common when an estate waits 12–18 months to list — the gain is calculated against the stepped-up basis and taxed at federal long-term rates (0/15/20%) plus the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax if applicable.
• If a non-U.S. trustee or non-U.S. heir is in the chain, federal withholding rules apply at closing.

Coordinating with the estate attorney

A trust or probate sale only goes well when three roles communicate: the trustee or personal representative, the estate attorney, and the listing agent.

Before listing, here’s what I look for from the attorney:

• Confirmation of authority to sell — an executed Certificate of Trust, or Letters of Administration plus the relevant will provision or court order.
• Confirmation of who signs the listing agreement and the FR/BAR “As Is” contract, and whether co-trustee or co-PR signatures are required.
• Coordination on disclosures. Florida’s Seller’s Property Disclosure (SPD) is required for residential sales, but the disclosure is limited to the seller’s actual knowledge. A successor trustee or PR who never lived in the home discloses what they know, marks “unknown” where appropriate, and avoids speculating — all under attorney guidance.
• A realistic closing window that accounts for the creditor claim period, court orders, and any pending tax filings.

What the attorney typically asks of me:

• A pricing strategy that reflects current Tampa Bay market data, not what the home was worth two years ago when it was last appraised for the estate.
• Showings logistics that respect any beneficiary’s right of access or use during administration.
• A disciplined offer review process — I bring the offer, but the attorney usually reviews any non-standard contract terms, especially around closing timing, possession, and contingencies tied to court approval.

If you’re preparing a Tampa Bay home for sale through a trust or estate, the work that happens before the sign goes in the yard tends to matter more than anything that happens after.

How to think about timing

For most Tampa Bay clients, here’s the rough timing pattern:

• Revocable trust, living grantor: essentially identical to a normal sale — typically 30–60 days from list to close in the current upper-end market.
• Revocable trust, deceased grantor: add 2–6 weeks to confirm successor trustee authority and update the Certificate of Trust.
• Formal probate, will with power of sale: list 30–60 days after Letters of Administration issue; close after the 3-month creditor claim period when possible. Typical total: 5–8 months from death.
• Formal probate, no power of sale: add a court-approval step on the contract. Typical total: 6–10 months.
• Homestead with descent issues: add whatever it takes to resolve elections, partitions, or disclaimers — could be weeks, could be longer.

These ranges are directional. Every estate is different.

A note on staging and presentation

A home lived in by an aging owner for 20 years — or a vacant home that’s been unoccupied through administration — almost always needs a higher level of preparation than a typical resale. That’s where light staging, focused painting, professional photography, and a clear pre-list punch list pay off, particularly in upper-end South Tampa and Davis Islands inventory where buyers are comparing against new construction and recently renovated homes. For a deeper look at staging in this segment, see the Davis Islands staging post.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need court approval to sell a Tampa Bay home that’s in a revocable trust?

No. While the grantor is alive and competent, the trustee can sign the listing agreement, the contract, and the deed without court involvement. The title company will rely on a Certificate of Trust under F.S. 736.1017 to confirm authority. After the grantor’s death, a successor trustee steps in under the same authority — still no court approval required.

How long does Florida probate take before a home can be sold?

Most formal administrations run 6–12 months overall, though the home is often listed within the first 60–90 days. A summary administration — available for non-exempt probate assets at or below $75,000 (rising to $150,000 for deaths on or after July 1, 2026 under CS/SB 1500), or when the decedent has been deceased more than two years — can wrap up in 4–10 weeks but is rarely the right path for an upper-end Tampa Bay home.

Will I owe capital gains tax on an inherited Tampa Bay home?

Often very little. IRC §1014 resets the basis to fair market value at the date of death, and Florida has no state-level capital gains tax. If the home is sold soon after death, federal capital gain is usually small. If the home appreciates significantly between the date of death and the sale, that post-death gain is taxed at federal long-term rates plus the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax, where it applies.

What does a Florida personal representative actually need in order to sell?

Letters of Administration from the probate court, plus either (1) a will granting the personal representative a power of sale, or (2) a separate court order authorizing the sale under F.S. 733.613. Title companies in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties will require one of those before insuring title.

Does the Seller’s Property Disclosure apply to a probate or trust sale?

Yes. Florida residential disclosure obligations apply to all sellers, including trustees and personal representatives. The disclosure is limited to actual knowledge, so a trustee or PR who never lived in the home discloses what they know and marks the rest “unknown.” Coordinate the wording with the estate attorney before signing.

If you’re working through a trust or estate sale of a Tampa Bay home — or you’re an estate attorney with an upper-end listing coming to market — a direct conversation usually clears more up than another search. I work alongside Tampa Bay’s probate and trust attorneys on these sales every year.

About Shane Vanderson

Shane Vanderson is a License Partner and Broker Associate with Engel & Völkers South Tampa, with 14 years of experience representing buyers and sellers across Tampa Bay’s luxury market. He specializes in South Tampa, Harbour Island, Hyde Park, Davis Islands, Downtown Tampa waterfront, and luxury condominiums, and holds membership in Engel & Völkers’ Professional Athlete Advisory. Connect with Shane at shanevanderson.com or 813-205-5430.