I have been named executor. What do I do about the house?
Find out what authority you hold before you do anything else. That one fact decides whether this is close to an ordinary sale or a court process that takes months longer.
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Your attorney will have, or will obtain, the document that says it. It will say full authority or limited authority, and the difference is enormous: full authority means you can accept an offer and close much like any other seller. Limited authority means the sale goes to a hearing and can be reopened to other bidders in the room.
Everything else can wait a week. Do not clear the house out, do not accept an offer from the neighbour who has already asked, and do not agree a price with your siblings before you know which process you are in. All three are common and all three are hard to undo.
Do we have to go through probate at all?
Often not. If the home was in a trust, or passes another way, there may be no probate. There are also simplified routes for smaller estates and for a primary residence.
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| How the home was held | What usually follows |
|---|---|
| In a living trust | The successor trustee sells; generally no probate |
| Jointly with a surviving spouse or co-owner | Often passes directly |
| In the deceased owner's name alone | Usually probate, unless a simplified route fits |
| A modest estate, or a primary residence | A shorter court route may be available |
This is the single most valuable question to ask early, because the difference between a trust sale and a full probate is months and a meaningful amount of cost. Families frequently assume probate is unavoidable when the home was in a trust all along.
Whether one of the shorter routes fits your situation is a question for the attorney handling the estate. It is worth asking directly rather than waiting to be told, because it does not always get raised.
What is the difference between full and limited authority?
Full authority: you accept an offer and close, with notice to the heirs. Limited authority: the sale goes to a hearing, and anyone can turn up and bid against your buyer.
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| Full authority | Limited authority | |
|---|---|---|
| Court hearing to confirm | Not required | Required |
| Can another buyer bid later? | No | Yes, at the hearing |
| Notice to heirs | At least 15 days before the sale goes through | Through the court process |
| Typical extra time | None | Months |
| Commission | Negotiated | Set by the court |
Full authority is far more common and makes the sale feel close to normal. The main difference an executor notices is the notice to heirs, which gives anyone with an interest a window to object before the sale can proceed.
If you have limited authority, the whole marketing plan changes, because the job is no longer only to find a buyer. It is to find a buyer who understands they may be bid against in a courtroom and will still show up.
Can somebody really outbid our buyer in court?
Under limited authority, yes. Anyone can appear at the hearing with a written offer above a required increase, and the judge confirms the sale to the highest qualifying bidder.
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This is the part that shocks families and it is why it belongs near the top rather than buried. Your accepted offer is effectively an opening bid. On the day of the hearing somebody who has been watching probate filings can appear, bid above it, and buy the house your buyer thought they had.
It is not a disaster; it frequently produces a higher price for the estate, which is exactly what the process is designed to do. But it has to be explained to your buyer up front, because a buyer who finds out late feels ambushed and walks, and it changes how the home should be priced and marketed from the beginning.
Why does the price have to be at least 90 percent of the appraisal?
Because a court-confirmed sale cannot go through below 90 percent of the estate's own appraised value, which is set by a court-appointed appraiser rather than by a listing agent.
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That appraisal is the number the whole process is measured against and it is worth knowing before you price the home. It sets a floor you cannot go under and it is not negotiable, so an estate that needs to sell quickly still cannot simply discount its way to a fast closing.
The appraisal is also a moment in time. In a market that has moved since it was done, it can sit above or below what the home would actually fetch, and an executor should know which of those they are dealing with before listing rather than discovering it when offers come in low.
Do we have to clean it out and fix it up first?
No, and usually you should not do much. Estate homes sell as-is routinely, and money spent on repairs is rarely recovered when the buyer pool is expecting a project.
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Our own view, and it is judgment rather than a rule: clean it, empty it, and stop. A cleared, swept house with the utilities on shows dramatically better than a full one and costs almost nothing. Renovating rarely returns what it costs on this kind of sale, and it delays a process the family usually wants finished.
The exception is anything that would stop a buyer getting a loan or make the home unsafe to show. Those are worth handling, and they are a short list, not a renovation. We will walk it with you and tell you which is which before you spend anything.
What do we have to tell buyers about a house we never lived in?
You are not expected to know what an owner-occupier would, and the standard disclosure form is generally not required of an estate. What you do know, you still say.
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That distinction matters and is often misunderstood in both directions. An executor who never lived in the house is not required to characterise the condition of a roof they have never been under. But anything you actually know, whether from the family, from a contractor, or from a report you commissioned, belongs in writing.
The practical move is an inspection you order yourself, up front, provided to every buyer. It converts what you do not know into something everybody knows, takes the argument out of week three, and on an as-is estate sale it usually improves the price rather than reducing it.
How long does it take, and when does anybody see money?
A trust sale runs on an ordinary timeline. A court-confirmed sale adds months. In either case the proceeds go to the estate or the trust first, not to the heirs directly.
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Under full authority, once the notice period to the heirs has run, the escrow looks much like any other and closes in about a month. Under limited authority, add the time to schedule a hearing and the steps around it, which is where the months come from and none of it is about the house.
The money then sits with the estate or the trust until it is distributed, which is on the attorney's timetable rather than the sale's. Families frequently expect the proceeds at closing and are surprised, so it is worth asking your attorney for the distribution timeline at the same time you list, and telling everybody who is waiting.
What if the family cannot agree?
The executor or trustee makes the decision, but a sale where half the family feels steamrolled is slower and more expensive than one where they were kept informed.
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The authority sits with one person, and that person is answerable for it. Where that gets difficult is not usually the price; it is one sibling who wants to keep the house, one who wants the money now, and nobody having said so out loud.
What we do about it, because it is a real part of this work: the market analysis goes to everybody at once, offers are summarised to everybody at once, and nobody hears a number second-hand. We take instructions only from the person who holds the authority, and we say so plainly at the start so it is never a surprise. Anything that is genuinely a dispute between heirs belongs with the attorney, and we will say so rather than getting in the middle of it.
FAQs
Common questions about Probate & Trust Sales
I have just been named executor. What should I do first?
Find out whether you hold full or limited authority, because that decides whether this is close to an ordinary sale or a court process taking months longer. Everything else can wait a week. Do not clear the house out, accept an offer from a neighbour, or agree a price with siblings before you know which process you are in.
Do we have to go through probate to sell?
Often not. A home held in a living trust is generally sold by the successor trustee without probate, a jointly held home often passes directly, and there are shorter court routes for smaller estates and for a primary residence. Ask the attorney directly, because families regularly assume probate is unavoidable when the home was in a trust all along.
What is the difference between full and limited authority?
With full authority you accept an offer and close, after giving the heirs at least 15 days' notice. With limited authority the sale goes to a court hearing, anyone can bid against your buyer there, the commission is set by the court, and the whole thing takes months longer. Full authority is far more common.
Can someone really outbid our buyer in court?
Under limited authority, yes. Anyone can appear at the hearing with a written offer above a required increase, and the judge confirms to the highest qualifying bidder. Your accepted offer is effectively an opening bid, which has to be explained to your buyer up front or they will feel ambushed and walk.
Why can't we just accept a low offer to get it done?
A court-confirmed sale cannot go through below 90 percent of the estate's appraised value, set by a court-appointed appraiser rather than by a listing agent. It is a floor you cannot go under, so an estate that wants a fast closing still cannot discount its way there.
Do we have to renovate or clear the house first?
Clean it, empty it, and stop. Estate homes sell as-is routinely and renovation rarely returns what it costs when the buyer pool is expecting a project. The exception is anything that would stop a buyer getting a loan or make the home unsafe to show, which is a short list rather than a renovation.
What do we have to disclose if we never lived there?
You are not expected to characterise a roof you have never been under, and the standard disclosure form is generally not required of an estate. But anything you actually know, from the family, a contractor or a report, still belongs in writing. Ordering your own inspection up front is the cleanest way to handle it.
How long does an estate sale take?
A trust sale runs on an ordinary timeline, about a month in escrow. A court-confirmed sale adds months, almost none of it about the house: it is the time to schedule a hearing and complete the steps around it. Under full authority, the notice period to heirs is the main addition.
When do the heirs actually get the money?
Not at closing. The proceeds go to the estate or the trust and are distributed on the attorney's timetable rather than the sale's. Families routinely expect the money on the closing day, so ask your attorney for the distribution timeline when you list and tell everybody who is waiting.
What if the family disagrees about selling?
The executor or trustee decides and is answerable for it, and we take instructions only from the person holding the authority, which we say plainly at the start. What we do is make sure the market analysis and every offer reach everybody at the same time, so nobody hears a number second-hand. Genuine disputes between heirs belong with the attorney.