How a Successor Trustee Sells a House Held in a Trust in Florida

Pull the last recorded deed from the county’s official records, kept by the Clerk of Court. The house is in the trust only if a deed conveyed it to the trustee, for example to “Jane Smith, as Trustee of the Jane Smith Revocable Trust dated May 1, 2015.” A list of assets attached to the trust is not a substitute for that deed. The Florida Bar’s consumer pamphlet on revocable trusts points out that a trust only avoids probate for property actually transferred into it, which is why many people also sign a “pour-over” will. If the deed is still in the person’s own name, the house may need probate or another court proceeding first; our Florida probate guide covers that path.

While you have the deed, read it for trustee powers. Under section 689.073 of the Florida Statutes, a recorded deed to a trustee that gives the trustee power to sell vests that power in the trustee, and a buyer dealing with the trustee does not have to look into the trustee’s authority or into what happens to the sale money. Many Florida trust deeds include this language, and it makes the title company’s job easier.

Most people are the trustee of their own living trust while they are alive and well. A successor trustee steps in only when that trustee dies, resigns or can no longer act. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s guide for Florida trustees puts it plainly: a successor trustee has no authority while the current trustee is still willing and able to serve.

The trust document says how the change happens. After a death, that usually means a certified death certificate. For incapacity, many trusts spell out the proof needed, such as letters from one or two doctors. If the trust names co-trustees, check whether they can act alone or must sign together, because the title company will follow whatever the trust says.

You do not have to hand a buyer the whole trust. Section 736.1017 of the Florida Statutes lets a trustee give a certification of trust instead. It states that the trust exists and when it was signed, who created it, the name and address of the acting trustee, the trustee’s powers, whether the trust is revocable and who can revoke it, whether co-trustees can sign alone, and how title to trust property is held. It must also say the trust has not been changed in a way that makes those statements wrong. It does not have to say who inherits.

A buyer or title company can rely on a certification without reading the trust, and it may ask for copies of the excerpts that name you as trustee and give you the power to sell. Expect the closing agent to also ask for a certified death certificate if the person has died, your photo ID, and its own affidavits, for example about marital status, heirs or homestead. You sign the deed as trustee, and the mortgage, taxes and any association balance are paid from the sale through the closing, as with any other sale.

When the person who created a revocable trust dies, section 736.05055 requires the trustee to file a notice of trust with the court in the county where that person lived, and with the court handling the estate if there is a probate case. The notice gives the person’s name and date of death, the trust’s name and date, and the trustee’s name and address.

The trustee also has to notify the qualified beneficiaries. Under section 736.0813, a trustee must give notice within 60 days of accepting the trust, and within 60 days of learning that a revocable trust has become irrevocable, which a death usually causes. That second notice tells beneficiaries about the trust, their right to request a copy of it and their right to accountings. Your attorney will usually prepare these early, and they do not stop you from getting offers on the house in the meantime.

Putting a home into a revocable trust does not get around Florida’s homestead rules. Section 732.4015 says a homestead cannot be left by will to others if the owner is survived by a spouse or a minor child; with no minor child, it may go to the spouse. The statute applies the same limits to a homestead held in a revocable trust, as if the owner still held it directly.

If the trust gives the house to someone those rules do not allow, that part of the trust may fail, and the house may pass to the spouse and descendants under Florida law instead. That changes who has to sign. A title company may then ask for deeds or joinders from the spouse and heirs, or for a court order determining homestead status. If the owner left no spouse and no minor children, these restrictions do not apply, and the successor trustee’s deed alone is often enough. Your attorney and title company make this call, so raise homestead with them first.

A trust is not a shield from the deceased person’s debts. Under section 733.707(3), a revocable trust can be liable for the estate’s expenses and the decedent’s debts when the probate estate does not have enough to pay them. Section 733.710 bars most claims two years after the death, but it does not affect recorded mortgages or liens.

In practice, a trustee who sells the house and hands out all of the money right away can face a claim later. Attorneys sometimes advise opening a probate case so that a notice to creditors starts a shorter claims deadline, or holding back part of the proceeds until the risk passes. That decision is about distributing the money, not about whether you can sell, but it is worth settling before closing.

Unless the trust limits it, section 736.0816 lets a trustee sell trust property for cash or on credit, at a public or private sale. The trustee must act in the beneficiaries’ interest. The CFPB guide warns that buying trust property yourself, or selling it to someone close to you, is usually a conflict of interest, so talk to a lawyer before doing either.

Keep a record of how you chose the price: comparable sales, an appraisal, a broker’s opinion or several written offers. Put the sale proceeds into the trust’s account, not your personal account, and keep receipts for every expense. If a beneficiary would rather keep the house than receive cash, ask your attorney whether the trust allows the house to be distributed instead of sold.

Many houses come out of a trust with years of deferred repairs, a full house of belongings, or a family that lives out of state. Florida Cash For Home buys trust-owned houses as-is, works from the certification of trust and the title company’s requirements, and sets the closing date around the attorney’s timeline. You sign as trustee, and the proceeds are paid to the trust at closing. Compare any offer with what a listing would net; our cash offer vs. listing guide shows how.