Selling an Inherited House in Naples: Collier County Probate

To sell an inherited house in Naples, FL, someone usually needs authority from the Collier County probate court first. That authority comes from an order of summary administration or from letters naming a personal representative. The dollar limit that decides which path fits changed this year, and the county's own website has not caught up.

The Collier County Clerk's probate page still says summary administration fits when the estate "does not exceed $75,000." Since July 1, 2026, Fla. Stat. § 735.201(2) sets that limit at $150,000, less property exempt from creditors. Where the two disagree, the statute controls. There's no rush to decide anything, and this guide covers the Collier filing, homestead, the furniture, distant heirs, and the tax bill.

Do you need probate to sell an inherited house in Naples, FL?

Yes, in most cases: a Naples house titled only in the late owner's name needs a Collier County probate order before it can be deeded to a buyer. A house held with a right of survivorship, or by a couple as tenants by the entirety, often passes outside probate.

The Clerk's page draws the line. Probate covers assets "owned in the decedent's sole name at death." It also covers co-owned assets that "lacked a provision for automatic succession of ownership at death." The deed usually shows which kind of house this is.

The small-estate shortcut stops at the front door

The Clerk also lists a "Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration." That filing is built on Fla. Stat. § 735.301, which reaches only personal property. The Clerk's page says it in plain words: "No real estate can be transferred through this process." A house needs summary or formal administration instead.

Where is Collier County probate handled?

Collier County probate is filed with the Clerk's Courts Department at 3315 Tamiami Trail East, Suite 102, Naples, and heard in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit. The Twentieth Circuit covers Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee counties.

The county is set by where the late owner lived, under Fla. Stat. § 733.101. A parent who lived in Naples opens the case in Collier County. A parent domiciled up north with a Naples winter house had no Florida domicile. That case can open in the county where the house sits.

Inside or outside the city line

Most Naples mailing addresses sit outside the City of Naples, in unincorporated areas such as Golden Gate, North Naples, and Pelican Bay. Building, flood, and code rules differ on each side of the city line. Probate does not, since the same Collier County Clerk handles both.

The will has a 10-day clock

Under Fla. Stat. § 732.901, whoever holds the original will must deposit it with the Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death. The Clerk keeps it for at least 20 years. The Clerk's page adds that filing a will needs no attorney, though Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires one for many probate cases.

Why is the Clerk's $75,000 figure out of date?

The Clerk's page predates chapter 2026-57, which raised the summary administration limit from $75,000 to $150,000 on July 1, 2026. The Florida Senate's bill page for HB 1337 lists that chapter number and the July 1 effective date.

The current text of Fla. Stat. § 735.201 allows summary administration when the Florida estate, less exempt property, is $150,000 or less. It also allows it when the owner died more than 2 years ago. A protected homestead is generally treated as exempt from creditors' claims, so a Naples house worth more than $150,000 may not by itself rule out the shorter path.

An estate between $75,000 and $150,000 after exempt property may now qualify. A Florida probate attorney can say which of a parent's assets count toward it. The table sets the Clerk's wording beside the statutes.

Can a personal representative sell before probate ends?

Yes, a personal representative can often sell a Naples house while a formal case is still open. Whether a judge must sign off first depends on what the will says about selling.

When the will grants a power of sale

Under Fla. Stat. § 733.613(2), a will that grants a power to sell real property, or any estate asset, lets the representative sell without court approval. The buyer then takes title free of estate creditors' claims and beneficiaries' rights. Existing mortgages and other liens stay attached until they are paid.

When it does not

With no will, or no usable power of sale, the representative may still sell when it serves the estate. The court has to approve that sale, and the statute is direct:

"No title shall pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale."

Fla. Stat. § 733.613(1), The Florida Legislature, 2026 Florida Statutes

A buyer can sign a contract before that order, but the closing waits for it. In a summary case, the court's order distributes the house to the people it names, and they sign the deed to a buyer.

How does homestead law shape a Naples sale?

If the Naples house was the late owner's homestead, the Florida Constitution limits who can inherit it, and so who signs the deed. A homestead may not pass by will to anyone but the spouse when the owner leaves a spouse or a minor child.

That rule sits in Article X, Section 4(c), and Fla. Stat. § 732.4015 repeats it. When a house cannot pass by will, Fla. Stat. § 732.401 gives a surviving spouse a life estate and the descendants the remainder. The spouse may instead elect a one-half share as a tenant in common, within 6 months of the death. Once made, that election cannot be undone.

Half an acre inside the city, more outside

The constitutional protection covers up to one-half acre of contiguous land inside a municipality. Outside one, it reaches up to 160 acres. A house inside the City of Naples falls under the half-acre limit; a house in unincorporated Collier County falls under the larger one.

Creditors and the representative's role

Protected homestead is exempt from forced sale for most debts. Section 4(b) says the exemption passes to the surviving spouse or heirs. Fla. Stat. § 733.608 keeps it out of the estate assets the representative uses to pay claims. If nobody with an interest lives there, the representative may take possession only to preserve, insure, and protect it. The descent rule does not apply to a house held by the entireties or with a right of survivorship.

What happens to a retirement house full of furniture?

Florida sets aside up to $20,000 of household furniture, furnishings, and appliances for the surviving spouse, or the children if there is no spouse. Everything else in the house follows the will or the intestate rules.

Many Naples estates start with a parent's retirement house. More than half of City of Naples residents are 65 or older, per U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts estimates for July 2025. Those houses often hold decades of belongings.

The furniture rule comes from Fla. Stat. § 732.402, which calls these items "exempt property." They are protected from claims against the estate, except perfected security interests. It can help to ask the estate's attorney before anything leaves the house, since the personal representative answers for estate assets.

The flood form follows the house

Under Fla. Stat. § 689.302, a Florida seller gives the buyer a flood disclosure at or before the contract. It asks about flooding, flood claims, and flood aid during the seller's ownership. For a house that took water, our guide to selling a flood-damaged Naples house under the 50% rule explains how the City measures repairs.

Selling an inherited Naples house from out of state

Heirs outside Florida can sell a Naples house, though only a close relative may serve as personal representative from another state. Signing may not require a trip to Collier County.

Under Fla. Stat. § 733.304, a person not domiciled in Florida can serve only if related to the late owner in a listed way. That includes a direct-line relative such as a parent, child, or grandchild, an adopted child or adoptive parent, and a spouse, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew. Some of their relatives and spouses also qualify. Fla. Stat. § 117.265 lets a Florida online notary notarize for a signer outside the state, over recorded audio and video.

What Naples houses are selling for

Distant heirs often want a sense of value first. Redfin's September 2026 data puts the Naples median sale price at about $1,099,476 for the three months ending in September, down 15.1% year over year. The typical sale took about 139 days, down from 159 a year before (Redfin, September 2026).

Zillow measures something else. Its Home Value Index for Naples stood at about $545,587 in September 2026, down about 1.4% from a year earlier (Zillow ZHVI, September 2026). The two use different methods, so each figure stands alone.

The steps below come from the statutes cited in this guide.

1. The original will

   The custodian deposits it with the Collier County Clerk within 10 days of learning of the death (§ 732.901).

2. Who can serve

   A nonresident personal representative must be a close relative (§ 733.304).

3. A power of sale

   With one, a representative can sell without a court order; without one, the court approves the sale (§ 733.613).

4. The homestead question

   A surviving spouse or minor child changes who owns the house (Art. X, § 4(c); § 732.401).

5. Signing from afar

   A Florida online notary can notarize for a signer outside the state (§ 117.265).

6. The flood form

   The seller gives the flood disclosure at or before the contract (§ 689.302).

Will the Collier County tax bill change after a sale?

Usually, yes: Florida resets a homestead to just value on January 1 after a change of ownership, so a parent's Save Our Homes cap does not pass to a buyer. A transfer to heirs at death can trigger the same reset unless an exception applies.

The Collier County Property Appraiser says Save Our Homes limits yearly homestead increases to 3% or CPI, whichever is less. In its words, "When a homesteaded property is sold or conveyed to a new owner, the assessed value then becomes the full market value." After decades in one house, a parent's assessed value can sit well below its sale value.

Fla. Stat. § 193.155(3) lists transfers that do not count as a change of ownership:

• a transfer to a surviving spouse;
• a transfer by operation of law to the spouse or minor children under § 732.401.

A winter house that was never a homestead has a different cap. The Property Appraiser says non-homestead houses get a 10% cap on yearly assessment increases, which does not apply to the school board portion. Our guide to selling a second house in Naples covers that case.

How can Propcash help with an inherited Naples house?

Propcash buys inherited houses directly, as-is, in whatever shape the family finds them. Take what you want, leave the rest: no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout. We make one cash offer based on local market data and show you how we got to our number, with no commissions or fees.

There's no rush to decide. The Propcash offer stands while the heirs and the estate's attorney compare it with listing or keeping the house. You pick the closing date once the estate can sell. If a cash sale is not your best move, we will tell you. When the family is ready, you can get a no-obligation cash offer or see how Propcash buys houses on our Naples cash sale page.