How do you sell an inherited house in West Palm Beach through Fifteenth Circuit probate?

If you want to sell an inherited house in West Palm Beach, the court file runs through the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County. Picture a 1920s frame house in Old Northwood, or a family house in the Historic Northwest that a parent owned for decades. Before anyone can deed it to a buyer, a judge usually has to sign an order. In this circuit, the road to that order starts with a checklist.

This guide follows those checklists in order. For the rules that apply across the state, see our Florida inherited house guide. Nothing here is legal advice.

What does the Fifteenth Circuit require with each probate petition?

The Fifteenth Circuit requires a completed, signed checklist to be e-filed at the same time as each listed probate petition. Administrative Order 6.201 has required it since March 23, 2022.

The order names ten checklists. Several of them can touch an inherited house:

• Summary administration, in testate and intestate versions
• Formal administration, in testate and intestate versions
• Summary and formal ancillary administration, for an owner who lived in another state
• Petition to Determine Homestead
• Petition to Sell Real Property

The order spells out what happens to a filing that arrives without one.

"Failure to e-file an accurate and completed checklist shall result in a rejection of the petition with leave to refile."

Administrative Order 6.201, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida

Leave to refile means the case survives, but the petition starts over. For a family paying insurance and utilities on an empty house, each rejection adds time.

Court staff read the petition first

Uncontested petitions do not go straight to a judge in this circuit. A case manager, staff attorney, or other qualified court staff member reviews them first. That list includes petitions for summary administration, petitions to authorize the sale of real property, and petitions to determine homestead.

Will contests, fee disputes, and other contested matters go straight to the divisional judge. The circuit's Probate Division page posts the approved checklists. The intestate summary administration checklist, updated June 24, 2026, already prints the $150,000 test.

Each checklist ends with a certification. Certification A says everything required was filed. Certification B lists what could not be supplied after a diligent search and accepts that a hearing may be required.

Which probate path fits an inherited West Palm Beach house?

An inherited West Palm Beach house usually moves through summary administration, formal administration, or a homestead petition. The right path depends on the estate's value, the date of death, and the family members who survive.

Summary administration is open when the estate subject to administration, less property exempt from creditors' claims, does not exceed $150,000 (Fla. Stat. § 735.201). It is also open when the owner died more than 2 years ago. If the will itself calls for administration under chapter 733, the summary route is closed.

Why local values matter for the $150,000 line

The $150,000 line sits well below local prices. Zillow's typical West Palm Beach house value was about $404,711 (Zillow ZHVI, September 2026). Redfin's median sale price was about $443,539 (Redfin, September 2026). In ZIP 33407, the ZIP for Old Northwood, Zillow's typical value was $356,104 (Zillow ZHVI, August 2026).

A house that counts toward the estate can carry it past the limit by itself. A protected homestead can change that math, because the statute subtracts exempt property first.

What happens to the original will after a death?

Whoever holds the original will must deposit it with the clerk of the court where the estate will be handled within 10 days of learning of the death (Fla. Stat. § 732.901). For a West Palm Beach resident, that is the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court.

A court can order a slow custodian to produce the will and, without just or reasonable cause for the delay, charge costs, damages, and a reasonable attorney's fee. When the original cannot be found, the circuit's formal checklist points to a Petition to Establish a Lost or Destroyed Will.

What does the summary administration checklist ask heirs to prove?

The summary checklist asks heirs to show that final bills are paid, the heirs are identified, and creditors were searched for. A judge then decides whether to order the house distributed.

The intestate version, for an owner with no will, asks for these items, among others:

• Proof that reasonable funeral expenses were paid in full
• Proof that medical bills from the last 60 days of the final illness were paid, or a statement that there were none
• An Affidavit of Heirs
• Notarized consents from every beneficiary, or formal notice to each one
• A statement that a diligent search for creditors was made
• For a house, either a Petition to Determine Homestead or a statement that no homestead protection is claimed

The checklist's notes drop the two bill-payment items when the owner died more than 2 years ago.

What a summary order means for a buyer

Before the order, the petitioner searches for known creditors, serves them with the petition, and provides for payment where assets allow (Fla. Stat. § 735.206). Once the order is entered, a good-faith purchaser who pays value to the people it names takes the house free of the owner's creditors' claims.

How does homestead status change who can sell?

If the house was the owner's homestead, the Florida Constitution limits who may receive it. A court order then usually confirms who holds title before anyone signs a sale contract.

Under Article X, Section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution, an owner survived by a spouse or a minor child cannot leave the homestead freely by will. With a spouse and no minor child, the owner may leave it to the spouse. When the homestead passes outside a valid devise and both a spouse and descendants survive, the spouse takes a life estate and the descendants hold the remainder (Fla. Stat. § 732.401). The spouse may instead elect a one-half interest as a tenant in common, within 6 months of the death.

What the homestead checklist wants to see

The circuit's homestead checklists, updated June 24, 2026, ask the petition to cover:

• Whether the house was the owner's domicile
• How title was held at death, with each owner's share
• The legal description and the street address
• On the stand-alone checklist, whether the house sits inside or outside a municipality, with the actual acreage
• The surviving spouse and lineal descendants, with birth dates for any minors
• Consents from each homestead beneficiary, or proof of formal notice

The acreage line matters because the constitutional protection inside a municipality reaches one-half acre of contiguous land. The City of West Palm Beach is a municipality. Some houses with a West Palm Beach mailing address sit in unincorporated Palm Beach County, where the limit is 160 acres.

Who looks after an empty homestead

A personal representative does not hold a protected homestead the way it holds other estate assets (Fla. Stat. § 733.608). If no one with an interest lives there, the representative may take possession to preserve, insure, and protect it until its status is settled. Money spent that way can become a lien on the house and its revenues.

What goes into a petition to sell an inherited house?

Unless the will grants a power of sale, a personal representative's sale needs a court order, because "No title shall pass until the court authorizes or confirms the sale" (Fla. Stat. § 733.613).

A will with a specific power to sell real property, or a general power to sell any estate asset, lets the representative sell without that order. A buyer under a specific power or a court order takes title free of estate creditors' claims and beneficiaries' entitlements. Existing mortgages and other liens are not wiped out by the sale and still have to be paid.

In Palm Beach County, that petition carries its own checklist, summarized below.

How the creditor window shapes the closing

Creditors generally have 3 months after the first publication of the notice to creditors to file claims (Fla. Stat. § 733.702). A creditor who must be served gets 30 days after service, if that ends later. A sale inside that window can still close, with the heirs waiting longer for their shares.

What does a Florida probate attorney do in a Palm Beach County case?

A Florida probate attorney prepares and signs the petitions, completes each checklist, and answers questions from court staff. Formal administration in this circuit requires one unless the petitioner is the sole beneficiary.

The circuit's formal administration checklist says a petitioner may file pro se only as the sole beneficiary, citing Florida Probate Rule 5.030. The same checklist expects the petition to be verified, signed by the petitioner, and signed by an attorney of record. When a lawyer represents the petitioner, only the lawyer completes the checklist's certification.

The attorney can also tell the family whether the will grants a power of sale, which decides whether a petition to sell is needed at all. Propcash is a buyer, not a law firm.

An heir who lives in another state

Living outside Florida does not always rule someone out as personal representative. Under Fla. Stat. § 733.304, a nonresident can serve when closely related to the owner, such as a child, a sibling, or a parent. The formal checklist asks the petition to show that relationship when the petitioner is not a Florida resident.

What if the family house sits in a West Palm Beach historic district?

A historic designation does not block a probate sale, but it shapes what the next owner can change.

Inside the city limits, a Certificate of Appropriateness is required for work that changes a house's exterior, and interior remodeling is not reviewed (City of West Palm Beach Historic Preservation FAQs, November 2026). Demolishing a designated or district building needs Historic Preservation Board approval. The City's FAQ adds that contributing buildings "are generally not approved for demolition."

A house with a West Palm Beach mailing address outside the city limits follows Palm Beach County rules instead. Our guide to selling a historic house in West Palm Beach covers design review in more depth.

How can Propcash help heirs selling a West Palm Beach house?

Propcash can buy an inherited West Palm Beach house as-is, for cash, with the closing set for when the person with authority can sign. As a direct cash homebuyer, we make one offer based on local market data and show how we got to our number. No repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout: take what you want, leave the rest.

There's no obligation, our offer doesn't expire while the Fifteenth Circuit case moves, and you pay no fees or commissions. If a cash sale is not the right fit, we will say so. When the family is ready, you can get a no-obligation cash offer, read about selling an inherited house as-is, or visit our West Palm Beach cash house buyer page.