One of the most common questions we receive from realtors, clients, and just about everyone, is how long does the probate process take. Generally, we have to give the following answer: it depends. I know, I know.. that answer is annoying. Most of us like certainty and we want something that is concrete. Trust me, even I am annoyed that I have to say, “it depends.” It would be much easier for me to tell prospective clients and referral sources that I can get the probate done in 30 days, no questions asked. However, I have this thing called a conscious that won’t let me knowingly lie and hence I must respond with, “it depends.” That being said, my conscious aside, in probate there are truthfully so many different variables that we really must give a range.

 
So, what I want to do here is give you all some accurate timelines that you can use. This way, you can judge for yourself how long you think the probate will take and can share that information with your clients. Also, if you happen to have a client that is shopping for probate attorneys and one attorney tells your client (or you) that they can do the probate in 10 days, your spidey senses should go off. It’s just not possible. Yes it sounds good and your client will be thrilled that this can happen so quickly. Unfortunately, they are going to be extremely pissed off at the attorney, and probably you, when that turns out to be off by several months. So, let me give you some truthful and accurate numbers.
 
Important Distinction: Let me first start by saying that the length of the probate and how long before you can sell/buy a property in probate are two different things. You will likely be able to sell/buy the property much sooner than the actual end of the probate. The probate proceeding will probably still be going on after you have received your commission check. I just want to make that distinction because the probate could itself take 6 months, but you may be able to sell the property in 2 months.

 

 
You need to find out when the person who owns the property died. Specifically, did they die over two year ago?
 
Scenario Number 1: The person died less than 2-years ago
 
If the person died less than 2-years ago, Florida law requires that a Notice to Creditors be filed in the probate case. A Notice to Creditors is a document, which is published in a local newspaper and basically lets the world know that a probate has been opened and that anybody who believes that the person who just died owes them money, needs to file a claim in the probate case. The most common creditors are hospitals and credit card companies.
 
Once the Notice to Creditors is filed, anyone who believes they are owed money has 3-months to file the proper documents in the probate case. Once that 3-month window is up, creditors are not allowed to make any claim against the estate. Even if they are actually owed money, if they don’t file their claim during those 3-months, they are out of luck.
 
So, why is this important to you and your client? Almost without exception, you cannot sell or purchase a property during that 3-month period. The seller or the buyer will have to wait until those three months are up before you can actually close. There may be some exceptions, but, this is pretty much the norm.
 
Here is a pretty accurate timeline:

(Note – this is from when the probate case is actually opened)

 
Month 1 – The court appoints a Personal Representative (takes between 30-45 days on average)
 
Month 2 – Notice to Creditors is filed. Mandatory Creditor Period
 
Month 3 – Mandatory Creditor Period
 
Month 4 – Mandatory Creditor Period
 
Month 5 – You can sell/buy the property!
 
Is this perfect? No. You may be able to get the Personal Representative appointed a little sooner but 9.5 times out of 10, if the person died within 2 years of you opening the probate, this will be how long before you can sell the property. If any attorney tells you otherwise, I would run away and fast.
 
**Exceptions
-Yes, there are always exceptions. Sometimes, the judge will allow you to sell the property during that 3-month creditor period. However, this is not the norm and really depends on the county where the property is located and who the judge is. Should the attorney try and get the sale approved and transfer title prior to the 3-month creditor period? Yes and No. I can tell you that there are judges who without a doubt will not let the property be sold until those 3-months are up. It would be a waste of time and money to even try. This is why I like to tell my clients and referral sources, if the person died within 2-years of the probate being open, most likely the property cannot be sold or bought for about 4-5 months after the probate is opened. But, it also depends…
 
Scenario Number 2: The person died more than 2-years ago
 
If the person died over two years prior to the probate being opened, we do not have to deal with the 3-month creditor period. So, the timeline would look like this:

 

(Note – this is from when the probate case is actually opened)

 
Month 1- The court appoints a Personal Representative (takes between 30-45 days on average)
 
Month 2 – You can sell/buy the property!

 
I always tell realtors that giving a time-frame for when you can sell/buy a property in probate is similar to you giving a time-frame on when the closing will occur. It honestly depends. You take a look at the facts and then based on your experience dealing with similar situations you give a reasonable estimate. However, there are many things that can happen and so your time-frame may not be perfect.
 
I hope this article gives you an idea of what to expect and some key things to look for so that you can give your client’s a reasonable time-frame and also help manage their expectations from the outset. Please, please, please do not tell the client what they want to hear just so that they are happy. I get calls all the time from potential clients who tell me that “another attorney they spoke with” told them that they could get the property sold in 15-30 days (or sooner!!). I’m not sure who these “other attorneys" are but I can almost guarantee that if they are in fact giving those unrealistic and frankly impossible estimates, then I bet they have a lot of pissed off clients.
 
My experience has been that a client would much rather be told the honest truth and frustrated at the situation rather than lied to and pissed off.
 
Hopefully this has been helpful. As always, we are here to help and answer any of your probate related questions. We are always putting out new content on either our website or social media platforms. Please follow us on FACEBOOK or visit us at PROBATE FIRM. 
 
Thank you again and good luck out there!

To your continued success,

Justin Stivers, Owner

The Probate Law Firm - www.probatefirm.com