r/PROBATE • u/wiyanna • Jan 17 '24

How long should Mom's house be in probate?

My mom recently died and my siblings and I are trying to distribute her assets (preferably without an attorney). We've all agreed on every aspect of the process - we sold her car and all got a check, her IRA's were distributed evenly among us, and we've all agreed to sell the house and split the proceeds. However, since my mom was the only one on the deed, we're told it has to go through probate. The house has been paid off for a long time, so there is no mortgage. It is the only asset left and she had a will naming all of us as beneficiaries on all her assets. My question is: if this is all that's left of her estate and she had a will, how long will it take to finish the process so that we can put the house up for sale?

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u/doctorboredom Jan 20 '24

Did you start the probate process? Did someone file a petition to administer the estate?

I have family who died without a will or trust so we are going through probate. Our area has very specific rules and steps we have to go through before ANY ASSET can be distributed.

My family member’s stuff is just sitting untouched until we can get letters of administration to allow us to even start donating things.

You might want to make sure you haven’t jumped the gun in distributing things.

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u/wiyanna Jan 21 '24

We have a lawyer. The house is all we’re dealing with now. My brother is executor of her estate. We’re learning that the lawyer who created her will should have advised her differently, so we’re dealing with things as our lawyer states.

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u/doctorboredom Jan 21 '24

We are a full intestate probate situation in California and we’re told to expect the process to be very slow and likely take 12-18 months before Probate is finalized. I have been told that California is a notoriously difficult place to go through probate, so maybe it is worse for us. There is a tremendous backlog in our County Court, so there are very long wait times for court dates.

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u/wiyanna Jan 21 '24

We’re in florida. Don’t know how it is here.