7 Tips for Executors Tasked With a Difficult Job: Selling the House

Whether the deceased is your dearly departed loved one, or you’re simply a court-appointed personal representative, the weight of fulfilling someone’s final wishes during probate is a heavy load to carry.

Add in the complexity of selling a house during the process and honoring those last requests can feel impossible.

While the probate process varies from state to state, there are ways to simplify the process no matter where you live. So, how does an executor sell a house? Follow these 7 tips for a smooth road to closing.

1. File the will with the probate court

In most states, probate laws dictate that the decedent’s will must be filed with the probate court within one to four months of the date of death.

If you don’t file within the period mandated by your state, you’re in violation of the law and the court may refuse to appoint you as the estate executor.

That’s why all executors should file the will with the probate court within the state’s time frame — regardless of whether the estate will need to go through probate.

Let’s say you don’t file the will because you believe the estate is too small to require probate. Then, months later you discover that appreciating assets (like the house) have increased the estate’s value so that it now requires probate.

If you didn’t file the will with the court by the state-dictated timeline, then you’ve created a bunch of legal headaches for yourself.

2. Take control of the probate timeline

Once you file that document, the probate timeline kicks into gear, whether you’re ready or not.

And with all of the rules, regulations, and deadlines involved in the probate process, many executors feel rushed and overwhelmed — with little time to gather all the necessary documents, forms, and paperwork.

Luckily, that timeline isn’t always set in stone.

“There can be rules or guidelines for when a will is supposed to be filed in the probate court, but most people don’t have a will so that’s often irrelevant,” explains Sacramento-based probate attorney John Palley, who has been awarded Martindale-Hubbell’s prestigious “AV” peer review rating.

“Typically, the clients are in charge of when we file for probate, so we don’t have to start it today.”

While you can give yourself a little breathing room of a few weeks before filing the will — and even more if there’s no will to file — you don’t want to wait too long, or you’ll unnecessarily delay the lengthy, often year-long timeline.

“Filing the will with the court triggers many other things during the probate process, including when they’ll be able to sell the house, access the bank accounts, sell the car, and do all of those types of things,” Palley says.

“So, the sooner you start, the sooner you’re in control to finish the process and move on with life.”