Inheriting a house in Monroe County is the easy part. Selling it means clearing title through the Monroe County Clerk of Court in Key West, getting every heir signed or represented, and knowing that here the seller customarily pays for the owner's title policy, so it comes out of the estate. Here is what that actually takes, and what the estate nets.
- Probate for a Monroe County resident is filed with the Monroe County Clerk of Court in Key West, and the deed records with the same office.
- The seller customarily pays for the owner's title policy, so it comes out of the estate. That single custom moves the estate's net by thousands.
- If the owner died more than two years ago, creditor claims are barred and a summary administration is available regardless of the estate's size — usually the fastest route.
- Florida has no inheritance tax and no estate tax, and an heir's cost basis resets to the value on the date of death.
- Heirs do not have to travel. We close these files by remote online notarization or mail-away.
Where Probate Is Filed in Monroe County
Three offices in Key West touch an inherited Monroe County house, and heirs routinely send paperwork to the wrong one. Probate is opened with the Monroe County Clerk of Court in Key West, which is the office that appoints a personal representative and issues letters of administration. The Monroe County Property Appraiser holds the exemption and any agricultural classification, and is the office that will end the decedent's homestead exemption once the death is recorded. And the deed itself records back with the clerk's official records division, which is where the chain of title lives.
One practical note that saves weeks: probate is filed where the decedent lived, not necessarily where the house sits. If the owner lived in Monroe County, that is Key West. If they lived out of state and owned this Monroe County property, Florida requires an ancillary administration filed here in addition to whatever is happening in their home state. We confirm which situation applies before the file opens rather than after a contract is signed.
What the Estate Nets in Monroe County
Heirs almost never ask what the house is worth. They ask what is left after everything, and how it splits. This runs Monroe County's actual numbers — its documentary stamp rate and its title insurance custom — and divides the result.
A worked example. Take a $1,000,000 sale, roughly the middle of what we close in Monroe County. Across the Monroe County markets we close in, values run from about $800,000 in Key Largo to $1,000,000 in Key West. Documentary stamps on the deed run $7,000 at Monroe County's $0.70 per $100, the $5,075 owner's policy comes out of the estate, and deed recording is about $19. Before any commission, mortgage payoff or estoppel, that leaves roughly $987,906 for the estate — about $329,302 each if three heirs split it. Change any of those inputs in the calculator above.
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Before anyone lists an inherited Monroe County house, someone has to read the deed. Titled jointly with right of survivorship, or between spouses as tenants by the entireties, and the surviving owner already has it. Titled to a funded trust, and the successor trustee has authority. Subject to a Lady Bird deed, and title vested in the beneficiaries at death without probate.
If the deed named only the person who died, the Monroe County Clerk of Court in Key West has to be involved. Which proceeding depends on how long ago that was. After two years, creditor claims are barred by section 733.710 and summary administration is on the table at any value. Before two years, summary administration means an estate under $75,000 excluding exempt property; otherwise it is a formal administration with a creditor period that has to run.
Homestead status changes the analysis, so we check it first. Florida homestead descends to constitutionally designated heirs outside the probate estate and carries creditor protection with it — and, depending on who survives, may not be sellable by a personal representative without the court's blessing. Nobody should sign a listing agreement on a homestead before that is answered.
What the Sale Costs in Monroe County
Documentary stamps on the deed run $0.70 per $100 of the sale price, which Florida charges on every conveyance whether or not anyone made money on it. On a $400,000 sale that is roughly $2,800, and it comes off the top of the estate's proceeds.
The bigger variable is the owner's title policy, and it is a county custom rather than a rule. In Monroe County the seller customarily pays, which on an estate sale means it comes out of the heirs' proceeds. The premium is promulgated by the state, so it is identical at every title company in Florida — nobody is cheaper. What is negotiable is who pays it, and on an inherited sale with a motivated buyer that is worth raising in the contract.
Recording the deed is small and fixed: $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each page after, statewide. Everything else on an estate closing — the payoff of any mortgage the decedent still carried, the HOA or condo estoppel, unpaid code enforcement or utility liens on a house that sat empty — varies by file, which is why the calculator above takes them as inputs rather than guessing.
The Tax Question Most Heirs Get Wrong
The single most common fear we hear is that selling will trigger a large tax bill. For most heirs it does not, and the reason is worth understanding before anyone makes a decision out of fear.
Florida has no inheritance tax and no estate tax. The state's estate tax was tied to a federal credit that no longer exists, so it has been zero for people who died after 2004. The only death tax that can apply is the federal estate tax, and the federal exemption is high enough that it reaches a very small number of estates.
The cost basis resets at death. Under IRC §1014 an heir's basis in inherited property is its fair market value on the date of death, not what the decedent paid for it. A house bought for $60,000 in 1978 and worth $400,000 at death has a $400,000 basis in the heirs' hands. Sell near that value and the taxable gain is close to nothing, no matter how much the property appreciated during the owner's lifetime.
And the sale is automatically long-term. Under IRC §1223(9) inherited property is treated as held long-term regardless of how quickly the heirs sell, so a sale three months after the death cannot be taxed as short-term ordinary income.
Two things follow. Get a defensible date-of-death value — a retroactive appraisal if no appraisal exists — because that number is the basis, and a guess is not a basis. And take the tax question to a CPA rather than to a title company: we handle title, escrow and closing, and we will make sure your closing statement gives your CPA the figures they ask for, but the return is theirs to prepare.
What We Do on an Inherited Monroe County File
We search deeper on an estate file than on an ordinary purchase, because the defects here come from decades rather than from the last transaction: a first spouse never removed of record, an ancient mortgage with no recorded satisfaction, a judgment against a name close enough to snag the search, liens that quietly attached to an empty house. Each is curable, and each is cheapest at the start.
And we bring the probate attorney in early. Whatever the Monroe County Clerk of Court in Key West signs has to satisfy a title underwriter, and drafting with that in mind the first time is far better than discovering at the commitment stage that the order needs amending.
Because a vacant inherited home is the most common deed-fraud target in Florida, we treat every one of these files as exposed: identity verified against the probate record and the recorded chain, wire instructions confirmed by an outbound call to an independently obtained number, and proceeds disbursed only where the file supports it. We wrote up the pattern in deed fraud on inherited and vacant homes.
And where one heir will not move, counsel and we look at the personal representative's power of sale or a partition action instead of letting the file stall.
Related Reading
Selling Inherited Property in Florida
Probate, Lady Bird deeds, and what it takes to give a buyer clear title.
When the Heirs Don't Agree
A buyout, the personal representative's power of sale, or partition. What each one costs.
Removing a Deceased Owner From a Florida Deed
What actually clears a dead owner off title, and what a death certificate alone does not do.
Cities We Close In Across Monroe County
We close inherited-property files everywhere in Monroe County. The probate answer is the same countywide — it runs through the Monroe County Clerk of Court in Key West — but closing costs and millage differ by city, and these pages carry the local numbers.
Title and closing services by city: Key Largo, Key West, Marathon.
Closing cost calculators by city: Islamorada, Key Colony Beach, Key Largo, Key West, Layton, Marathon.
Statewide, our guide to selling inherited Florida property covers the paths that avoid probate entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I file probate for a Monroe County house?
With the Monroe County Clerk of Court in Key West, if the person who died lived in Monroe County. If they lived in another state and only owned Florida property, an ancillary administration is filed here instead. Deeds for a Monroe County property record with the same clerk's office, and we e-record on closing day.
Who pays for title insurance on an inherited Monroe County sale?
In Monroe County the seller customarily pays for the owner's policy, which means it comes out of the estate's proceeds. It is negotiable, and on an estate sale it is worth negotiating.
Does Florida charge an inheritance tax or an estate tax?
No. Florida has no inheritance tax and no estate tax. The only death tax that can apply is the federal estate tax, and the federal exemption is high enough that it reaches very few estates. Confirm your own situation with a CPA.
How long does the whole thing take?
It depends on the path. If the owner died more than two years ago, creditor claims are barred and a summary administration can be finished in weeks. A formal administration usually runs several months because of the creditor notice period. A Lady Bird deed or a properly funded trust skips probate entirely.
Do the heirs have to come to Florida to close?
No. Florida allows remote online notarization, and we also close by mail-away. Most inherited-property files we handle have heirs in another state, and nobody flies down to sign.