Probate Real Estate Lead FAQ

1. What is probate real estate?

Probate real estate is property owned by a deceased person whose estate is being administered through the probate court process. The property is part of the estate's assets; the court-appointed personal representative (executor with a will, administrator without) has legal authority to sell during the probate period.

2. Who has authority to sell a probate property?

The personal representative named in Letters Testamentary (executor, if there's a valid will) or Letters of Administration (administrator, if intestate). Until the court issues those Letters, no one has authority to sell. The named heirs in the will do not have authority on their own; the personal representative signs the sale documents on behalf of the estate.

3. How long does probate take?

Varies by state and case complexity:

• Indiana: 5-9 months unsupervised, 9-18 months supervised
• Pennsylvania: 9-18 months typical
• New Jersey: 12-18 months
• North Carolina: 12-24 months
• Connecticut: 9-18 months

Estates with disputes, missing heirs, large debt loads, or contested wills run longer.

4. Can I buy a probate property before the estate closes?

Yes — during the administration period after Letters issue but before final distribution. The personal representative signs the sale on behalf of the estate. Some states require court approval for property sales in supervised administration; others allow the personal representative to sell without specific court order under their fiduciary authority. The sale typically can't close until the creditor-notice window has run (so claims against the estate are quantified), but offers can be negotiated and contracts can be signed during the administration.

5. What's the creditor claim window?

Each state requires the estate to publish notice to creditors with a statutory window for creditors to file claims against the estate:

• Indiana: 3 months
• Pennsylvania: 1 year from death
• New Jersey: 9 months after Letters issue
• North Carolina: 90 days after publication
• Connecticut: 5 months

The estate typically cannot finalize a property sale that clears title until the creditor window has run and claims are quantified.

6. What's pre-probate?

The window between a homeowner's death and the formal opening of a probate case in court. Typically 30 to 90 days. During that window the property has no listing, no probate paperwork yet, and the family has not engaged a real estate agent. Pre-probate leads are identified by cross-matching newspaper obituaries against the county tax assessor to find decedents who owned real property. The earliest signal in the death-to-sale lifecycle.

7. Does the property go through probate if it was jointly owned?

Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS) passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant on death — outside of probate. Property held as tenants in common (TIC) passes through the decedent's estate via probate. Property held in a revocable living trust passes via the trust's terms, not through probate. So joint-ownership status determines whether you'll see the property in probate court at all.

8. What's intestate vs testate?

Testate = the decedent had a valid will. The court issues Letters Testamentary to the executor named in the will.

Intestate = no valid will. The court issues Letters of Administration to an administrator (usually a close family member).

Intestate estates often have more heirs in disagreement because there's no document specifying who gets what, which can accelerate the heirs' decision to sell the home and divide proceeds.

9. What's a small-estate affidavit?

Most states allow small estates (below a statutory threshold) to be administered via a simplified affidavit procedure instead of formal probate:

• Indiana: $100,000 (raised in 2022)
• Pennsylvania: $50,000
• New Jersey: $50,000 with surviving spouse
• North Carolina: $20,000 ($30,000 with spouse)
• Connecticut: $40,000

Estates qualifying for small-estate procedure may not appear in our probate court tracking because there's no formal probate filing — they pass via affidavit between family members.

10. Should I wait until probate closes before making an offer?

No. The administration period (after Letters issue, before final distribution) is the actual investor window. Heirs and the personal representative are making decisions about the property during this time. Once probate closes, the property is either retained by heirs (now an inherited-property lead, different mechanic) or has been sold. Waiting for probate to close means missing the window.

11. How do I approach probate heirs respectfully?

Wait at least 30 days post-filing. Use mail, not phone. Address the personal representative by name, not the decedent. Don't reference the death in the first contact — focus on the property and offer. Acknowledge the family's situation without dwelling on it. Most experienced investors find that empathy + business clarity converts better than either pure-business-cold or pure-sympathy approaches.

12. What's the difference between probate real estate and inherited property?

Probate real estate is sold during the probate process by the personal representative on behalf of the estate.

Inherited property is property that has already passed to heirs via probate (or via joint tenancy / trust) and is now owned by them as individuals.

Probate sale = court-supervised sale during administration. Inherited sale = ordinary owner-of-record sale by the heir after they've taken title. Different points in the lifecycle; both are workable investor lead types.