What Happens to the Homestead Exemption When the Owner Dies?
The homestead exemption belongs to the person who qualified for it, not to the house. It renews automatically each year while the owner is alive, but it does not ride along to the next owner. When the person who held it dies, the exemption should not simply carry into the next tax year, and the office of Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks asks owners to report exactly this kind of change in status.
Here is what that means for you. If the property is now your permanent residence, file your own application with the Property Appraiser's exemption office. You must own and live in the home as of January 1, and the application is due by March 1 of the year you want the benefit; under Florida law, missing March 1 generally waives the exemption for that year. You can e-file online, visit a service center, or mail the form. The exemption removes $25,000 from the first $50,000 of assessed value, a second exemption applies automatically on higher-value homes, and qualifying caps how fast the assessed value can climb each year.
One more piece is worth knowing. If you sold your own Florida homestead to move into the inherited house, portability lets you bring up to $500,000 of the tax benefit you built up at your old home to the new one. You apply for it together with the new homestead application, and you must establish the new homestead by January 1 of the third year after leaving the old one. It moves your own benefit, not the benefit of the person you inherited from.
Florida homestead also has a second life at death that has nothing to do with taxes. The state constitution restricts who a homestead can be left to and protects it from most creditors. That side of homestead decides who actually owns the house now, and it surprises families constantly. How Florida homestead law works →
How Do Property Taxes and the TRIM Notice Work?
Property taxes keep running while the estate is sorted out, and the Palm Beach County Tax Collector is the office that collects them. Bills go out by November 1 and are payable through March 31, with a discount for paying early, 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January, 1% in February. On April 1 the taxes become delinquent, penalties and interest attach, and continued nonpayment can lead to a tax certificate sold against the property, the first step in the process that ends with losing it. If you are the personal representative or trustee, pay the bill from estate or trust funds and keep the receipt; it is a legitimate expense of administration.
The tax season actually starts earlier, in August, when the Property Appraiser mails the TRIM notice (the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes). It is not a bill. It shows the property's new market, assessed, and taxable values and the tax rates each local authority proposes. Read it, because this is your one window to push back. If the value looks wrong, call the Property Appraiser for an informal review, and if that does not resolve it, file a petition with the Value Adjustment Board, which the Clerk and Comptroller administers independently of the Property Appraiser. The petition deadline is the 25th day after the TRIM notice is mailed (September 14 for 2026), and the filing fee is modest, up to $20.
Watch for this on inherited property in particular. The low tax bill you remember may have depended on the prior owner's exemptions and caps. When those end, the TRIM notice is where the new, higher numbers first appear. Do not let it go to the house unread.
Where Are Deeds Recorded and How Do You Check the Title?
Every deed, mortgage, lien, and satisfaction affecting Palm Beach County real estate is recorded with the Recording Department of the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. Documents can be e-recorded through an approved vendor (your attorney or title company does this routinely), mailed, or brought in person to the Main Courthouse at 205 North Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach or to the South County, North County, West County, or Royal Palm Beach locations. Recording costs are set by state law and are small, $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page, plus documentary stamp tax when a deed transfers for value.
To see what is already on record, search the Official Records online. Uncertified copies of most documents print for free, and certified copies can be ordered online and arrive by email. This is how you answer the questions every new owner should ask early. Which deed put the property in the decedent's name? Is there a mortgage still open? Are there liens nobody has told you about?
While you are there, take two minutes to sign up for the Clerk's free Property Fraud Alert. It emails you whenever a document is recorded in the county's Official Records matching the name, address, or parcel number you register. Vacant inherited houses are a favorite target for deed fraud, and an early alert gives you time to act while the damage can still be limited.
Can Code Enforcement Fine an Inherited House?
Yes, and this is the trap that catches more estates than any other item in this guide. A house sitting empty while probate winds through court still has a lawn that grows, a pool that turns green, and windows that get broken. Code enforcement cites the property, not the probate file, and the fines do not wait for the estate to close.
If the property is in unincorporated Palm Beach County, the enforcing office is the Code Compliance Division of the Planning, Zoning and Building Department (2300 North Jog Road, 2nd Floor, West Palm Beach; 561-233-5500; [email protected]). Contested cases go to a Code Enforcement Special Magistrate, an attorney who hears cases at the Planning, Zoning and Building offices, typically the first Wednesday of each month. The magistrate can order compliance by a deadline and impose fines of up to $1,000 per day for a first violation and up to $5,000 per day for a repeat violation for each day the violation continues, and can lien the property when it is not corrected in time. Those numbers are per day. A neglected vacant house can quietly build a five-figure or six-figure lien while the family argues over the will.
Inside a city, the city enforces its own code. For the two we are asked about most, West Palm Beach runs Code Enforcement from City Hall at 401 Clematis Street (561-822-1465), and Boca Raton's Code Enforcement takes reports through the city's Report a Concern system (561-393-7934). One statewide wrinkle is worth knowing. Since 2021, a code inspector generally may not open an investigation from an anonymous complaint, so complainants must give a name and address unless the violation is an imminent threat.
If you just took responsibility for a Palm Beach County property, do two things this week. First, physically stabilize it, with the lawn cut, the pool serviced, and the doors and windows secured. Second, find out what is already pending. For unincorporated properties, the county sells an open violation and lien search through its PZB portal ($50 for a code violation search, $63 for a fine and lien search), and the Official Records search above shows recorded liens for free. A lien you find early is a negotiation; a lien you find at closing is a crisis.
Inherited a property with a problem attached?
Code liens, unpaid taxes, a title that is still in the decedent's name. These are fixable, and fixing them early is far cheaper. In a free 30-minute consult we will map out what the property needs, in what order.
Book your free consultHow Do You Follow the County Commission?
Rezonings near your street, special assessments, code amendments, budget and millage decisions. The property-relevant business of the county runs through the Board of County Commissioners, and it is easy to follow once you know where to look. The county posts each meeting's agenda on its own website as a PDF before the meeting, with an archive of past agendas in PDF and HTML and the official minutes kept by the Clerk and Comptroller. There is no third-party agenda portal to learn; it is all on the county site, and the Agenda Coordinator (561-355-3229) can help you find an item.
Meetings are held in the Commission Chambers on the 6th floor of the Robert Weisman Governmental Center, 301 North Olive Avenue in West Palm Beach, and you do not have to attend in person, because meetings are broadcast live on PBC TV Channel 20 and streamed on the county's YouTube channel, with archived video on demand.
To find out who represents the property, enter its address in the county's Neighborhood Information Dashboard; it returns the commission district and commissioner along with state and federal representatives. Each district office publishes its own newsletter you can join from the commissioner's page, which is the practical way to hear about items affecting your area before they are decided.
Where Do You Look Up Ordinances and Zoning?
What you can build, rent, park, or store on a property is written in two places, the code of ordinances and the zoning map. Palm Beach County's Code of Ordinances is published online at Municode, and so are the codes for West Palm Beach and Boca Raton; most of the county's other cities publish there too. Unincorporated properties are also governed by the county's Unified Land Development Code.
For the zoning itself, start with the address search in the Neighborhood Information Dashboard, which returns the zoning and land use designation along with flood zone and utility details. For anything beyond a quick lookup on an unincorporated property, the Zoning Division (2300 North Jog Road; 561-233-5000) answers public questions through its Zoning On Call staff and publishes the interactive myGeoNav map. If the property sits inside a city, that city's planning and zoning department is the right desk. Here is why this matters to an heir. Zoning decides whether the house can become a rental, whether a lot can be split among siblings, and what a buyer's lender will ask about, so check it before you promise anyone anything.
What If the House Still Has to Go Through Probate?
Everything above assumes you can act for the property. Whether you actually can depends on the deed. If the owner held title in their sole name, the house generally cannot be sold, refinanced, or retitled until a probate case moves it, and in Palm Beach County that case runs through the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which seats probate divisions at the Main Courthouse in West Palm Beach, the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach, and the North County Courthouse in Palm Beach Gardens. Two mechanics are worth knowing at the start. Florida law gives whoever is holding the original will 10 days after learning of the death to deposit it with the Clerk's probate department (there is no fee for the deposit), and the original will cannot be e-filed; it goes in by hand delivery or mail, while the death certificate can be e-filed.
If the deed was a lady bird deed, or the house was owned by a living trust or held jointly with survivorship rights, the picture is completely different. The property passes outside probate, and the work is recording a death certificate with supporting documents so the title is clean in the new owner's name. And if the house was the owner's homestead, Florida's constitutional rules can override what the will says about who gets it, which is exactly the kind of thing to confirm before anyone lists the property. What to do when you inherit a house in Florida →
This is the work we do every day, remotely, for families in Palm Beach County and across the state. We read the deed, tell you whether probate is required, and quote the fee up front, with probate handled for a posted flat fee and simple fixes like a $399 lady bird deed for the next generation so your own family never repeats this process. See our Palm Beach County probate page, or the West Palm Beach and Boca Raton guides for the courthouse details near you, and the full price list for every fee in writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Have to Reapply for the Homestead Exemption on a House I Inherited?
Yes, if you live there. The homestead exemption belonged to the person who died and does not transfer with the house. If the property is now your permanent residence as of January 1, file your own application with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year you want the benefit. You can e-file at pbcpao.gov. If you sold your own Florida homestead to move in, ask about portability at the same time; it can carry up to $500,000 of your accumulated tax benefit to the new home.
Who Pays the Property Taxes While the Estate Is Still Open?
The taxes do not pause for probate. The Palm Beach County Tax Collector mails bills by November 1, payable through March 31, with discounts of 4% in November down to 1% in February. On April 1 the taxes go delinquent and interest and penalties start, and prolonged nonpayment can lead to a tax certificate sale against the property. The estate or trust normally pays the bill from its funds; keep the receipt, because it is a proper estate expense.
How Do I Get a Copy of the Deed to a Palm Beach County Property?
Search the Official Records on the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller website. You can print uncertified copies of most recorded documents for free, and order certified copies online for a small charge. You will find the deed fastest with the parcel control number from the Property Appraiser site or the owner name. The recording stamp in the top right corner of any recorded document gives you its book and page number.
Can Code Enforcement Fine a House That Sits Empty During Probate?
Yes. Code enforcement does not wait for the estate to close. In unincorporated Palm Beach County, the Code Compliance Division cites violations like overgrowth, stagnant pools, and unsecured structures, and a special magistrate can impose fines of up to $1,000 per day for a first violation and up to $5,000 per day for a repeat violation, which become liens if unpaid. Cities such as West Palm Beach and Boca Raton run their own programs. If you just took over a vacant property, get the lawn, pool, and locks handled first and check for open cases.
How Do I Find Out What a Palm Beach County Property Is Zoned?
Enter the address in the county Neighborhood Information Dashboard at pbc.gov/neighborhood; it returns the zoning, land use, commission district, flood zone, and more in one search. For unincorporated properties, the Planning, Zoning and Building Zoning Division answers questions through its Zoning On Call staff and publishes the interactive myGeoNav map. If the property sits inside a city, that city Planning department is the right desk.
Does an Inherited House in Palm Beach County Have to Go Through Probate?
It depends entirely on how the deed was written. If the owner held title in their sole name, the house generally must pass through probate before anyone can sell or refinance it. If the deed was a lady bird deed, or the house was owned by a living trust or jointly with survivorship rights, it passes outside probate and the fix is usually recording a death certificate and a few supporting documents. Reading the deed is the first thing we do at a consult.
Common Situations
The out-of-state personal representative and the green pool. A son in New Jersey became personal representative of his father's estate, including a vacant house near Lake Worth. By the time a neighbor called him, the county had an open case over the overgrown yard and stagnant pool, with a magistrate hearing on the calendar. He hired a lawn and pool service the same week, documented the cleanup, and the case resolved at compliance instead of compounding daily. The lesson he passes along is simple. Stabilize the property first, then grieve, then probate.
The daughter who almost missed March 1. A Boynton Beach woman moved into her late mother's home in the fall and assumed the low tax bill came with the house. It did not; the exemption and caps were her mother's. She filed her own homestead application in February, days before the deadline, and ported the benefit from the Broward home she sold, keeping the assessment from resetting against her.
The empty house and the fraud alert. A trustee managing her aunt's Palm Beach Gardens house from Miami worried about deed fraud on a property that would sit empty for a year. She registered the parcel with the Clerk's free Property Fraud Alert, deposited the original will with the probate department inside the 10-day window, and let the alerts stand guard while the trust administration ran its course.
Sources of Law and Official Records
- Local code enforcement, special magistrates, daily fines, and code liens operate under Fla. Stat. ch. 162 (Online Sunshine, retrieved 2026-08-12), including the 2021 limit on anonymous complaints. Recording fees are set by Fla. Stat. §28.24; the 10-day deposit of an original will is Fla. Stat. §732.901.
- Palm Beach County Property Appraiser: homestead exemption, portability, TRIM notice, and Value Adjustment Board petitions (all retrieved 2026-08-12). Palm Beach County Tax Collector: property taxes (retrieved 2026-08-12).
- Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller: Recording, Official Records, Property Fraud Alert, and Probate of Estates. The Clerk's site blocks automated retrieval, so these pages were verified through Wayback Machine snapshots of 2026-04-19, 2026-06-28, 2026-08-05, and 2026-01-06 respectively (all retrieved 2026-08-12); the links point to the live official pages.
- Palm Beach County: Code Compliance Division, Code Enforcement Special Magistrate, violation and lien searches, Zoning Division, BCC agendas, BCC meetings and broadcasts, and the Neighborhood Information Dashboard (all retrieved 2026-08-12).
- City code enforcement: West Palm Beach Code Enforcement (the city's site blocks automated retrieval; verified through Wayback Machine snapshots of 2026-02-07 and 2025-12-02, retrieved 2026-08-12) and Boca Raton Code Enforcement (retrieved 2026-08-12). Codes of ordinances on Municode: Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton (availability confirmed 2026-08-12).
- Government contacts, fees, deadlines, and office procedures change; confirm current details with the office before relying on them.
Updated on August 12, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Palm Beach County offices and Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. What the property needs depends on your specific facts, which we confirm at a free consult.