Journey Into Selling Probate Property — A Guide for Families and Heirs

THE PROBATE LAB · NATIONAL EDITION

The problem

On a $500,000 estate, that’s $10,000 to $35,000 gone before the heirs see a dollar.1 In some states, the attorney and the executor are each paid a set percentage of the estate by law.2 Most families don’t know any of this until the fees are already running.

What this book solves

Probate is sometimes unavoidable. Often there’s a faster, cheaper path, and this book shows you how to recognize it. It tells you what happens next, what the estate can expect, and how to tell a professional who knows the work from one learning it on your family’s estate.

Planning ahead for a parent

If you have an aging parent who owns a home, the cheapest time to fix this is while they’re still here. More than 30 states now let an owner record a transfer-on-death deed that names who gets the house, so it passes without probate and without a trust.3 The owner keeps full control while alive and can change or revoke it anytime.3 The book shows how it works, what makes one fail, and when a trust is still the better tool.

An attorney-drafted living trust typically runs $1,500 to $3,000 for one person and $2,500 to $5,000 or more for a couple, plus $150 to $400 per property to deed the house into it.4 Probate on a $500,000 estate can take $10,000 to $35,000.1 The book costs $29. Spent before the decisions are made, it can be the difference between paying tens of thousands and keeping them in the family.

What would it mean for your family to handle that this month instead of after the funeral?

If one conversation with an attorney could go differently because you walked in already knowing what to ask, what would that be worth to your family?

Get the Guide — $29

Probate can take 3% to 8% of what your family inherits. What would it be worth to know which questions keep that money in the family before anyone files anything?1

Journey Into Selling Probate Property — the plain-English guide to how to sell an inherited house, for families in all 50 states. $29.

Get the Guide — $29

Nobody teaches you this until you need it. Then everything happens at once. The bank won’t talk to you, relatives have opinions, and letters from “cash buyers” fill the mailbox. You don’t know who’s allowed to sign anything.

This guide explains it in the order you’ll face it, written by a broker who has worked more than 700 probate and trust transactions.

What you’ll learn

  1. How to read the title and know right away who can sign
  2. What happens when a spouse, a co-owner, a transfer-on-death deed or a trust is involved
  3. Why a will doesn’t give anyone the power to sell, and why a power of attorney ends at death
  4. The small-estate shortcuts that can skip full probate, and how they differ by state
  5. How a probate sale actually works, including when a judge has to approve it and when other buyers can outbid yours
  6. What to do if the house is headed for foreclosure or has tenants in it

Who wrote it

Deric Rangell has been in real estate for more than 35 years. His 700-plus probate and trust transactions come from his own sales, his mortgage loan production, and his years as broker-owner of a multi-office RE/MAX. He has more than $250 million in court-ordered sales.

Questions

Does it work in my state? Yes. It explains the rules that apply everywhere and says where states differ, with California as the worked example.

Is this legal advice? No. It’s general education from a real estate broker, not an attorney. It helps you understand your situation and ask better questions when you talk to a probate attorney in your state.

How do I get it? Right after checkout, you’ll get an email with the link to read your guide.

$29
One time. Read it online on any phone or computer.
Get the Guide — $29

Real estate agent? This book is included in EPCAS™ — Elite Probate Client Acquisition System, our course for agents. See the course →

General education, not legal, tax or financial advice. Deric Rangell is a licensed real estate broker, not an attorney.

Sources

  1. Policygenius, citing LegalMatch: probate costs may run 3%–8% of estate value; a $500,000 estate may lose $10,000–$35,000. policygenius.com/wills/how-much-does-probate-cost
  2. SwiftProbate (2026): California and New York set executor fees by statute; California uses the same percentage scale as attorney fees. swiftprobate.com/blog/how-much-does-probate-cost
  3. Trust & Will: 33 states plus D.C. allow transfer-on-death or beneficiary deeds; Memorial Merits (Sept. 2026): the owner can sell, refinance or revoke anytime. trustandwill.com/learn/beneficiary-deed-states
  4. Family Estate Guide, “How Much Does a Living Trust Cost? (2026).” familyestateguide.com/living-trust-cost

General education, not legal advice. Confirm your state’s rules with a local attorney.