If you are thinking about selling your inherited property, you might be wondering, “Is there a holding period before selling my inherited home?”
Great question. There are a few things you should know in order to answer the question…
Succession waiting period
When a loved one passes away, you don’t inherit their estate right away. It has to go through the process of succession first. You can’t legally sell or own it until that happens.
Any legal process takes a while, and a succession is no different. It takes time to gather all the paperwork needed. Time to go through the legal system. Time to get resolved.
The succession process in Louisiana begins when someone passes away. To sort out their belongings and property, the family or friends go to the court and let them know what happened. The court then picks someone, like a family member or a friend, to be in charge of figuring out what to do with everything. It needs to be someone trusted. They are in charge of making sure things move in the right direction. This can take anywhere from a week to a couple of months.
Once the executor is chosen, they have to figure out what the person who passed away owned. It involves making a big list of everything – the house, the car, the furniture – everything. Then, they have to figure out how much everything is worth. This part takes a bit of time because they need to be sure about what’s there and how much it’s all worth. Depending on how fast they work and how much stuff there is to itemize, it might stay in the phase for a while. On the quicker side, you’re looking at a few days. Could be up to a few months if there’s a lot to go through and things aren’t straightforward.
After all the sorting, organizing, and categorizing is done, the executor is in charge of distributing everything. They tell everyone what’s going to who. They might sell some things and share the money, or maybe they’ll give specific things to different people. Once everyone agrees on the plan, it goes back to the courts. If the courts find everything agreeable and don’t find any inconsistencies, they will close out the succession. This can be another couple weeks to months to go back through the courts for approval. Getting an attorney well versed in estate law is crucial if you want to move things along faster. I’ve seen them get done in a matter of weeks with the right lawyer.
If there’s more than one heir, plan on the process taking longer. Everyone will have to agree on certain aspects of the estate and it takes a fair amount of cooperation. Sometimes estates can be tied up for years if everyone isn’t willing to work together.
This succession step is the biggest one in contributing to a holding period when selling your inherited house. Once it’s gone through the succession, the legal heirs have every right to sell. however they see fit. Again, if there’s more than one, it will take a lot of cooperation and compromise to get everyone’s needs met.
Are there other holding periods before selling your inherited home?
The short answer is no. Once you’ve gone through the legal process to claim title to the house, you’re good to go.
There May Be Other Factors
So, if you inherited a house and are now thinking about selling it, and if you’re wondering, “Is there a holding period before selling my inherited home?” then here’s the good news: You probably don’t have to wait to sell and you can get that process going right away. However, be aware that there could be other factors that may delay the sale, or that could impact the tax you’ll have to pay when you sell.
There’s still a lot to consider. Tax implications, holding it long term vs short term, whether or not you want to go through the long process of listing after you just got done with the long process of succession. Upkeep and maintenance on the home. Any renovations that might be necessary. Checking the major systems to make sure everything is in working order. Get foundation, roof, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical specialists to come out and give you a clean bill of health on all these important structural parts of the house.
Here’s a fast solution for you: If you want to sell your inherited house as quickly as possible, give us a call! We’ll give you a fair, fast all-cash offer to buy your inherited house as-is.