Selling Deceased Estate Property: A Step-by-Step Guide

Selling a property from a deceased estate is rarely straightforward. Beneficiaries are often grieving, managing legal obligations they’ve never dealt with before, and making decisions about an asset that may be the single largest item in the estate. Getting the timing and process right from the outset avoids costly mistakes later, and that’s where the right advice matters most.

This guide walks through the key steps involved in selling deceased estate property, from the first valuation through to settlement.

Step 1: Order a Date-of-Death Valuation Early
Step 2: Understand the Probate Timeline
Step 3: Decide What’s Actually in the Estate
Step 4: Weigh the Two-Year CGT Window  
Step 5: Engage a Vendor’s Advocate to Manage the Process
Step 6: Run the Sale Campaign
Step 7: Settlement and Distribution
Work With an Advisor Who Handles the Whole Process

Step 1: Order a Date-of-Death Valuation Early

One of the most common mistakes executors make is waiting until a sale decision has been made before ordering a valuation. In reality, a single valuation dated at the date of death can serve two separate purposes, and it should be commissioned in the first two to three weeks of administration.

The first purpose is probate. The Victorian Supreme Court requires a formal report from a registered valuer, not an agent appraisal or an online estimate, before the Inventory of Assets is lodged, ideally within six weeks of death.

The second is Capital Gains Tax. If the two-year main residence exemption isn’t available or isn’t ultimately used, the market value at the date of death becomes the cost base for the property. If the sale falls outside that window, or the property was tenanted, or a beneficiary is a foreign resident, that death-date figure becomes the only defence against the Australian Taxation Office recalculating the gain itself.

Ordering one valuation early, rather than a second one later to patch a gap, is both cheaper and more defensible.

Step 2: Understand the Probate Timeline

Probate must be advertised for at least 15 days before an application can be filed with the Supreme Court. Executors should expect the Inventory of Assets, which relies on that date-of-death valuation, to be filed around the six-week mark.

Nobody knows at the two-week stage whether a property will become a fast sale, a multi-year hold, or part of a contested estate. Getting the valuation and early administration steps in order regardless of that uncertainty means the estate is prepared for any of those outcomes.

Step 3: Decide What’s Actually in the Estate

A family home is often the most visible asset in an estate, but it isn’t always the only property involved. Larger estates can include a commercial holding, a retail strip, a block of units, or a portfolio built up over decades, and beneficiaries frequently have little idea what any of it is genuinely worth or how it should be sold.

Valuing and selling a commercial or investment-grade asset inside an estate calls for a different kind of expertise to a standard residential sale. This is where engaging a single advisor who can assess and advise across both residential and commercial property, rather than coordinating multiple specialists separately, genuinely simplifies the process for executors and beneficiaries alike.

Step 4: Weigh the Two-Year CGT Window

If the property qualifies for the main residence exemption and sells within two years of death, Capital Gains Tax is generally nil and the earlier valuation becomes a formality rather than a point of dispute. Missing that window, through delay, a contested estate, or simply taking time to prepare the property properly, can change the tax outcome significantly.

This is a genuine trade-off. Rushing a sale to meet a tax deadline can undervalue the property, while taking the time to run a considered campaign can affect the CGT position. An independent advisor should be weighing both sides of that decision with the beneficiaries, not just managing the sale itself.

Step 5: Engage a Vendor’s Advocate to Manage the Process

Executors and beneficiaries are rarely in a position to run a property sale well on top of everything else an estate involves. A vendor’s advocate manages that process on the family’s behalf, from setting the sale strategy and selecting the right agent, through to holding that agent accountable at every stage of the campaign.

For an estate, this matters more than in a standard sale. Beneficiaries are often making decisions together, sometimes from different states or overseas, and a single point of contact who understands both the property and the estate’s obligations removes a significant amount of pressure from everyone involved.

Step 6: Run the Sale Campaign

Once the valuation and probate steps are in order, the sale itself should be approached the same way any considered, well-advised sale would be: with a strategy grounded in genuine valuation, not an agent’s optimistic estimate, and a campaign managed through to the best achievable result.

An estate sale is still, at its core, a property transaction, and it deserves the same discipline as any other.

Step 7: Settlement and Distribution

Once contracts are exchanged, every date and condition needs to be tracked carefully through to settlement, particularly where proceeds are being distributed across several beneficiaries. Missed deadlines or overlooked conditions at this stage can delay a distribution that families are often relying on.

Questions About Selling a Deceased Estate

Work With an Expert Property Advisor Who Handles the Whole Process

Selling deceased estate property involves legal timelines, tax considerations and a property transaction, often all at once, and often while a family is still processing a loss.

Greville Pabst Property Advisory brings over 35 years of experience as an independent valuer, licensed estate agent and property advisor to this process, managing it from the first valuation through to settlement so executors and beneficiaries aren’t left coordinating it themselves.

If you’re an executor or beneficiary navigating the sale of a deceased estate, contact us to discuss how we can help.

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This article is general in nature and was accurate at the time of writing. Property, probate and taxation legislation can change, and individual circumstances vary. It does not constitute legal, financial or tax advice, and executors and beneficiaries should seek advice specific to their situation from a qualified solicitor, accountant or financial advisor before making decisions about a deceased estate.