Disclaimer: General educational research only — not legal advice. Probate rules differ by state and change. Talk to an estate planning attorney in the state where the property sits.
Estate Planning Data & Research → The Second-Probate Problem
If you own a house in one state and live in another, your family may face two probate cases after you die: one where you lived, and another where the vacation home sits. The second one is called an ancillary probate, and it’s run by the local court where the real estate is located, usually with a local lawyer.
How many homes does this potentially touch? The Census Bureau counts homes used for “seasonal, recreational, or occasional use.” We mapped them for every state and county.
A second home adds a second set of court rules. A trust is one way to keep them from stacking up, and a will is one way to name who gets the property. If you’re weighing the two, compare them here.
Downloads
- State table CSV: seasonal, recreational and occasional-use homes (50 states, D.C. and U.S.)
- County table CSV: counties with 1,000 or more housing units and their seasonal share (ACS 5-year)
Cite this page URL when reusing findings. Not a substitute for official sources or professional advice.
Key findings
- There are 4,342,127 seasonal, recreational or occasional-use homes in the U.S. (±49,611), 3.0% of all housing units (Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey).
- Florida has the most (741,429), then California (334,566), New York (272,284), Michigan (234,649) and North Carolina (179,075).
- Relative to its housing, Maine leads: 14.4% of Maine’s housing units are seasonal homes, followed by Vermont (13.2%), New Hampshire (8.9%), Alaska (8.2%) and Delaware (7.6%).
- Some counties are mostly vacation homes. Among counties with at least 1,000 housing units, 160 have seasonal homes making up 25% or more of all housing, and 19 are at 50% or more. The highest are Forest County, Pennsylvania (69.5%), Daggett County, Utah (69.0%) and Alpine County, California (68.5%).
- The Census doesn’t say who owns these homes or where they live. Some are owned by locals, some are rented out, and some belong to out-of-state families. So this is a map of where the second-probate problem can happen, not a count of cases.
What is ancillary probate?
Probate is the court process that transfers a person’s property after death. The court that handles real estate is generally the one where the property is located, not where the owner lived. If a will is probated in the owner’s home state, the second state’s court still has to recognize it and appoint someone to handle the local property.
Each state has its own rules. We read the primary sources for three:
- Maine (18-C M.R.S. §§ 4-204 and 4-207). If no local administration is pending, the executor appointed in the owner’s home state can file authenticated copies of the appointment, any bond, and a certificate of current authority dated within 60 days with a Maine court in a county where the owner’s property is located. If a local administration is opened instead, Maine’s regular probate rules apply to it.
- Florida (Fla. Stat. §§ 734.102 and 734.1025). When a nonresident dies leaving assets in Florida, ancillary letters go first to a personal representative the will designates for the Florida property, and otherwise to the home-state personal representative, if that person is qualified to act in Florida. A shortcut exists when the nonresident had a will and the Florida property was worth $50,000 or less at death. A home usually exceeds that.
- New York (Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act §§ 1602 and 1607). A will already probated where the person lived can be admitted by the New York surrogate’s court that has jurisdiction over the property, and if the person had no will, the court may issue ancillary letters of administration based on the home-state appointment. The New York County court’s checklist asks for a petition, a list of New York assets, and notice to certain parties, including the state tax department.
The pattern: a local court gets involved, local filings are needed, and a lawyer licensed in that state typically handles it. Cost and time depend on the state, the county and the value. These three summaries show how the process is structured, not what it costs for any family.
Ways families avoid a second probate
None of these is right for everyone, and each has rules. They’re listed in the order families usually consider them.
- Hold the vacation home in a revocable living trust. Property that’s titled in the name of a funded trust is generally not part of the owner’s probate estate, so there is generally nothing in the owner’s name to probate in the second state. The deed has to be recorded in the trust’s name. See funding your trust and revocable vs. irrevocable trusts.
- Joint ownership with survivorship, or a transfer-on-death deed where available. These pass the property outside probate, but not every state allows TOD deeds, and joint ownership brings its own risks. See our state comparison.
- An LLC or other entity. Some families put a vacation home in an entity. That adds cost and tax questions, so it’s usually an attorney-advised step.
- Do nothing and accept the second probate. For some families, the cost is acceptable. The point is to decide on purpose.
A caution: a will alone doesn’t avoid ancillary probate. It tells the court who gets the property, but the second state’s court still has to be involved when the real estate is in the owner’s own name.
Some states also tax the estates of nonresidents on real property located there, even when the owner never lived there. See state estate taxes.
The 20 counties with the highest share of seasonal homes
Limited to counties with at least 1,000 housing units. Counts come from the 2020–2024 five-year estimates, which cover small counties.
| County | State | Seasonal homes | Share of housing units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest County | Pennsylvania | 4,824 | 69.5% |
| Daggett County | Utah | 803 | 69.0% |
| Alpine County | California | 1,067 | 68.5% |
| Rich County | Utah | 2,241 | 66.4% |
| Hamilton County | New York | 5,156 | 65.2% |
| Valley County | Idaho | 8,044 | 62.5% |
| Mineral County | Colorado | 719 | 61.0% |
| Lake and Peninsula Borough | Alaska | 780 | 58.4% |
| Hinsdale County | Colorado | 774 | 57.6% |
| Lake County | Michigan | 7,515 | 55.8% |
| Nantucket County | Massachusetts | 6,925 | 55.0% |
| Dukes County | Massachusetts | 9,698 | 54.4% |
| Worcester County | Maryland | 29,929 | 52.6% |
| Camden County | Missouri | 20,943 | 52.3% |
| Cook County | Minnesota | 3,137 | 51.6% |
| Vilas County | Wisconsin | 12,790 | 51.4% |
| Burnett County | Wisconsin | 7,889 | 51.2% |
| Grand County | Colorado | 8,717 | 50.0% |
| Sullivan County | Pennsylvania | 2,793 | 50.0% |
| Cape May County | New Jersey | 49,655 | 49.9% |
The 15 counties with the most seasonal homes
| County | State | Seasonal homes | Share of housing units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee County | Florida | 79,437 | 18.0% |
| Palm Beach County | Florida | 68,613 | 9.5% |
| Broward County | Florida | 62,308 | 7.2% |
| Collier County | Florida | 59,512 | 24.9% |
| Maricopa County | Arizona | 58,731 | 3.1% |
| Riverside County | California | 56,925 | 6.5% |
| Barnstable County | Massachusetts | 55,061 | 33.1% |
| Miami-Dade County | Florida | 50,471 | 4.6% |
| Cape May County | New Jersey | 49,655 | 49.9% |
| New York County | New York | 48,631 | 5.3% |
| Pinellas County | Florida | 47,815 | 9.2% |
| Suffolk County | New York | 44,136 | 7.6% |
| Horry County | South Carolina | 40,967 | 18.8% |
| Sarasota County | Florida | 40,327 | 15.1% |
| Ocean County | New Jersey | 39,863 | 13.4% |
All states
The state table uses the 2024 one-year survey. County numbers (above) use the 2020–2024 five-year estimates, so a state’s county sum won’t match the state row exactly.
| State | Seasonal, recreational or occasional-use homes | Margin of error (±) | Total housing units | Share of housing units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 68,225 | 4,779 | 2,381,771 | 2.9% (±0.2) |
| Alaska | 26,906 | 1,824 | 329,757 | 8.2% (±0.6) |
| Arizona | 137,247 | 6,146 | 3,299,178 | 4.2% (±0.2) |
| Arkansas | 35,037 | 3,534 | 1,421,029 | 2.5% (±0.2) |
| California | 334,566 | 10,287 | 14,877,017 | 2.2% (±0.1) |
| Colorado | 75,848 | 4,088 | 2,662,111 | 2.9% (±0.1) |
| Connecticut | 26,363 | 3,617 | 1,554,057 | 1.7% (±0.2) |
| Delaware | 36,325 | 2,816 | 476,415 | 7.6% (±0.6) |
| District of Columbia | 2,533 | 1,177 | 368,700 | 0.7% (±0.3) |
| Florida | 741,429 | 18,938 | 10,629,845 | 7.0% (±0.2) |
| Georgia | 81,443 | 5,484 | 4,668,796 | 1.7% (±0.1) |
| Hawaii | 36,624 | 4,086 | 572,824 | 6.4% (±0.7) |
| Idaho | 39,257 | 2,698 | 832,052 | 4.7% (±0.3) |
| Illinois | 40,140 | 3,499 | 5,482,133 | 0.7% (±0.1) |
| Indiana | 39,458 | 3,898 | 3,026,101 | 1.3% (±0.1) |
| Iowa | 21,232 | 2,889 | 1,458,471 | 1.5% (±0.2) |
| Kansas | 12,430 | 1,754 | 1,310,001 | 0.9% (±0.1) |
| Kentucky | 29,810 | 3,253 | 2,051,004 | 1.4% (±0.2) |
| Louisiana | 37,213 | 3,439 | 2,138,882 | 1.7% (±0.2) |
| Maine | 109,834 | 3,823 | 764,713 | 14.4% (±0.5) |
| Maryland | 52,233 | 3,660 | 2,588,337 | 2.0% (±0.1) |
| Massachusetts | 103,553 | 5,675 | 3,057,853 | 3.4% (±0.2) |
| Michigan | 234,649 | 7,316 | 4,669,109 | 5.0% (±0.2) |
| Minnesota | 116,161 | 4,105 | 2,597,229 | 4.5% (±0.2) |
| Mississippi | 25,415 | 3,068 | 1,359,223 | 1.9% (±0.2) |
| Missouri | 67,645 | 3,425 | 2,858,527 | 2.4% (±0.1) |
| Montana | 37,257 | 2,814 | 539,622 | 6.9% (±0.5) |
| Nebraska | 10,572 | 2,036 | 880,521 | 1.2% (±0.2) |
| Nevada | 35,335 | 3,574 | 1,365,893 | 2.6% (±0.3) |
| New Hampshire | 58,528 | 4,358 | 657,198 | 8.9% (±0.7) |
| New Jersey | 120,857 | 4,898 | 3,816,432 | 3.2% (±0.1) |
| New Mexico | 36,354 | 3,689 | 973,944 | 3.7% (±0.4) |
| New York | 272,284 | 8,850 | 8,676,911 | 3.1% (±0.1) |
| North Carolina | 179,075 | 7,353 | 5,073,509 | 3.5% (±0.1) |
| North Dakota | 9,262 | 1,505 | 380,994 | 2.4% (±0.4) |
| Ohio | 53,943 | 4,727 | 5,336,168 | 1.0% (±0.1) |
| Oklahoma | 28,296 | 1,988 | 1,800,427 | 1.6% (±0.1) |
| Oregon | 53,689 | 3,923 | 1,896,851 | 2.8% (±0.2) |
| Pennsylvania | 133,179 | 5,015 | 5,861,320 | 2.3% (±0.1) |
| Rhode Island | 14,744 | 2,206 | 488,011 | 3.0% (±0.5) |
| South Carolina | 101,368 | 6,206 | 2,531,310 | 4.0% (±0.2) |
| South Dakota | 10,649 | 1,705 | 423,705 | 2.5% (±0.4) |
| Tennessee | 55,084 | 4,622 | 3,243,954 | 1.7% (±0.1) |
| Texas | 171,352 | 7,730 | 12,616,736 | 1.4% (±0.1) |
| Utah | 37,652 | 2,894 | 1,283,206 | 2.9% (±0.2) |
| Vermont | 45,148 | 2,203 | 343,166 | 13.2% (±0.6) |
| Virginia | 72,919 | 5,113 | 3,746,211 | 1.9% (±0.1) |
| Washington | 75,113 | 4,756 | 3,400,980 | 2.2% (±0.1) |
| West Virginia | 24,975 | 3,135 | 866,433 | 2.9% (±0.4) |
| Wisconsin | 162,570 | 5,692 | 2,820,538 | 5.8% (±0.2) |
| Wyoming | 10,346 | 1,964 | 281,789 | 3.7% (±0.7) |
| United States | 4,342,127 | 49,611 | 146,740,964 | 3.0% |
What this means if you’re planning
- List every property you own, by state. Estate plans often miss the cabin.
- Check how each deed is titled. The title, not the will, decides whether a probate is needed.
- Talk to a lawyer where the property is. The second state’s rules apply to the second home.
- Keep the plan current. If you bought a second home after signing your documents, see life events that outdate your will and estate planning after buying a home. If you’re moving, see estate planning when moving states.
Related: Probate costs by state · Avoiding probate · Inherited home values by state
Methodology
Seasonal homes. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), table B25004, line 6, “For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use” (a category of vacant housing units), compared with total housing units (B25001). States and the U.S.: 2024 1-year estimates. Counties: 2020–2024 5-year estimates (the 1-year survey doesn’t cover most counties). Margins of error are the Census Bureau’s 90% margins; the state share’s margin uses the Census proportion formula. Puerto Rico is excluded.
Definition. The Census Bureau counts a unit as seasonal, recreational or occasional-use when it’s vacant at the time of the survey and held for those purposes. It includes second homes and vacation rentals that are vacant on the survey day, and it excludes homes that are someone’s usual residence. Whether the owner lives in another state isn’t recorded.
Ancillary probate rules. Statutes read on Oct. 9, 2026: 18-C M.R.S. §§ 4-204, 4-207 (Maine Revisor of Statutes); Fla. Stat. §§ 734.102, 734.1025 (2026, Florida Senate); N.Y. SCPA §§ 1602, 1607 (NY Senate); New York County Surrogate’s Court ancillary letters checklist. We did not review all 50 states’ rules.
What this doesn’t measure. Who owns the homes, whether they’re in a trust, or how many ancillary probates happen. No federal source reports ancillary probate cases.
Frequently asked questions
What is ancillary probate?
A second probate case in a state where the deceased owned real estate but didn’t live. The local court handles the local property.
Does a will avoid it?
No. A will can be admitted in the second state, but the property still generally has to go through that state’s court if it’s titled in the owner’s own name.
How does a trust help?
A funded revocable living trust holds title to the property, so the owner doesn’t personally own it at death, and there’s generally nothing to probate there. Your attorney should confirm how the trust and deed need to be set up in that state.
Do I need a lawyer in the other state?
Usually, for any court filings, yes. For planning, an attorney can coordinate with one where the property sits.
Does a second home affect estate taxes?
It counts toward the value of the estate for federal purposes, and some states tax real property located there. See state estate taxes.
Sources
U.S. government public-domain data and official sources only.
Data (pulled 2026-10-09)
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2024 1-year, B25004 (vacancy status; line 6 seasonal/recreational/occasional use), B25001 (housing units): https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs1 .
- ACS 2020–2024 5-year, same tables, counties: https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs5 .
- (Scan’s earlier pulls kept for audit: — 2024 1-yr state, 2023 5-yr county; superseded.)
Statutes / court sources (read 2026-10-09)
- Maine: 18-C M.R.S. §4-204 (Proof of authority; bond) https://www.mainelegislature.org/LEGIS/STATUTES/18-C/title18-Csec4-204.html ; §4-207 https://www.mainelegislature.org/Legis/Statutes/18-C/title18-Csec4-207.html
- Florida: Fla. Stat. §734.102 https://www.flsenate.gov/laws/statutes/2026/734.102 ; §734.1025 https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/734.1025
- New York: SCPA §1602 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/SCP/1602 ; §1607 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/SCP/1607 ; New York County Surrogate’s Court ancillary letters checklist https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/1st-judicial-district/new-york-county-surrogates-court/new-york-county-ancillary-letters-administration-checklist
Cite this data
Family Estate Guide, “The Second-Probate Problem: Where America’s 4.3 Million Vacation Homes Are,” October 2026. https://familyestateguide.com/estate-planning-data/vacation-home-probate/
You’re welcome to reuse the tables with a link back to this page. Census data are public domain.
Published October 9, 2026 by Family Estate Guide. Data vintage: ACS 2024 1-year and 2020–2024 5-year estimates. Statutes checked Oct. 9, 2026. Editorial standards.