What Happens if You Die Without a Will in Florida?
If you die without a will in Florida, your assets pass to your closest relatives under the state's intestate succession laws found in Florida Statutes Chapter 732. Who inherits, and how much, is completely dependent on whether you're married and how your family is structured.
If You are Married with Children
Whether your spouse inherits everything depends on whether your descendants are shared with your spouse.
- If your descendants are also your spouse's descendants, and your spouse has no descendants from a previous relationship, your spouse inherits everything.
- If you or your spouse has descendants from a previous relationship, your spouse inherits one-half of the estate, and your descendants split the other half.
- Florida also has a homestead rule that allows your surviving spouse to receive a life estate in the family home, with your descendants inheriting it afterward, unless your spouse elects to take a one-half interest instead.
If You are Married Without Children
Your spouse inherits your entire intestate estate.
If You Don't Have a Spouse, but Have Children
Your descendants inherit everything in equal shares. This includes legally adopted children, but generally not stepchildren who were never legally adopted.
If You Don't Have a Spouse or Children
Your assets pass to your parents. If both of our parents are deceased, your siblings inherit in equal shares.
If No Living Relatives Can Be Found
If the court cannot locate any qualifying relative, your property escheats to the State of Florida. This is uncommon, since Florida's succession laws reach fairly distant relatives first.
Other Things to Know about Dying Without a Will in Florida
- Florida intestate succession only recognizes legal spouses and blood or adoptive relatives. An unmarried partner has no inheritance rights, no matter how long the relationship lasted.
- Stepchildren do not inherit unless they were legally adopted.
- The probate court appoints someone to administer the estate.
- Florida's homestead protections can override the normal succession rules for the family home if you are survived by a spouse or minor children.
When Does an Estate Go Through Probate Without a Will
Smaller estates may qualify for summary administration instead of a full formal probate. An estate qualifies if the non-exempt assets total $75,000 or less, or if the decedent has been deceased for more than two years, in which case there is no dollar limit.
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