Who Gets Your Money and Property in Florida If You Die Without a Will

When someone dies without a will in Florida, the state does not leave inheritance to chance or family agreement. Under Florida Statutes §§732.101–732.111, a fixed legal formula called intestate succession takes over — and it decides everything. Your spouse, your children, your estranged sibling you haven’t spoken to in twenty years — the law treats them according to their legal relationship to you, not the reality of your life.

Most people assume their spouse automatically gets everything, or that their family will figure it out. Neither assumption is safe in Florida. The state’s inheritance rules produce results that genuinely shock families every day — especially blended ones. Understanding exactly how this works is not just useful information. For a lot of Florida families, it is urgent.

Your Spouse Does Not Automatically Get Everything

This is the part that surprises people most.

If the deceased had no children, or if all children were also the spouse’s children, the spouse inherits the entire estate. That scenario is clean and straightforward. But the moment children from a prior relationship are in the picture, everything changes.

If you have children from a previous relationship and you are currently married, your spouse gets half, and your children share the other half. This applies even if those children are adults. Even if your spouse and your children have a warm relationship. Even if your clear intention was for your spouse to be taken care of first. The law does not know your intention — only your legal family structure.

This outcome can surprise many families, especially in blended households, where adult children and surviving spouses may not have strong relationships. A surviving spouse can suddenly find themselves co-owning assets with stepchildren they barely know, needing their agreement to sell property or access funds.

And it gets more complicated still. Consider a real scenario: David and Linda bought a home together, but only his name is on the deed. He assumed Linda would inherit everything. Under Florida law, however, Linda is only entitled to 50% of David’s probate estate. His children inherit the rest. Linda must now either buy out their share or sell the house. That is not a legal edge case. That is what happens when a common assumption meets a very specific statute.

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The Full Order of Who Gets What

Florida intestate succession law is very specific, with a clear order of priority. Here is how the most common scenarios break down: married with no children means the surviving spouse inherits everything. Married with children from the same spouse also means the surviving spouse inherits everything. Married with children from another relationship means the estate is divided — one-half to the surviving spouse, and the other half divided equally among the children. No spouse but with children means the children inherit the entire estate, divided equally. No spouse or children means parents inherit the estate. No spouse, children, or parents means siblings inherit, or if none are alive, the estate goes to nieces, nephews, or other extended relatives.

If someone dies without a will in Florida and has no immediate family at all, the estate passes to increasingly distant relatives such as cousins, uncles, aunts, or grandparents. If no heirs exist at all, the estate goes to the state of Florida.

One more detail that trips people up: Florida Statute §732.105 determines shares of whole and half siblings. Those of the half blood inherit only half as much as those of the whole blood. So if the deceased has both half and whole blood siblings, they do not share equally.

The People Florida’s Law Completely Ignores

This is where intestate succession causes real heartbreak.

Florida does not recognize common-law marriages, and unmarried partners are not entitled to inherit anything under intestate succession — regardless of how long the relationship lasted, how intertwined their finances were, or what they meant to each other. A partner of fifteen years gets nothing while a distant cousin the deceased never met gets a share of the estate.

Stepchildren face the same wall. Unless they have been legally adopted, stepchildren do not inherit anything under Florida’s intestacy statutes. Even if you raised your stepchildren, if you do not have a valid will, they have no legal claim to your estate.

Intestate succession does not account for close friends, unmarried partners, or specific charitable intentions. If you wanted a close friend, a godchild, a charity, or anyone outside a legal family relationship to receive something — Florida law makes that impossible without a will. The only protection is a written estate plan.

What Happens to Your House — Florida’s Homestead Rules

Your home does not follow the same rules as everything else you own. Florida’s homestead laws add a layer of complexity that catches families completely off guard.

If a Florida woman dies without a will, leaving a husband and two children, the husband can live in the homestead for life — but the children will inherit the home after his death. This arrangement can create complications if the spouse wants to sell the home or move. The spouse cannot simply sell the house. The children must agree. This is called a life estate, and it locks everyone into a shared arrangement that can generate years of conflict.

If a person dies with a spouse and minor children, the spouse receives a life estate in the home — the right to live there for the rest of their life. The descendants receive the remainder interest and take full title to the property upon the death of the surviving spouse.

There is one way out of this arrangement. The surviving spouse has the option to elect to take an undivided one-half interest in the homestead as a tenant in common, with the remaining undivided one-half interest vesting in the decedent’s descendants. This election must be made within six months of the decedent’s death and must be recorded in the official record book of the county where the homestead property is located. That six-month window is not flexible. Miss it and the life estate arrangement is locked in permanently.

There is also a tax consequence most heirs do not anticipate. When a homeowner dies and the homestead passes to someone who is not a surviving spouse or other legal dependent, Florida’s Save Our Homes cap — which limits annual increases in assessed value to 3% or the rate of inflation — is removed. An heir can inherit a home and immediately face a significantly higher property tax bill.

What Does and Does Not Go Through This Process

Not everything you own is subject to intestate succession. Some assets pass directly to named beneficiaries regardless of what Florida’s inheritance laws say.

Property that is owned jointly with the right of survivorship or that has a named beneficiary — such as life insurance policies or retirement accounts — will automatically pass to the surviving joint owner or the named beneficiary upon death. Similarly, property placed in a trust passes outside of probate according to the terms of that trust.

So any account that designates who inherits the funds when you pass away is protected from intestate succession. A 401(k) with a named beneficiary goes directly to that person. A jointly owned bank account with right of survivorship goes directly to the co-owner. Florida’s inheritance formula only controls what is left over — assets solely in your name, with no beneficiary designation and no joint owner.

This means someone can have a large estate on paper but a very small probate estate in practice, or vice versa. It entirely depends on how the assets are titled and whether beneficiary designations are current.

Why Blended Families Face the Biggest Risk

Blended families, where one or both spouses have children from previous relationships, benefit greatly from estate planning because without an estate plan, children of the first deceased spouse may be unintentionally disinherited.

Here is how it happens. A surviving spouse could effectively disinherit your children from a prior marriage entirely by changing beneficiary designations after you are gone. Stepchildren you intended to include receive nothing unless you specifically plan for them. Assets meant to stay in your bloodline — such as a family business or heirlooms — may pass to unrelated in-laws instead.

A typical example involves a married couple that each have children from previous relationships. Many such couples keep joint assets that transfer entirely to the surviving spouse upon the first death. Upon the death of the second spouse, only their blood relatives have rights to the estate. The family of the spouse that died first can be entirely cut out. No malice required. No bad intentions. Just the automatic operation of Florida law.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to settle an estate in Florida when there is no will?

 Intestate estates in Florida take longer than estates with a valid will because the court must identify, verify, and locate all legal heirs before any distribution can happen. A straightforward estate can take six months to a year. Contested cases, complex assets, or difficulty locating heirs can stretch the process to two or more years. The probate process is also public record in Florida, meaning anyone can access the details of the estate.

Is there a deadline to file probate when someone dies without a will in Florida?

 Florida does not impose a hard deadline to open probate, but waiting creates serious practical problems. Creditors have two years from the date of death to bring claims against an estate, and certain assets can be lost, mismanaged, or diminished the longer probate is delayed. In practice, opening probate promptly protects heirs and prevents complications from creditors, title issues on real property, and financial account access problems.

 Do I need a lawyer for Florida intestate probate, and how do I find the right one?

 Florida law actually requires that an attorney be present throughout the formal probate administration process when there is no will. This is not optional — the court will not appoint an unrepresented personal representative in most cases. You need a Florida-licensed probate attorney specifically. Look for someone who handles probate regularly, not an estate planning attorney who only drafts documents. Most offer free initial consultations. Visit AllAboutLawyer.com to find a probate attorney who can guide your family through Florida’s process.

Can an unmarried partner or stepchild do anything if they are left out? 

Without a will, their options are extremely limited. An unmarried partner has no legal standing under Florida intestate succession at all. A stepchild who was not legally adopted is in the same position. Their only realistic recourse is to challenge the estate on a separate legal ground — fraud, undue influence, or a claim based on an oral promise to include them — all of which are difficult to prove. A probate litigation attorney can assess whether any such claims are viable, but the honest answer is that Florida law was not written to protect them.

What happens to minor children’s inheritance if there is no will?

 If you die intestate and leave property to a minor, the court may appoint a guardian of the property to manage those assets until the child turns 18, even if you would have preferred a different arrangement. That guardian may not be the person you would have chosen, and the child receives full control of the assets at 18 with no conditions attached — regardless of whether they are mature enough to manage them responsibly.

Legal Terms Used in This Article

Intestate Succession: The legal process Florida uses to distribute a deceased person’s assets when they leave no valid will. The state follows a fixed statutory order of heirs under Florida Statutes Chapter 732.

Probate: The court-supervised process through which a deceased person’s debts are settled and remaining assets are distributed to heirs. Intestate estates must go through probate before any inheritance is transferred.

Homestead: A primary residence that qualifies for special legal protections in Florida, including creditor protection and constitutional inheritance restrictions that apply regardless of what any will says.

Life Estate: A form of property ownership that gives someone the right to use and occupy a property for the rest of their life, after which full ownership passes to designated heirs. Under Florida intestate law, a surviving spouse with minor children receives a life estate in the homestead rather than full ownership.

Per Stirpes: A method of inheritance distribution where if a beneficiary has died before the person leaving the estate, that beneficiary’s share passes down to their own children rather than being redistributed among surviving siblings.

Escheat: The legal process by which a deceased person’s estate passes to the State of Florida when no eligible heirs can be located.

Personal Representative: The person appointed by a Florida probate court to manage the estate — gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing what remains to heirs. In intestate cases, the court appoints this person rather than the deceased choosing them.

The State Is Not a Good Estate Planner

Florida’s intestate succession law is not designed to reflect your wishes. It is a legal default — a fallback system built for people who made no plan at all. It does not know that you wanted your partner protected. It does not know that you raised stepchildren who depend on you. It does not know that you and one sibling are estranged while the other has been by your side for decades.

What the law knows is legal relationships. And it applies them with complete indifference to the reality of your actual life.

A will does not have to be complicated or expensive. It just has to exist. For families with blended relationships, unmarried partners, or significant property — especially a Florida home — the cost of not having one is almost always far greater than the cost of creating one.

If you have lost a family member without a will and need to understand what happens next, or if you want to make sure your own family is protected, speak with a Florida probate or estate planning attorney. Visit AllAboutLawyer.com to connect with legal help that understands Florida’s specific rules.