The Estate Planning Guide Est. 2026

What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Florida?

Published June 3, 2026 4 min read

Quick answer

If a married Floridian with kids from the current marriage only dies without a will, the spouse inherits everything — except the homestead, which the spouse only gets a life estate in (or may elect a 1/2 share), with the kids taking the remainder. With kids from a prior marriage, the spouse and the kids split the non-homestead estate 50/50.

Educational guide — not legal advice. Intestacy laws change. Confirm specifics with a licensed Florida attorney before relying on this page.

How intestacy works in Florida

When someone dies in Florida without a valid will, Fla. Stat. §732.101 et seq. decides who inherits. The statute orders potential heirs by their relationship to the deceased — spouse and children first, then parents, then more distant relatives — and specifies exactly what share each one receives.

Florida is NOT a community property state.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse only (no children, no parents)

Entire intestate estate to the surviving spouse.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse and children

This is the most common situation and where Florida’s rules get specific:

If all of the decedent's descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse, and the spouse has no other descendants: entire estate to the spouse. Otherwise (blended families): spouse gets 1/2; descendants share 1/2 per stirpes.

For families where everyone is from the same marriage, the spouse generally gets a meaningful share. For blended families — where one or more children are from a prior relationship — many states change the math substantially. If your situation might fit that, the section above is exactly the rule that applies.

What happens when there’s a surviving spouse and parents (no children)

Entire estate to the spouse — parents take nothing when a spouse survives.

What happens when there are children but no spouse

Entire estate to descendants per stirpes.

What happens when there’s no spouse and no children

Order: parents (or surviving parent) → siblings and descendants of deceased siblings per stirpes → split between paternal and maternal grandparents/kindred → kindred of last deceased spouse → escheat to the State of Florida.

This is where intestacy starts producing results that often surprise people — distant relatives the deceased may not have been close to can end up inheriting, and a long-time unmarried partner inherits nothing.

A Florida-specific quirk

Florida homestead descent (Art. X §4, Fla. Const. and Fla. Stat. §732.401): if survived by spouse and lineal descendants, the spouse gets a life estate in the homestead with vested remainder to descendants — OR may elect a 1/2 tenancy-in-common interest. Half-blood relatives inherit half-shares under §732.105.

What intestacy can’t do (and why it usually fails most people)

Even when Florida’s intestacy rules produce a result close to what someone would have chosen, the rules can never:

  • Leave anything to an unmarried partner — intestacy doesn’t recognize unmarried partners regardless of relationship length
  • Leave anything to a step-child you didn’t formally adopt
  • Leave anything to a friend, charity, or specific person outside your family
  • Name a guardian for your minor children — a Florida judge picks
  • Specify who handles your estate — a court appoints an administrator
  • Identify specific items for specific people
  • Account for blended-family dynamics in nuanced ways
  • Reduce probate costs and time — intestate estates still go through full probate

For most Florida families, a basic will — costing $300 to $1,500 with a local attorney, or $50 to $300 with an online service — is meaningfully better than the default rules.

What probate looks like in Florida when there’s no will

If someone dies intestate in Florida, the estate still goes through probate. A court appoints an administrator (rather than an “executor” — the title is different for intestacy) to:

  1. Inventory the estate’s assets
  2. Notify creditors and pay debts
  3. Identify legal heirs under Florida’s intestacy statute
  4. Distribute remaining assets to heirs according to the statute

For details on what probate costs and how long it takes in Florida, see:

What to do this week if you don’t have a will

The most useful single move for any Florida adult without a will:

  1. Write a basic will. Either through an online service ($50-$300) or a local attorney ($300-$1,500). Name an executor, name a guardian for any minor children, and specify who inherits what.
  2. Update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and POD/TOD bank accounts. These pass outside both the will and intestacy.
  3. Sign a financial power of attorney and a healthcare directive. These handle incapacity (not death) and prevent your family from needing court-appointed guardianship.

For a Florida family with a typical estate, this whole package usually costs under $1,500 and takes a couple of weeks of intermittent work. It’s substantially cheaper and less stressful than what happens if you don’t do it.

This page explains Florida intestacy law in general terms as of 2026. It is not legal advice; intestacy provisions, dollar thresholds, and statute citations can change. Confirm current rules with a licensed Florida attorney before relying on this page. Sources: Fla. Stat. §732.102, Fla. Stat. §732.103, Fla. Stat. §732.105, Fla. Stat. §732.401.

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