What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Florida

Dying without a will is called dying “intestate,” and in Florida it does not mean your assets go to the state. Instead, Florida’s intestacy statutes (Chapter 732) write a will for you, and the result is rarely what most Miami families would choose. Here is what actually happens, step by step.

The State Decides Who Inherits

Florida law sets a fixed order of inheritance. The outcome depends heavily on whether you are married and whether you have descendants:

If You Are Married With No Descendants

Your surviving spouse inherits your entire intestate estate. Simple enough, but it leaves nothing directly to parents, siblings, or anyone else you may have wanted to include.

If You Are Married With Shared Children Only

If all of your descendants are also descendants of your surviving spouse (and the spouse has no other descendants), the spouse inherits everything. Many couples assume this is automatic regardless of circumstances, but it is not.

If There Are Children From Another Relationship

This is where Miami’s many blended families get surprised. If you or your spouse has descendants from a prior relationship, the estate is split: the surviving spouse takes one-half and your descendants share the other half. A stepchild you helped raise but never adopted inherits nothing under intestacy.

If You Are Unmarried

Your descendants inherit. If you have none, the estate flows to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives in a set order. An unmarried partner, no matter how long the relationship, receives nothing. This is a frequent and painful surprise in Miami.

Homestead Has Its Own Rules

Your Florida homestead does not follow the ordinary intestacy formula. Under the Florida Constitution (Article X, Section 4) and the probate code, a surviving spouse and minor children have special rights to the home. A spouse may receive a life estate with the remainder to the children, or can elect a one-half interest. The home cannot simply be sold out from under protected heirs.

The Court Picks Your Personal Representative

With no will, no one is named to manage your estate. A Miami-Dade probate court appoints a personal representative, usually the surviving spouse or a majority of heirs, after a petition is filed. If relatives disagree, the process slows and legal costs rise.

Probate Still Has to Happen

Intestacy does not avoid probate; it complicates it. Depending on the estate’s size and how long ago the person died, the family may use summary administration (for smaller estates or where death occurred more than two years ago) or formal administration. Either way, the court oversees the process, and that takes time and money your heirs could have saved.

One Piece of Good News

Florida has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, so your heirs will not owe Tallahassee anything on what they receive. The cost of dying intestate is not taxes; it is loss of control, family conflict, and delay.

Talk to a Florida Attorney

If you would not want the state’s formula deciding who raises your children or who keeps your Miami home, a will or trust is the fix. A Florida-licensed Miami estate planning attorney can replace the default rules with your own choices in a single consultation. The sooner you act, the more control you keep.