What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Florida?

Most people assume that their belongings will go to their family if they die. In many cases that is true, but the family members who inherit, and the share each one receives, may not be what you would have chosen.

When someone dies in Florida without a will, the state applies what are called intestacy laws. These are essentially a default set of rules that Florida has written to decide who gets what when someone leaves no instructions behind. The state does not know your family, your relationships, or your wishes. It applies the same formula to everyone.

Here is how that formula generally works. If you are married with no children, your spouse typically inherits everything. If you are married and have children with your spouse, your spouse still inherits everything. But if you have children from a prior relationship, the result changes significantly. In that situation, your spouse and your children from outside the marriage split the estate, which can create real complications and family conflict.

If you are not married, your children inherit equally, and if a child has predeceased you, that child's children (your grandchildren) share their parent's portion of the inheritance. If you have no descendants, the estate goes to your parents, then to your siblings, and so on down the family tree. If your wish is to distribute anything differently than what the state provides, a will is necessary. In addition, what the state cannot do is leave anything to a long-term partner who was never your spouse, a close friend, a stepchild who was never legally adopted, or a charity you cared about. Without a will, those people receive nothing regardless of your intentions.

There is also the question of who manages the process. When you have a will, you name a personal representative (also known as executor), someone you trust to gather your assets, pay your bills, and distribute what remains. Without a will, a court appoints someone to do that job, and it may not be the person you would have chosen.

Dying without a will does not mean your family gets nothing. It means the state makes decisions that should have been yours to make.