If you die without a will in Florida, you die "intestate," and the state's intestacy statutes decide who inherits your property instead of you. Generally, a surviving spouse and children take priority, followed by parents and then siblings, but the exact split depends on your family situation. Probate still applies, and it typically takes longer without a will in place.
Survey data consistently shows that more than half of Americans do not have a will, most often because they simply have not gotten around to it. But dying without an estate plan in Florida has real consequences for the people you leave behind. This guide breaks down exactly what happens to your assets, who inherits under Florida law, and what you can do to keep control over the outcome. If you want to avoid this entirely, FastWill's will package gets a valid Florida will in place in about an hour.
What Does Dying Intestate Mean
Dying without a will means you die intestate, a legal term for an estate that Florida law distributes according to a fixed formula rather than your personal wishes. Here is how the process actually works:
- Someone, usually a family member or attorney, notifies the probate court of the death and provides a copy of the death certificate.
- The probate court appoints a personal representative to administer the estate, since there is no will naming one.
- The personal representative pays debts and distributes the remaining assets according to Florida's intestacy statutes.
Without a will, you lose the ability to choose who serves as personal representative, and the court's choice may not be the person you would have picked.
What Assets Are Distributed Under Intestate Succession
Florida's intestacy process reaches assets titled solely in your name, including:
- Real estate
- Vehicles, boats, and other recreational property
- Bank accounts without a payable-on-death designation
- Personal property such as furniture, heirlooms, and memorabilia
The probate process can take months or longer, especially if the court has to locate distant relatives, and it can be costly since the estate covers court and administration fees along the way.
Assets That Are Not Affected by Intestate Succession
Some assets bypass probate and pass directly to a named beneficiary regardless of whether you have a will, including:
- Assets already held in a living trust
- Payable-on-death bank accounts
- Property owned jointly with rights of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety
- Life insurance proceeds with a named beneficiary
- Retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, with a named beneficiary
Who Inherits Under Florida's Intestacy Law
Florida Statutes Chapter 732, Part I set the order of inheritance when there is no valid will. The general framework is:
- Your surviving spouse inherits first, and the exact share depends on whether you have descendants and whether those descendants are also the spouse's children.
- Descendants (children and further generations) inherit next, or alongside the spouse's share.
- If there is no spouse or descendants, your surviving parents inherit.
- If there is no spouse, descendants, or parents, your siblings and their descendants inherit.
Some of the most common scenarios play out like this:
- If you have children but no spouse, your children inherit the entire estate.
- If you have a spouse but no descendants, your spouse inherits the entire estate.
- If you have a spouse and children together, and neither of you has children from another relationship, your spouse inherits the entire estate.
- If you have a spouse and children together, but your spouse also has children from a prior relationship, your spouse inherits half of the intestate estate and your children inherit the other half.
- If you have a spouse and children from a relationship other than your spouse, your spouse inherits half of the intestate estate and your children inherit the other half.
- If you have living parents but no spouse or children, your parents inherit the entire estate.
- If you have siblings but no spouse, descendants, or parents, your siblings inherit the entire estate.
Additional rules apply for more distant relatives, half-blood relationships, and cases with no identifiable heirs. See the full statutory framework in Chapter 732 of the Florida Statutes.
The Risks of Dying Without a Will in Florida
Beyond losing control over who inherits, dying intestate creates practical problems:
- You cannot choose your personal representative, so the court appoints one for you.
- Probate typically takes longer, delaying when your family actually receives assets.
- You cannot leave anything to a friend, unmarried partner, or charity, since intestacy law only recognizes legal relatives.
- If you have minor children and no surviving co-parent, the court decides on a guardian without your input.
For a deeper look at these consequences, see our related guide on the consequences of dying without a will.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my spouse automatically get everything if I die without a will in Florida?
Only in certain situations, such as when you have no descendants, or when all your descendants are also your spouse's children and your spouse has no other children. If either of you has children from outside the marriage, the estate splits between your spouse and children.
What happens to my minor children if I die without a will in Florida?
The probate court appoints a guardian if there is no surviving parent, and the court's choice may not reflect who you would have selected yourself.
Can an unmarried partner inherit if there is no will?
No. Florida's intestacy statutes only recognize legal relationships such as spouses, children, parents, and siblings. An unmarried partner has no automatic inheritance right without a will or a beneficiary designation.
How long does probate take without a will in Florida?
It varies, but intestate probate commonly takes longer than probate with a valid will, especially if the court needs to locate and verify distant relatives.
Can I avoid probate entirely by not having a will?
No. Not having a will does not avoid probate. It generally makes the process longer, since the court must apply Florida's intestacy statutes rather than following your own instructions.
How to Make a Legal Will in Florida
You can avoid all of this uncertainty with a properly executed will. FastWill's will package uses Florida-specific rules to build a valid document, so you decide who inherits and who cares for your children, not the state. Start with our step-by-step guide to making a will in Florida, or see the full picture in our Florida estate planning guide.
