If I Die Without a Will in Florida, Does My Spouse Get Everything?

By Dominic L. Scheer, Esq., Florida Bar No. 1022250 · Reviewed by Dominic L. Scheer, Esq. · Last updated October 20, 2026

Carlos said it at every family barbecue in Pembroke Pines: "I don't need a will. Everything goes to Maria. That's the law." He and Maria were married 14 years. He also had a daughter, Sofia, from his first marriage. When Carlos died, Maria found out that Florida law and Carlos's version of it were not the same thing.

Who inherits in Florida if there's no will?

When you die without a will, Florida's intestacy statutes write one for you. If you're married, your spouse's share under section 732.102 turns on one question: are there children from other relationships?

• You have no descendants: your spouse takes everything.
• All of your descendants are also your spouse's, and your spouse has no others: your spouse takes everything.
• You have a descendant who is not your spouse's: your spouse takes one-half.
• All of your descendants are your spouse's, but your spouse has a descendant from another relationship: your spouse takes one-half.

Whatever doesn't go to your spouse goes to your descendants (section 732.103).

That last line on the list surprises people. Picture Maria and Carlos with three kids together, and Maria with a son from her first marriage. Carlos never had a child with anyone else. His estate still splits: half to Maria, half to their three kids. The statute counts your spouse's other children too.

So what did Maria actually get?

Carlos had a brokerage account in his name alone, about $400,000, with no beneficiary named. Because Sofia isn't Maria's child, Maria got half and Sofia got half. Getting it to either of them meant opening a probate case first.

Maria could also claim exempt property. When a Florida resident dies, the surviving spouse can claim household furniture, furnishings and appliances up to $20,000 in net value, up to two cars titled in Carlos's name and used personally, and any 529 or Florida Prepaid accounts (section 732.402). She has to ask the court for it by petition, on a deadline.

None of this means Sofia shouldn't inherit. Maybe Carlos wanted her to. The point is that Carlos never decided. A statute written for everybody decided for him.

Does my spouse get the house if I die without a will in Florida?

Not the way most people assume. Your Florida homestead doesn't follow the one-half and all-of-it split. If you leave a spouse and descendants, section 732.401 gives your spouse a life estate (the right to the home for life) and gives your descendants the remainder: they own it once your spouse dies.

Instead, your spouse can elect to take an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common, with the other half going to your descendants. The election has to be made within six months after the death, by recording a notice of election in the county's official records, and it can't be taken back.

Carlos bought the Pembroke Pines house before the wedding and never put Maria on the deed. So Maria's choices were a life estate with Sofia holding the remainder, or half the house with Sofia owning the other half. Either way, Maria and her stepdaughter are now in business together on a house. If Maria takes the life estate, the expenses are divided between her and Sofia under a separate chapter of Florida law (chapter 738). Who pays for the new roof is now a legal question.

One exception matters a lot: section 732.401 doesn't apply to property held as tenants by the entirety or as joint tenants with right of survivorship. If Carlos and Maria had owned the house together that way, the deed would have done the work.

Do joint accounts and life insurance go by the intestacy rules?

No. A lot of what people own never touches intestacy:

• Joint bank accounts. An account in two or more names is presumed to go to the survivor unless the account documents say otherwise, and an account in the names of a husband and wife is a tenancy by the entirety unless otherwise specified in writing (section 655.79).
• Payable-on-death accounts. At the last owner's death, the money belongs to the surviving POD beneficiaries (section 655.82).
• Life insurance and retirement accounts go to whoever is named on the beneficiary form.

That cuts both ways. If Carlos's life insurance named only Sofia, Maria gets none of it, will or no will. If his checking account was joint with Maria, it's hers. Before anyone can tell you what your spouse would get, someone has to look at how every account is titled and who is named on every form.

Who inherits if I'm not married?

Then section 732.103 runs down a list, and each group inherits only if nobody is left in the one before it:

• your descendants
• your parents, equally, or the survivor of them
• your brothers and sisters, and the descendants of any who died
• half to your father's side and half to your mother's side: grandparents first, then aunts, uncles and their descendants
• if none of those exist, the family of your last deceased spouse

Now look at who isn't on that list. Diane and Rick have lived together in Coral Springs for 11 years. They share a dog, a Costco membership and a standing Sunday brunch. They never married. If Diane dies without a will, Rick inherits nothing from her under the intestacy statute. Her parents in Ohio do, or her sister in Kendall. A partner you never married, or a friend who was family in every way that counted, never inherits under intestacy.

Distance doesn't matter either. The statute follows blood, wherever it lives. If Diane had no parents, siblings, nieces or nephews left, her relatives on each side of the family, down to a cousin in Bogota she has met twice, would inherit ahead of the man who has driven her to every doctor's appointment for a decade.

How do I make sure my spouse is actually taken care of?

Decide on purpose, and put it in writing. A will or a revocable living trust lets you choose who gets what, in what shares and when. In a blended family that might mean everything to your spouse, or something for your spouse now and the rest to your kids later. Either can be right. The intestacy statute is the only plan that never asks what you want.

If you're Rick, this isn't optional. A will or trust, plus beneficiary forms that name him, is the only way Diane's estate reaches him. The same goes for a fiancé, a longtime companion or the friend who checks on you every Sunday.

Two cautions. First, Florida homestead has its own rules even with a plan: if you're survived by a spouse or a minor child, you can't leave the home to just anyone (section 732.4015). Second, a plan only controls what it reaches, so titles and beneficiary forms have to match it.

Want to see it laid out? Our Estate Plan Map has a no-plan view that shows where things go if you do nothing. We published this during National Estate Planning Awareness Week (October 19 to 25, 2026), which a U.S. House resolution recognized back in 2008. Any week is a good week to stop doing nothing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my spouse automatically inherit everything in Florida?

Only if you have no descendants, or all of your descendants are also your spouse's and your spouse has no other descendants (section 732.102). Otherwise, your spouse takes one-half and your descendants take the rest.

How long does a surviving spouse have to elect half of the homestead?

Six months after the death, and during the spouse's lifetime. The election is made by recording a notice of election in the county's official records, and it is irrevocable (section 732.401(2)).

Does an unmarried partner inherit in Florida without a will?

No. Section 732.103 lists descendants, parents, siblings and other blood relatives, and finally the family of a last deceased spouse. A partner you never married is not on the list.

Do joint bank accounts go through intestacy?

Generally no. An account in two or more names is presumed to pass to the survivor unless the account documents say otherwise (section 655.79).

Does Florida have an inheritance tax?

No. Florida has no estate tax or inheritance tax for deaths after December 31, 2004.