The Short Answer
When you die without a will, Florida’s intestate succession law decides who inherits, in a fixed order that starts with your spouse and children and works outward to parents, siblings, and beyond. It is a rigid formula, and it ignores everyone you did not happen to be related to by blood or marriage: unmarried partners, stepchildren, close friends, charities. One reassurance up front: "no will" does not mean the state takes your money. The state inherits only in the rare case where no living relative can be found.
Who Gets What
Here is the order Florida law follows when there is no will:
| Your situation | Who inherits |
|---|---|
| Spouse, no descendants | Spouse gets everything |
| Spouse + children, all of both of you (and spouse has no others) | Spouse gets everything |
| Spouse + a child from another relationship (yours or the spouse’s) | Spouse gets 1/2, descendants split 1/2 |
| No spouse, but descendants | Descendants, by representation (per stirpes) |
| No spouse or descendants | Parents, then siblings and their descendants |
| No close relatives at all | Grandparents, aunts/uncles/cousins; the State only if truly no heirs |
"By representation" means a deceased child’s share passes to that child’s own children. The State of Florida inheriting (escheat) is genuinely rare.
The Blended-Family Trap
This is where intestacy hurts the most. A couple assumes that if one of them dies, the survivor gets everything. That is true only if every child is the child of both spouses. The moment there is a child from a prior relationship, on either side, the surviving spouse gets just half, and the children split the rest. A husband who meant to leave everything to his wife can instead leave her sharing the estate with his adult kids from a first marriage, often the exact outcome he wanted to avoid. A simple will fixes it. See who would inherit your estate →
The Home Is Different
Your Florida homestead does not follow the chart above; it has its own rules. If you leave a spouse and descendants, your spouse usually gets a life estate (the right to live there for life) with the remainder to your descendants, or can elect a half interest instead. And if you have a spouse or a minor child, the homestead cannot be freely left away from them at all. Because the home is most families’ biggest asset, it deserves its own plan, often a lady bird deed, regardless of what your will says.
What Intestacy Does Not Touch
Intestate succession controls only your probate estate, assets in your name alone with no other instruction. Anything that already says where it goes passes outside it: life insurance and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, pay-on-death accounts, property in a trust, jointly owned property with survivorship, and a home that passed by a lady bird deed. So part of your estate can follow your beneficiary designations while the rest follows the state’s formula, which is exactly the kind of mismatch a real plan prevents.
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A will lets you decide who inherits, name who is in charge, and (for parents) nominate a guardian for your minor children, which intestacy can never do. A will-based plan starts at $1,200, and for many families a lady bird deed on the home and beneficiary designations do much of the rest. It is far cheaper than the delay and conflict intestacy can cause. See what probate costs →
Frequently Asked Questions
What Happens if You Die Without a Will in Florida?
Florida’s intestate succession law writes a will for you. It sets a fixed order of who inherits, starting with your spouse and children, then parents, then siblings, and outward from there. The catch is that this state-written plan may not match what you actually wanted, and it ignores friends, unmarried partners, stepchildren, and charities entirely. "No will" does not mean the state takes your money; the state inherits only if you truly have no living relatives at all.
Who Inherits if I’m Married With Children?
It depends on whose children they are, which surprises people. If all of your children are also your spouse’s children, and your spouse has no children from anyone else, your spouse inherits everything. But if you have a child from another relationship, or your spouse does, then your spouse gets half and your descendants split the other half. This is why blended families are the most at risk under intestacy: the default split is often the opposite of what the couple intended.
Who Inherits if I’m Single or Have No Children?
Florida follows a set order. With no spouse, your descendants inherit (children, then grandchildren, and so on, by representation). With no descendants, it goes to your parents; then to your brothers and sisters and their descendants; then to grandparents and their descendants (aunts, uncles, cousins). Only if no living relative can be found does the estate pass to the State of Florida, which is rare.
What Happens to My House if I Have No Will?
Your Florida homestead follows its own special rules, separate from the rest of your estate. If you are survived by a spouse and descendants, the spouse typically receives a life estate (the right to live there for life) with the remainder to your descendants, or the spouse can elect to take a half interest instead. And if you have a spouse or a minor child, the homestead cannot be freely left away from them at all. These rules override a will, so the home is worth planning for specifically.
Does Intestate Succession Cover Everything I Own?
No, and this is important. Intestacy controls only your "probate estate," the assets in your name alone with no other instruction. It does not touch assets that already say where they go: life insurance and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries, pay-on-death bank accounts, property in a trust, jointly owned property with survivorship, or a home that passed by a lady bird deed. Those pass outside intestacy regardless of whether you had a will.
Who Raises My Minor Children if I Die Without a Will?
A court decides. Without a will, you have not nominated a guardian for your minor children, so a judge chooses who raises them, possibly after a family dispute, and possibly not the person you would have picked. Naming a guardian is one of the most important reasons for young parents to have a will, and it is something intestacy simply cannot do for you.
Is Dying Without a Will Cheaper or Easier?
No, usually the opposite. Your estate still goes through probate either way, and without a will there is often more delay, more cost, and more room for family conflict, because the law’s rigid formula may not fit your family and there is no one you chose to lead. A will (and often a trust or a lady bird deed) gives you control, names who is in charge, and can make the whole process faster and cheaper for the people you leave behind.
Who Is "Next of Kin" Under Florida Law?
Next of kin means your closest living relatives, the people who inherit when you die without a will. Florida’s order generally runs: spouse, then children and other descendants, then parents, then siblings, and outward from there. It is not always who you would expect, an unmarried partner, a stepchild you never adopted, or a close friend is not next of kin and inherits nothing under the statute, no matter how close you were. Naming your own beneficiaries in a will or estate plan overrides this default entirely.
Common Situations
The second marriage. A man remarries and assumes his wife will inherit everything if he dies. He has two adult children from his first marriage, so under intestacy his wife gets half and his children split the other half. A one-page will would have given his wife what he intended.
The unmarried partner. A couple lived together for fifteen years but never married. When one died without a will, the survivor inherited nothing under intestacy, and the estate went to a sibling the deceased was not close to. Intestacy does not recognize partners.
The young parents. A married couple with two small children die in an accident with no will. A court has to decide who raises the children and who manages their money, with no guidance from the parents. A will naming a guardian and a trust for the kids would have spared everyone.
Sources of Law
- Fla. Stat. §§732.101 to 732.111: intestate succession (the share of the spouse and the order of heirs). flsenate.gov (retrieved 2026-06-08)
- Fla. Stat. §732.102 (spouse’s share) and §732.103 (heirs other than the spouse).
- Homestead descent: Fla. Const. Art. X, §4(c) and Fla. Stat. §732.401. Non-probate transfers (beneficiary, POD, trust, survivorship) pass outside intestacy.
Updated on June 8, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. How an estate passes depends on your specific facts. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.