Intestacy in Florida: What Happens If You Die Without a Will?

Nobody plans to leave their family in legal limbo. Yet every year, thousands of Floridians die without a valid will, forcing the state to decide who gets their home, their savings, and everything else they worked a lifetime to build. In Florida, dying intestate means no valid will exists to guide property distribution – and the consequences can be far-reaching for the people you care about most.

This guide walks you through Florida intestate succession law step by step: who inherits, in what order, and what you can do right now to make sure a statute written for the general public never overrides your personal wishes.

Understanding Intestacy Under Florida Law

Intestacy is the legal term for dying without a valid will – or dying with a will that fails to dispose of all your assets. When this happens, Florida steps in with its own default distribution plan, found in Chapter 732, Part I of the Florida Statutes (Fla. Stat. §§ 732.101–732.109). In Florida, intestacy rules determine who inherits property when someone dies without a will, and those rules may not match what the decedent would have chosen.

Florida’s population grew from 21.6 million to 21.9 million in 2023, and with that growth comes more families, more real estate, and more complex household structures – blended families, unmarried partners, stepchildren, and aging parents – all of which make intestacy planning increasingly urgent. Boca Raton follows Florida’s intestate succession laws defined in Florida Statutes Chapter 732, just like every other city in the state.

At The Siegel Law Group, P.A. in Boca Raton, we help South Florida families avoid intestacy and navigate probate when it does occur. Here are the key concepts this article covers:

• Intestate succession is Florida’s statutory default plan for distributing a decedent’s probate assets when there is no valid will.

• The surviving spouse is given priority under the statute, but the exact share depends on the family structure.

• Only “probate assets” – property titled solely in the decedent’s name without beneficiaries – are subject to intestacy.

• Stepchildren, unmarried partners, and friends receive nothing under intestacy unless they were legally included through adoption or a formal estate plan.

• Homestead property carries its own constitutional and statutory protections that can modify standard intestate distribution.

• If no qualifying heirs exist at all, the decedent’s estate ultimately escheats to the State of Florida.

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What Does It Mean to Die Intestate in Florida?

When someone dies intestate in Florida, it means they left behind no legally valid will – or their will failed to address certain assets. The distinction matters because “partial intestacy” is also possible: a person may have a will that distributes their bank accounts but says nothing about a rental property, leaving that property to pass under the intestate succession statute.

The person who died is called the “decedent,” and their estate goes through Florida probate court. But not everything the decedent owned is subject to intestacy. Intestacy laws in Florida apply only to assets solely in the deceased person’s name without designated beneficiaries – meaning the decedent’s ownership interest in those assets had no automatic transfer mechanism in place.

Here is how to think about which assets are and are not governed by intestacy:

• Probate assets (subject to intestacy): Real estate titled only in the decedent’s name, individual bank accounts without a payable-on-death designation, personal property such as vehicles, jewelry, and art.

• Non-probate assets (not subject to intestacy): Life insurance policies with named beneficiaries, retirement accounts (IRA, 401(k)) with designated beneficiaries, jointly owned property with right of survivorship, payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts, and property held in a revocable living trust.

• Partial intestacy occurs when a will exists but does not cover every probate asset. The uncovered assets are distributed under the intestate succession statute.

• Under Fla. Stat. § 732.101, any part of the estate not effectively disposed of by will passes to heirs, and the heirs’ right vests at the moment of death.

The bottom line: if you own anything solely in your name and you have not named a beneficiary or placed it in a trust, that asset will be distributed according to Florida’s rigid statutory formula – not according to your preferences.

Florida Intestate Succession Basics

State law dictates a default distribution order when a person dies intestate in Florida. That order is found in Fla. Stat. §§ 732.101–732.103, and it ranks the decedent’s heirs in a fixed hierarchy.

• Intestacy laws dictate how assets are distributed based on surviving relatives’ hierarchy, starting with the surviving spouse and working outward.

• Florida’s intestacy laws prioritize the surviving spouse for inheritance, followed by descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren), parents, siblings, and progressively more distant relatives.

• To inherit intestate property, an heir must outlive the decedent by at least 120 hours (five days). If an heir dies within that window, Florida law treats them as having predeceased the decedent.

• The decedent’s intestate property is distributed “per stirpes,” meaning if a child predeceased the decedent, that child’s descendants step into that child’s share.

• “Afterborn heirs” – children conceived before the decedent’s death but born afterward – inherit as though born during the decedent’s lifetime under Fla. Stat. § 732.106.

• Each section below breaks down what happens under specific family scenarios, because the surviving spouse’s share and the descendants’ shares shift dramatically depending on the family structure.

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How Florida Probate Handles an Intestate Estate

Probate is required for intestate estates in Florida to identify assets and settle debts. When there is no will, probate court oversees asset distribution in cases of intestacy in Florida by appointing a personal representative, verifying heirs, and ensuring creditors are paid before any property changes hands.

The personal representative is appointed by the court to manage and distribute the estate under intestacy. Here is how the process works:

• Who gets appointed as the decedent’s personal representative? Under Florida probate rules, the court generally prefers the surviving spouse. If there is no surviving spouse, priority goes to the person selected by a majority of the decedent’s heirs, followed by a qualified Florida resident or a trust company. The personal representative’s duty is to act as a fiduciary for all probate estate beneficiaries.

• What does the PR do? The personal representative gathers all probate assets within the personal representative’s control, gives notice to creditors, pays valid debts and taxes, determines who qualifies as heirs under the statute, and distributes the remaining estate according to intestate succession rules. Estate administration in an intestate case can be more complex than in a testate case because there is no will to guide the process.

• What about compensation? The PR is entitled to reasonable compensation under Florida law (and can also recover the personal representative’s costs), unless that compensation is waived. The court supervises fees to protect the estate.

• Creditor claims: Known creditors must be served directly, and a general notice must be published. Creditors have a limited window – typically three months from the first publication – to file claims against the decedent’s probate estate.

• Small estates: Florida offers simplified probate procedures for small estates under certain conditions, such as summary administration for estates valued under $75,000 or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years.

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The Surviving Spouse’s Intestate Share in Florida

The surviving spouse inherits first under Florida intestate law. Fla. Stat. § 732.102 establishes the spouse as the highest-priority heir, but the share the surviving spouse actually receives depends on the family’s composition – specifically, whether there are descendants and whether those descendants are shared.

• A “surviving spouse” under Florida law means someone who was legally married to the decedent at the time of death. Domestic partners, long-term companions, and cohabitants do not qualify, regardless of how long the relationship lasted.

• A deceased spouse – someone who predeceased the decedent – obviously cannot inherit, but a surviving spouse from a void or annulled marriage is likewise excluded.

• The spouse’s beneficial interests in the intestate estate range from 100% to 50%, depending on whether the decedent left descendants and the nature of those relationships.

• Beyond intestate succession, the surviving spouse may also assert rights to the decedent’s elective estate, which includes not just probate assets but also certain non-probate property. The elective share equals 30% of the elective estate. The remaining elective estate after that calculation can be complex, and computing the surviving spouse’s beneficial interests requires careful analysis of the surviving spouse’s costs, assets, and existing rights.

• Sections below break down the three main scenarios.

Intestate Distribution When There Is a Spouse but No Descendants

This is the simplest scenario. When the decedent is survived by a spouse and has no living descendants – no children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren – the surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate.

• Under Fla. Stat. § 732.102(1), the surviving spouse takes 100% of the decedent’s intestate probate assets.

• The surviving spouse typically receives 100% of the estate if there are no descendants. This applies regardless of whether the decedent’s parents, siblings, or other relatives are still alive – they are all bypassed.

• Example: A Boca Raton resident dies in 2026 without a will, survived only by a spouse. No children from any relationship exist. The spouse inherits the entire estate – every bank account, every investment, every piece of non-homestead real property that was titled solely in the decedent’s name.

• This includes the decedent’s share of non-homestead property, but note that separate homestead rules may still apply to the primary residence (discussed in the homestead section below).

Intestate Distribution When All Descendants Are Shared with the Spouse

When the decedent is survived by both a spouse and descendants, and every one of those descendants is also a descendant of the surviving spouse, the outcome can still be 100% to the spouse – but only if one additional condition is met.

• Under Fla. Stat. § 732.102(2), the surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate when all descendants of the decedent are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has no other descendants from outside the marriage.

• It is only the subsection’s second condition – that the surviving spouse has no other children – that trips people up. If the surviving spouse brought a child from a prior relationship into the marriage, the rule shifts, even though the decedent’s own children are all shared.

• Example: A married couple in Palm Beach County has two children together. Neither spouse has children from any other relationship. One spouse dies intestate. The surviving spouse inherits the full probate estate. The children do not receive separate shares through intestate succession (though they remain the natural heirs of the surviving spouse’s own future estate).

• This rule reflects the legislature’s assumption that a surviving spouse with only shared children will use the inheritance for the benefit of the entire family.

Intestate Distribution in Blended Families

Blended families are where Florida intestate succession law becomes noticeably less generous to the surviving spouse. If either the decedent or the surviving spouse has descendants from another relationship, the split changes to 50/50.

• Under Fla. Stat. § 732.102(3), if the decedent has at least one descendant who is not a descendant of the surviving spouse – for example, a child from a prior marriage – the surviving spouse receives one-half of the intestate estate. The other half passes to the decedent’s descendants per stirpes.

• Under Fla. Stat. § 732.102(4), even if all descendants are shared, the surviving spouse still takes only one-half if the surviving spouse has other descendants from outside the marriage. The remaining portion again goes to the decedent’s descendants.

• Children from previous relationships inherit differently in Florida – and that difference can be substantial.

• If there are descendants from a previous relationship, the surviving spouse receives 50% of the estate. The other half is divided equally among all of the decedent’s descendants (both shared and non-shared children).

Example: David has one child, Emma, from his first marriage and one child, Lucas, with his current wife, Sarah. David dies intestate in Broward County. Sarah receives one-half of the intestate estate. The other half is split equally between Emma and Lucas – each getting 25% of the total estate.

This is one of the most common areas where intestacy results surprise families. Many spouses assume they will inherit everything, only to learn that their stepchildren – or even their own children from another relationship – trigger a mandatory 50/50 split.

For families navigating these dynamics, estate planning for second marriages and blended families is essential.

What If There Is No Surviving Spouse?

When there is no surviving spouse, the entire intestate estate passes to the decedent’s descendants under Fla. Stat. § 732.103(1). Children receive the entire estate equally if there is no surviving spouse.

• If the decedent has two living children and no spouse, each child inherits 50%.

• If a child predeceased the decedent but left descendants (grandchildren of the decedent), those grandchildren step into their deceased parent’s share through per stirpes distribution.

• Example: Maria dies without a will and without a spouse. She has three children: Ana, Carlos, and Sofia. Carlos predeceased Maria but left two children of his own (Maria’s grandchildren). Under per stirpes, Ana receives one-third, Sofia receives one-third, and Carlos’s two children split his one-third equally – each receiving one-sixth.

• If there are no descendants at all and no surviving spouse, the estate moves up to parents, then down to siblings and their descendants, following the statutory priority discussed in the next section.

Those who inherit intestate property under these rules must still go through probate to establish their legal right to receive the assets.

Florida’s Order of Heirs Beyond Spouse and Children

When there is no surviving spouse and no descendants, Florida intestacy statutes specify equal distribution among relatives when immediate family is absent, following a strict statutory hierarchy under Fla. Stat. § 732.103.

If no spouse or descendants exist, the estate goes to the decedent’s parents or siblings – but in a specific order:

• Parents: The decedent’s parents inherit equally. If only one parent survives, that parent takes the entire estate.

• Siblings and descendants of siblings: If neither parent survives, the estate passes to the decedent’s brothers and sisters equally. If a sibling predeceased the decedent, that sibling’s children (the decedent’s nieces and nephews) inherit their parent’s share per stirpes.

• Grandparents and their descendants: If no siblings or their descendants survive, the estate splits into paternal and maternal halves. Each half goes to the respective grandparents or, if they are deceased, to their descendants (uncles, aunts, cousins).

• More remote kin: The statute continues extending outward to increasingly distant relatives using degrees of kinship.

• If no immediate family exists, distant relatives inherit next – the law casts a wide net before giving up.

• Example: James, a single man with no children, dies intestate. He is survived by his mother and two siblings. His mother inherits the entire estate under Fla. Stat. § 732.103(2). His siblings receive nothing because parents take priority.

• Half-blood siblings (those sharing only one parent with the decedent) inherit the same share as full-blood siblings under Fla. Stat. § 732.105 unless the statute directs otherwise.

How Florida Treats Adopted, Posthumous, and Nonmarital Children

Florida’s intestate succession rules recognize several categories of children, and each has different inheritance rights. Understanding these distinctions is critical for the decedent’s heirs and for families navigating probate.

• Adopted children: Under Fla. Stat. § 732.108(1), an adopted person is treated as a natural descendant of the adopting parent for all purposes of intestate succession. Adoption generally severs the legal relationship with the prior adoptive parent’s family (if a prior adoption existed) and with the child’s biological family. This means an adopted child can no longer inherit from his or her natural parents through intestacy, and the natural parent’s family likewise loses inheritance rights from the adopted child.

• Children born out of wedlock: Under Fla. Stat. § 732.108(2), a child born outside of marriage may inherit from or her mother automatically. To inherit from his or her father, paternity must be established – either during the father’s lifetime or posthumously through court adjudication, a formal acknowledgment, or a consent order. If paternity was never established, the child cannot inherit from the deceased natural parent on the paternal side.

• Posthumous children (afterborn heirs): A child conceived before the decedent’s death but born afterward inherits as if born during the decedent’s lifetime under Fla. Stat. § 732.106. However, a child conceived after the decedent’s death through posthumous reproduction (such as an embryo transfer using stored genetic material) is generally not included under this statute and would need to be provided for in the decedent’s will under Fla. Stat. § 742.17(4).

• Stepchildren and foster children: Stepchildren do not inherit under Florida’s intestate statutes. A stepchild is not considered a “child” under Chapter 731’s definitions unless that stepchild was legally adopted by the decedent. The same applies to foster children. The natural parent’s spouse who served as a stepparent has no intestate inheritance relationship with stepchildren.

• Children from previous relationships inherit differently in Florida when a deceased natural parent’s paternity or adoption status is unclear, making documentation essential.

Are Stepchildren and Unmarried Partners Protected by Intestacy?

This is one of the most commonly misunderstood areas of Florida intestate succession. The short answer is no.

• Stepchildren have no automatic intestate rights in Florida unless they were legally adopted by the decedent. Even a stepchild raised from infancy receives nothing under the statute.

• Stepchildren do not inherit under Florida’s intestate distribution – the law looks only at legal parent-child relationships, not emotional bonds or caregiving history.

• Unmarried partners – including long-term domestic partners and cohabitants – are not recognized as heirs under Florida intestate succession. They have no property interest in the decedent’s estate regardless of the length of the relationship.

• Without a will or trust, these loved ones can be completely disinherited even if they depended on the decedent financially or emotionally.

• The same applies to close friends, caregivers, and charitable organizations the decedent supported during life.

If you have a blended family, an unmarried partner, or anyone outside the statutory hierarchy whom you want to inherit from you, you must use formal estate planning tools – a will, a trust, beneficiary designations – to include them.

Homestead and the Family Home Under Florida Intestacy

Florida law provides unique protections for homestead properties, affecting their distribution under intestacy. Homestead is governed not just by statute (Fla. Stat. § 732.401) but also by the Florida Constitution (Article X, Section 4), and the rules can override or modify standard intestate distribution in surprising ways.

Here is a high-level overview of how homestead interacts with intestacy:

• When a decedent is survived by a spouse and descendants, the surviving spouse typically receives a life estate in the homestead property for the spouse’s probable lifetime. The descendants receive a vested remainder interest per stirpes. This means the spouse can live in the home but cannot sell it outright without the consent of the remainder holders.

• Alternatively, the surviving spouse may elect to take an undivided one-half interest in the homestead as a tenant in common with the descendants, rather than a life estate.

• When there is a surviving spouse but no descendants, the spouse inherits the homestead outright – the same property interest the decedent held.

• When there are descendants but no surviving spouse, the descendants inherit the homestead per stirpes.

• A married decedent with minor children generally cannot devise homestead to someone other than the spouse. If no valid devise exists (as in intestacy), the life estate plus remainder framework applies.

• Homestead is exempt property under Florida’s constitutional protections, shielding it from most creditor claims. This is separate from the statutory concept of IV exempt property (tangible personal property and certain other exempt property rights described in Part IV of Chapter 732).

Example: A Boca Raton resident dies intestate, survived by a spouse and two adult children. The family’s primary residence – a home worth $600,000 – is classified as homestead. The surviving spouse receives a life estate in the home. The two adult children hold the vested remainder. If the spouse wants to sell the home and downsize, all three must agree to the sale.

This framework often creates friction, especially when the surviving spouse and the adult children have different financial goals. Consulting a Florida estate planning attorney – like The Siegel Law Group, P.A. – for homestead-specific advice is strongly recommended.

What Property Is Not Controlled by Intestate Succession?

Many of the most valuable assets a Floridian owns pass entirely outside of intestate succession and probate. Assets with designated beneficiaries bypass intestacy laws and do not go through probate, regardless of what any will or intestacy statute says.

The following property interests are generally not governed by Florida intestate succession:

• Life insurance policies with named beneficiaries. The death benefit goes directly to the beneficiary. If no beneficiary is named, the policy’s net cash surrender value or proceeds may become part of the probate estate.

• Retirement accounts (IRA, 401(k), 403(b)) with named beneficiaries. These pass directly to the beneficiary under the account agreement, though federal estate tax purposes may still affect value calculations. Benefits under the federal railroad retirement act or a deferred compensation plan similarly pass according to their beneficiary designations.

• Jointly owned property with right of survivorship or tenancy by the entirety. The surviving co-owner automatically receives the same property interest, bypassing probate.

• Payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts at a financial institution authorized to hold such accounts. The designated beneficiary inherits the account balance directly.

• Revocable living trust assets. Property titled in a revocable living trust passes according to the trust terms, not intestacy rules.

• Public or private pension benefits and annuity payments – including any commercial or private annuity – with designated beneficiaries pass outside probate.

• Trust or escrow account funds held for designated purposes under trust or state law generally follow their own terms.

• Property irrevocably transferred during the decedent’s lifetime – such as assets placed in an irrevocable trust – are no longer part of the decedent’s estate and are therefore not intestate property.

A few nuances worth noting: even though these assets bypass intestacy, some may still be counted as part of the decedent’s elective estate for purposes of the surviving spouse’s elective share. The elective estate can include the decedent’s beneficial interest in trusts, certain property interest received by third parties, and other property interests that the decedent controlled or from which the decedent received adequate consideration. It may also include such contingent interests and the decedent’s fractional interest in certain assets. A protected charitable interest or protected charitable lead interest is generally excluded from the elective estate calculation. Even following property interests that have been set aside under federal law – including certain benefits exempt under income tax laws or United States gift tax or gift tax laws – may interact with the elective estate differently.

The key takeaway: a present or future interest in non-probate property will not be distributed by intestacy, but it may still affect your family’s financial picture in probate. An experienced estate planning attorney can map out which assets flow through which channels.

Florida Law vs. Your Personal Wishes

A valid will prevents assets from being distributed by intestacy laws. Without one, Florida’s intestate succession statute functions as a one-size-fits-all system that ignores the decedent’s actual preferences, personal relationships, and family dynamics.

Here are some of the most common mismatches between the statute and real-life intentions:

• Unmarried partners receive nothing under intestacy, no matter how long they lived with the decedent or how financially intertwined their lives were.

• Stepchildren who were never legally adopted are excluded entirely – even if the decedent raised them from childhood.

• Friends and caregivers who provided years of support receive no property interest under the statute.

• Charities and religious organizations the decedent donated to during life inherit nothing.

• Homestead distribution may force a life estate arrangement on the surviving spouse when the decedent would have preferred the spouse to own the home outright.

• Specific gifts – a treasured piece of jewelry to a grandchild, a vehicle to a sibling, funds to a godchild – simply cannot happen without a will or trust.

Florida law does not consider caregiving contributions, financial need, emotional closeness, or the decedent’s spoken wishes when distributing an intestate estate. The statute treats every family identically within its categories.

The solution is straightforward: create a will or trust that expresses your actual intentions so the law does not substitute its own.

Why Intestacy Often Creates Problems for Florida Families

Beyond the mismatch between statute and personal wishes, intestacy can create real, practical harm for the people left behind. Intestate succession can lead to lengthy disputes over property ownership, and the emotional toll compounds the financial one.

• Confusion about who inherits. Without a will naming beneficiaries, family members may disagree about the family tree. Are there children from a prior relationship? Was a child legally adopted? These questions must be answered before the estate can be distributed, and the burden falls on the personal representative to investigate.

• Resentment in blended families. When a surviving spouse receives only half the estate because of a stepchild’s existence – or when stepchildren learn they have been excluded entirely – relationships can fracture permanently.

• Homestead disputes. The life estate vs. remainder arrangement frequently pits the surviving spouse against the decedent’s children. The spouse wants to sell; the children want to wait. Or the children resent maintaining a property they cannot occupy. These disputes sometimes end up in court.

• Probate is public. Every document filed in a Florida probate case – including inventories, accountings, and petitions – becomes part of the public record. Families who value privacy find this exposure distressing.

• Slower administration. Probate for an intestate estate can be significantly slower because heirs must be located and family trees verified. If an heir cannot be found, the court may require publication of notice and additional hearings.

• Costs. Estate administration expenses – including reasonable attorney’s fees, filing fees, appraisal costs, and the personal representative’s costs – come out of the estate before any heir receives a distribution.

These issues can be particularly painful for seniors and families in South Florida with substantial real estate or retirement assets.

Florida Intestacy and High-Value or Complex Estates

Rising property values in areas like Palm Beach County and Broward County mean that more estates cross into territory where careful planning is not just advisable – it is essential. In 2023, Florida’s median property value was $325,000, and over 1.08 million homes in Florida are valued between $300,000 and $399,999. For many families, a single home represents the largest asset in the estate, and that asset often carries homestead protections that complicate distribution.

• Multiple properties. A decedent who owned a primary residence, a vacation condo, and a rental property creates an intestate estate with multiple real estate parcels – each potentially requiring separate treatment (homestead vs. non-homestead), valuations at fair market value, and creditor analysis.

• Business interests. If the decedent owned a share in a business (LLC, partnership, S-corp), the decedent’s ownership interest must be appraised and either distributed or sold. The transfer tax value and applicable valuation date used for federal estate tax purposes can affect how that interest is handled, and any liability initially apportioned to the business interest must be accounted for. These calculations also intersect with gift tax laws, income tax laws, and federal law governing transfer taxes.

• Investment portfolios. Significant brokerage accounts, real estate investment trusts, and other holdings may require careful liquidation or in-kind distribution.

• Disputed or unclear family relationships. Estranged children, alleged heirs, and relatives discovered through genealogy research are more likely to emerge in high-value estates, leading to contested proceedings.

• Greater legal fees. The more complex the estate, the higher the administrative costs. Appraisals, forensic accounting, and litigation can consume a significant portion of the estate’s value.

Families with complex or high-value assets should consult a Florida intestate succession lawyer to protect their interests – before a crisis forces the issue.

Florida Law on Escheat: When Does the State Inherit?

Escheat is the legal process by which property passes to the State of Florida because the decedent has no identifiable heirs. If no relatives are found, the estate escheats to the state.

• Under Fla. Stat. § 732.107, if no surviving spouse, descendants, parents, siblings, grandparents, or other kin can be located, the estate goes to the State of Florida – specifically, the State School Fund.

• In intestacy, property may escheat to the state if no heirs exist, but this outcome is rare. Courts look hard for any qualifying relatives before allowing escheat, and the statutory hierarchy of heirs is broad enough to capture very distant cousins.

• There is a statutory window – generally up to ten years after payment to the Chief Financial Officer – during which a person who proves entitlement may recover the property.

• Escheat is one of the strongest reasons to have a will or trust. Even a simple will directing assets to a friend, neighbor, or charity prevents property from going to the state by default.

If you have no close relatives, a will or trust ensures your assets go where you want them – not into a general state fund.

How Florida Intestacy Interacts with Medicaid and Long-Term Care Planning

Many Florida seniors rely on Medicaid or other long-term care planning strategies, and dying intestate can undermine those plans in ways that harm the very people the decedent wanted to protect.

Florida’s Medicaid Estate Recovery program may seek reimbursement from the decedent’s estate for Medicaid long-term care payments made during the decedent’s life maintained pursuant to a Medicaid agreement. When assets pass through intestacy rather than through a properly structured trust, those assets are exposed to recovery claims that might otherwise have been avoided.

• Medicaid eligibility disruption. Property previously contributed to a Medicaid-qualifying trust may lose its protected status if the trust was not properly maintained or if the estate plan was incomplete. Without coordinated planning, assets could be counted toward eligibility limits.

• Special needs disqualification. If a disabled surviving spouse or a disabled child inherits outright through intestacy, that inheritance can disqualify them from means-tested public benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid. A properly drafted special needs trust would have preserved both the inheritance and the benefits.

• Medical or educational expenses. Families who relied on the decedent’s income or assets for a loved one’s medical or educational expenses may find those funds consumed by probate costs or Medicaid recovery before they ever reach the intended recipient.

• Coordination with elder law planning. Medicaid planning and estate planning work together, but only if both are in place. Dying intestate breaks the chain.

Using trusts and coordinated estate planning with a firm like The Siegel Law Group, P.A. protects both eligibility and inheritances – and ensures that the decedent’s long-term care arrangements do not unravel at death.

Using Wills, Trusts, and Beneficiary Designations to Avoid Intestacy

The most effective way to avoid intestate succession is a comprehensive Florida estate plan tailored to your family structure and asset profile. Here are the core tools and what each one accomplishes:

• Last Will and Testament. A will lets you name specific beneficiaries for your probate assets, appoint a personal representative to manage your estate, name guardians for minor children, and designate backup beneficiaries. Without a will, the court decides all of these. You can learn more about how wills work in our guide on Florida wills and trusts.

• Revocable Living Trust. A living trust removes assets from the probate process entirely. Property titled in the trust passes according to the trust terms – privately, without court supervision, and often much faster than probate. It also provides continuity if you become incapacitated.

• Beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and certain bank and investment accounts allow you to name beneficiaries who receive the assets directly at your death. Keep these updated – especially after a marriage, divorce, or birth of a child. These designations override your will.

• IRA trusts. For families with significant retirement account balances, an IRA trust can control how distributions are handled after death, potentially stretching tax benefits and protecting the inheritance from creditors or from ineligible family trustees who might mismanage the funds.

• Special needs trusts. If a family member receives government benefits, a special needs trust ensures that an inheritance does not disqualify them. Intestacy offers no such protection.

• Pet trusts. Florida law recognizes trusts for the care of animals. If you want your pet cared for after your death, a pet trust is the only reliable mechanism – intestacy provides nothing for pets.

Each of these tools serves a distinct purpose, and a comprehensive estate plan typically uses several in combination. Together, they can effectively constitute written consent to how your assets will be managed and distributed – replacing the state’s one-size-fits-all approach with your own instructions.

Special Planning for Blended Families, Special Needs, and Pet Owners

Certain families face outsized risk under Florida intestate succession because the statute simply was not designed to accommodate their complexity.

• Blended families. Under §§ 732.102(3)–(4), having a child from a prior relationship – on either side – cuts the surviving spouse’s share from 100% to 50%. That may leave the surviving spouse without enough assets to maintain their standard of living, or it may give a child from a prior marriage an inheritance the decedent never intended. Thoughtful trust planning can protect both the spouse and the children. The natural parent’s family and the stepfamily can both be provided for, but only through deliberate design.

• Special needs beneficiaries. A child or adult family member with disabilities who inherits outright through intestacy may immediately lose Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, and other benefits. A special needs planning attorney can establish a trust that supplements public benefits without replacing them.

• Pet owners. Florida recognizes trusts established for the care of animals, but intestacy makes no provision for pets. Without a pet trust, your animal may end up in a shelter – even if you have friends or family willing to care for them – because there is no legal mechanism to transfer funds for the pet’s care.

• Example: Linda, a widow in Boca Raton, has one adult son with Down syndrome who receives Medicaid and SSI. Linda also has a beloved golden retriever. If Linda dies intestate, her son inherits outright – potentially disqualifying him from benefits he needs for daily care. The dog has no legal protection at all. With a special needs trust and a pet trust, both are provided for.

Proactive planning avoids forcing these families into rigid intestacy rules that were never designed with their circumstances in mind.

When to Contact a Florida Intestate Succession Lawyer

There are clear situations when families should seek legal help rather than trying to navigate intestacy on their own:

• A loved one has died without a will, and you need to understand what happens next.

• The family is blended – there are children from multiple relationships, stepchildren, or a surviving spouse who is not the parent of all the decedent’s children.

• There are minor children who need a guardian appointed.

• The estate includes significant real estate – especially homestead property – that triggers constitutional restrictions on distribution.

• There are possible unknown heirs, estranged family members, or disputed paternity claims.

• A family member has special needs and may be at risk of losing public benefits due to an outright inheritance.

• The estate is high in value and may be subject to federal estate tax purposes analysis or complex valuations.

An intestate succession lawyer ensures that Florida statutory rules are followed, that all deadlines are met (including creditor notice periods, elective share filing windows, and probate administration timelines), and that disputes are minimized.

The Siegel Law Group, P.A. offers free consultations to review a loved one’s estate or to discuss creating an estate plan that avoids intestacy entirely. If you are in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Broward County, or greater South Florida, schedule a consultation today.

Take Control Before Florida Intestate Succession Decides for You

Under Florida law, intestate succession determines who inherits if you do not leave a valid estate plan. The statute prioritizes the surviving spouse and descendants, but it may not reflect your actual wishes – especially if you have a blended family, an unmarried partner, a disabled loved one, or a pet that depends on you.

The consequences of intestacy are real: rigid statutory distribution, public probate proceedings, potential loss of government benefits for vulnerable family members, and – in the worst case – property escheating to the state because no one planned ahead.

Planning with wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations gives you control. It reduces stress on your family. It protects your legacy. And it ensures that the people and causes you care about are provided for – on your terms, not the state’s.

If you are ready to take that step, The Siegel Law Group, P.A. is here to help. As a Boca Raton firm focused on estate planning, elder law, and probate administration, we work with South Florida families every day to build plans that fit their lives – and last beyond them.

Contact us today to schedule your free consultation. Call our Boca Raton office or visit us online to get started. Your family’s future is too important to leave to a default statute.

Llame o envíe un Mensaje de Texto al 561-955-8515 o complete el Formulario de Evaluación de Caso Gratis