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Florida Heirs

Probate Information • Jan 19, 2023
post about Florida Heirs

Who are Florida heirs and how much do you inherit?

Florida heirs inherit the entire estate when there is no will.

Heir Inherit an Intestate Estate

Many people die in Florida without a will.

When that happens, the estate is called an “intestate” estate.

The Florida laws of intestacy rule.

What do the laws of intestacy say?

They say that heirs inherit.

How much?

The entire estate.

But remember, that you have to pay taxes, claims, creditors and expenses of administration before beneficiaries see a dime. (For more on intestacy, click here.)

Who Are Florida Heirs?

OK…………..so, who, exactly are Florida heirs?

First of all, a surviving spouse is.

Descendants are. Like minor or adult children and a deceased child’s children.

Note that being an “heir” is different than being an interested person.

If the spouse of the deceased Florida resident is the parent of all the children of the deceased Florida resident, the spouse takes the entire estate.

Unless he or she waived inheritance rights. Like in a prenup. Then, her or his rights to inherit are limited by the prenup. Assuming the prenup is valid or cannot be turned over. But , then again, sometimes people fight about the “plain” language in a prenup.

If the spouse is not the parent of one or more of the deceased Florida resident’s children: the spouse takes half the estate and the other heirs take the other half.

Remember: homestead is often a very valuable asset. That’s the one true home of the deceased Florida resident. Although the spouse has lots of valuable survivorship rights. He or she can live in the homestead for life. Or make an election to sell it and take half the sale proceeds. For more on homestead inheritance, click here.

For more on the Florida probate process, click here.