Florida Inheritance Rights for Same Sex Couples & Gay Marriages

Do same sex couples have inheritance rights in Florida?   Can a Florida estate be administered by Florida probate lawyers for a surviving spouse who was married to a same sex spouse?  Florida probate law provides married couples and surviving spouses with many inheritance rights and preferences.  Florida probate lawyers know this.  Being a surviving spouse in Florida has value and importance.  So, in light of the July US Supreme Court decisions, will same sex marriages be recognized by a Florida probate court?  Will a Palm Beach County, Florida or a Broward County, Florida probate judge recognize a same sex marriage entered into in, say, Massachusetts or Hawaii or California?  Will a Miami probate court permit a surviving spouse who was married to a same sex spouse to exercise his or her Florida inheritance rights?  Most Florida probate lawyers and Florida probate administration attorneys agree that a Florida probate court, which is administering an estate for a Florida decedent who entered into a same sex marriage, will have to deal with Florida Statutes which outlaw, or don’t recognize, same sex marriages.  Florida Statute Setion 741.212 reads, in part:  “Marriages between persons of the same sex.- (1) Marriages between persons of the same sex entered into in any jurisdiction, whether within or outside the State of Florida, the United States, or any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location, or relationships between persons of the same sex which are treated as marriages in any jurisdiction, whether within or outside the State of Florida, the United States, or any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location, are not recognized for any purpose in this state….”         So……………………… If you were married to a same sex partner and your partner died without a will, and the Florida intestacy statute applies, can you inherit Florida property?   Or….. if you are the surviving spouse of a same sex marriage and your spouse dies in Florida, can you inherit more than his or her will or trust gives you?   What’s your strategy?  Advocate hard.  Litigate smart.