Florida Surviving Spouse Inheritance Rights : If a Marriage is Valid Under Foreign Law, Is it Treated as Valid in Florida?

If two people are married according to the laws of a foreign country, will that marriage be deemed valid by a Florida probate court? Do the Florida probate courts look to the foreign country’s laws to determine whether reputed spouses from a foreign country should be considered married? What if a reputed spouse argues to a Florida probate court that, under a foreign law, she is married to the decedent? You may want to read Cohen v. Shushan, a March 15,2017 Second DCA opinion.

Here, the decedent’s daughter, Diana Cohen, filed a petition for intestate administration of her father’s Florida assets. The daughter named her father’s six children as the only heirs to his Florida estate. Mali Ben Shushan, the decedent’s reputed spouse in Israel, responded to the petition. She argued that under Israeli law, she was considered the decedent’s wife for the purposes of inheritance and, therefore, was entitled to a surviving spouse’s share of the Florida estate. The trial court agreed. The Second DCA reversed and remanded.

In this opinion, it is explained that “Florida has traditionally approved of the sanctity of marriage, and the act of marriage, regardless of where it is contracted.” Furthermore, West Palm Beach probate lawyers know that if a marriage is valid under foreign law, it is treated as valid by the Florida probate courts. However, if the purported marital relationship in a foreign jurisdiction would be deemed invalid in that jurisdiction, it must be deemed invalid in Florida. Here, there was an in depth discussion as to whether the relationship between the decedent and Shushan would be considered a valid marriage in Israel. This was imperative to this Florida trust and estates dispute because, if the marriage between the decedent and Shushan would be deemed invalid in Israel, Shushan would not inherit in Florida as the decedent’s surviving spouse. To read the entire opinion, click here.