Who Inherits If You Die Without a Will in Florida

Spouse: takes the whole estate if the decedent left no descendants, or if all of the decedent's descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the spouse has no other descendants; otherwise the spouse takes one-half and the decedent's descendants take the rest. With no spouse, the estate passes to descendants; then parents; then siblings and the descendants of deceased siblings; then grandparents' lines (half to the paternal side and half to the maternal side); then kin of the last deceased spouse.

A surviving spouse may elect to take 30% of the 'elective estate', which includes probate assets and many non-probate assets such as revocable trusts and joint accounts. The election must be filed by the earlier of 6 months after the spouse is served with the notice of administration or 2 years after the death.

Florida has no general small estate affidavit. Two limited options exist: (1) a bank may pay a family member up to $2,000 total from deposit accounts or CDs held in the decedent's sole name with no pay-on-death or survivor designation, no earlier than 6 months after death, on a sworn affidavit plus a certified death certificate; (2) 'disposition without administration': if the estate is only exempt personal property plus other personal property worth no more than the preferred funeral expenses and recent medical and hospital expenses, the court may authorize transfer by letter without a full probate. Neither option covers real estate.