505 E. New York Ave., Suite 7
DeLand, Florida 32724
Bauer & Associates Attorneys at Law
Local: 386.734.3313
Toll Free: 800.738.0424
Offices located in DeLand, FL

What if There is No Will?

If a person dies without a valid will, his or her probate estate is known as an “intestate” estate. When a decedent dies intestate, the probate assets are almost never turned over to the State of Florida. The heirs are the people who are related to the decedent. They are described in the Florida statute governing distribution of the decedent’s probate assets if he or she died intestate.

When a decedent dies intestate, the probate assets are distributed to the decedent’s heirs in the following order of priority:

  • The surviving spouse receives all the decedent’s probate estate if the decedent had no surviving children or grandchildren.

  • If the decedent was survived by a spouse and one or more living descendants, all of which are the descendants of both the decedent and his or her spouse, and the surviving spouse has no additional living descendants, who are not a descendant of the decedent, the surviving spouse receives all of the decedent’s probate estate.

  • If there are one or more living descendants, all of which are descendants of both the decedent and his or her spouse, and the surviving spouse has other living descendants, with at least one of which is not also a descendant of the decedent, the surviving spouse receives one half of the probate estate, and the decedent’s descendants share the remaining half.

  • When the decedent was not married at the time of death but was survived by one or more descendants, those descendants will receive all of the decedent’s probate estate. When there is more than one descendant, the decedent’s probate estate will be divided among them in the manner provided by Florida law. If an heir does not survive the decedent, and the heir has living descendants, the part of the estate which would go to the deceased child of the decedent, will now go to the descendants of the decedent’s deceased child.

  • The Florida statutes direct how the decedent’s probate estate passes to other more remote heirs if the decedent is not survived by any of the close relatives above.