Practice Areas

Blog

News

Library

What happens if someone dies in Florida, but they have no will?

 

A: If someone dies in Florida with no will, the distribution of the deceased's estate will be subject to rules set forth by state law. In situations such as this, as a beneficiary, you may benefit by consulting with a Fort Myers, Florida attorney who has vast experiencing handling probate cases in the state.

Distributing a Florida Estate without a Will for Guidance

In cases in which the deceased has a living spouse but no descendants, the spouse will be entitled to 100% of the estate. 

Where there is no will and the living spouse has descendants who are also descendants of the deceased, the living spouse will still be entitled to 100% of the estate. This is a result of recent rule changes that took effect on October 1, 2011.

Now, suppose the deceased had descendants but were not descendants of the living spouse. In cases such as this, the living spouse would be entitled to 50% of the probate estate and the deceased's descendants would equally share the remainder of the estate.

When the individual dies without a will and there is no living spouse but there are descendants, equal shares of the estate will be split up amongst them. Any children of a deceased child will get the share that was entitled to the deceased parent.

If the deceased was not married and had no descendants, the estate will be distributed according to rules under Florida law, which a Fort Myers, Florida attorney can explain in great detail.

Help from an Estate Planning Attorney in Fort Myers is Just a Phone Call Away

Fort Myers estate planning attorney Matthew A. Linde understands firsthand the importance of careful estate planning and the complexities of financial legal matters, such as probate, tax litigation and guardianship. For help with your estate planning concerns, contact our Fort Myers office to schedule a one-on-one meeting with a professional who can answer your questions - 239-939-7100 or 888-643-6514.

Terms and Conditions for Use of Website:  Matthew A. Linde, P.A. (the "Firm") makes available the information and materials on this website, http://www.probatelitigator.com, and http://www.contractlitigator.com  (the "Materials") for informational purposes only to the user ("You.”).  While the Firm hopes the Materials will be helpful as general information, the Firm does not warrant that the Materials are accurate or complete. Moreover, the Materials are general in nature, and may not apply to your legal issue. Under no circumstance do the Materials constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such.  Furthermore, the Firm accepts clients only in accordance with mutually agreed upon procedures and renders legal advice only after completion of those procedures and when it is legally permissible for the Firm to do so. Any usage of this website and Materials is provided with no warranties or guarantees of any kind. Further, attempting to print a Webpage can distort its meaning because only part of the Webpage will actually print, and links between WebPages is severed by attempting to print a page.  These WebPages are not intended to be printed.  The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask the Firm to send you free written information about the qualifications and experience of the relevant lawyer.   The Firm regularly handles cases in Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Cape Coral,  Bonita Springs, (Lee County) Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, (Charlotte County) and Naples including Marco Island (Collier County).

Contact Information

Videos

FAQs