Probate Without a Will in Florida: How Intestate Succession Works in Palm Beach

When a Florida resident dies without a valid will, the estate passes by “intestate succession” — a fixed statutory order set out in Chapter 732 of the Florida Statutes that decides who inherits and how much. The deceased’s wishes, verbal promises, and family expectations carry no legal weight; the law substitutes its own default plan. In Palm Beach County, that estate still travels through probate, and before a single heir is paid, the estate’s creditors must be addressed.

That last point is where intestate estates get complicated, and it’s the part most families overlook. An estate without a will is not a faster estate. If anything, the absence of a named personal representative and clear beneficiaries can slow administration and widen the door for creditor claims. Below is a working attorney’s walkthrough of how Florida intestate succession actually plays out — who inherits, how the shares are calculated, and why creditors sit at the front of the line.

What “Intestate” Means in Florida Probate

A person who dies testate leaves a valid will. A person who dies intestate does not — either because they never made a will, or because the will they made was revoked, lost, or ruled invalid. Florida law treats a partially intestate estate too: if a will disposes of some assets but not others, the leftover property passes by intestacy.

Intestacy under section 732.101 only governs the probate estate — assets titled in the decedent’s sole name with no beneficiary designation. It does not touch:

• Jointly held property with rights of survivorship
• Payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts
• Life insurance and retirement accounts with a named beneficiary
• Assets held in a funded revocable living trust

Those assets move outside probate to the surviving owner or named beneficiary regardless of the intestacy statute. The result is that an “intestate estate” is often smaller than the family assumes — and the assets that do fall into probate are precisely the ones exposed to creditor claims.

Who Inherits Under Florida Intestate Succession

Florida’s distribution scheme lives in sections 732.102 (the surviving spouse’s share) and 732.103 (the share of other heirs). The order is rigid and is applied in tiers — the law moves down the list only when no one in the prior tier survives.

The Surviving Spouse’s Share (§ 732.102)

This is the section that surprises people most, because Florida changed it years ago and the old “one-half to the spouse” rule no longer applies in many families. The current rules:

• No surviving descendants: the spouse takes the entire intestate estate.
• All descendants are also the spouse’s descendants, and the spouse has no other descendants: the spouse takes the entire intestate estate. (Florida treats a unified family as one unit.)
• The decedent has descendants who are not the surviving spouse’s: the spouse takes one-half, and the descendants split the other half.
• The spouse has descendants who are not the decedent’s (a blended family): the spouse takes one-half, and the decedent’s descendants take the other half.

The blended-family scenarios are where intestacy quietly disinherits the people a decedent assumed would be protected. A spouse who expected the whole estate can end up sharing it with stepchildren — or with the decedent’s children from a prior relationship — purely because no will said otherwise.

When There Is No Surviving Spouse (§ 732.103)

If the spouse predeceased the decedent or there was no spouse, the estate descends in this order:

1. To the decedent’s descendants (children, then grandchildren by representation)
2. If none, to the decedent’s parents equally, or the survivor
3. If none, to the decedent’s brothers and sisters and their descendants
4. If none, the estate splits between the paternal and maternal kindred — grandparents, then uncles and aunts, and so on
5. If no kindred survive at all, to the family of a deceased spouse, and ultimately the estate escheats to the State of Florida under section 732.107

Florida distributes among descendants “per stirpes” — by the branches of the family tree, as defined in section 732.104. A predeceased child’s share drops down to that child’s own children rather than vanishing.

Homestead, the Elective Share, and Family Protections

Intestate math is not just the succession statute. Florida overlays several protections that take priority over ordinary heirs and, importantly, over many creditors.

Homestead. Under the Florida Constitution (Article X, section 4) and section 732.401, the decedent’s homestead residence is shielded from most creditors and passes under special rules. A surviving spouse may receive a life estate with a remainder to the descendants, or — by timely election — an undivided one-half tenancy in common. Homestead is one of the few assets that can pass to heirs ahead of general creditors.

Family allowance and exempt property. Sections 732.402 and 732.403 give the surviving spouse and minor children a slice of furniture, vehicles, and up to a statutory cash allowance, free of most creditor claims.

These carve-outs matter enormously in a creditor-heavy estate. They are often the only assets a family actually keeps once the claims period closes.

Why Creditors Come First in an Intestate Estate

Here is the reality our Palm Beach practice sees constantly: heirs focus on the succession chart, but the succession chart only governs what is left after creditors are paid. An intestate estate is administered through the same probate machinery as a testate one, and Florida’s creditor rules are unforgiving about timing.

Once a personal representative is appointed, they must publish a Notice to Creditors and serve known or reasonably ascertainable creditors directly, under sections 733.701 and 733.2121. Creditors then face a hard deadline:

• A creditor who is served must file a claim within 30 days of service, or by the publication deadline, whichever is later.
• The general claims window runs three months from the first publication of the notice (§ 733.702).
• Under section 733.710, claims are absolutely barred two years after death, regardless of notice — a statute of repose that protects estates from stale debts.

Valid, timely claims are paid according to the priority ladder in section 733.707 — administration costs and funeral expenses first, then taxes, then medical bills of the last illness, then everything else. Heirs are paid only after that ladder is satisfied. An intestate estate with significant debt can leave little or nothing for the statutory heirs once the claims period runs its course.

This is also why an intestate estate is rarely a do-it-yourself project. A personal representative who distributes to heirs before the creditor period closes can be held personally liable to creditors who later present valid claims. We’ve untangled more than one estate where well-meaning family members paid out early and then had to claw funds back. If you want a deeper look at how the claims process and administration interlock, our colleagues describe the full sequence in their overview of , and the same priority principles guide Florida practice.

Appointing a Personal Representative Without a Will

A will normally names the executor. With no will, section 733.301 sets the order of preference for who serves as personal representative (Florida’s term for the estate’s administrator):

1. The surviving spouse
2. The person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs
3. The heir nearest in degree of kinship (with the court breaking ties)

The appointee must be qualified — a Florida resident, or a close relative if out of state, and not a minor or convicted felon. When heirs disagree about who should serve, the appointment itself becomes contested litigation before the estate even reaches distribution. Disputes over who controls an estate, or whether a purported will is valid at all, are litigated more often than people expect; the mechanics of a illustrate how quickly these fights escalate when no clear plan exists.

How Palm Beach Intestate Administration Actually Proceeds

A typical intestate Palm Beach estate moves through these stages:

1. Petition for administration filed with the Palm Beach County Probate Division of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit.
2. Letters of Administration issued, empowering the personal representative.
3. Determination of heirs — the court formally identifies who inherits under Chapter 732.
4. Notice to creditors published and served; the three-month claims clock begins.
5. Inventory and valuation of probate assets within 60 days of letters.
6. Claims resolution — paying, objecting to, or settling creditor claims.
7. Distribution to heirs and discharge of the personal representative.

Smaller estates may qualify for summary administration under section 735.201 when the probate estate is valued at $75,000 or less, or the decedent has been dead more than two years. Summary administration is faster, but it does not erase creditor exposure within the two-year window — a point that catches many families off guard. For an overview of how our Florida team handles these matters end to end, see our .

How to Avoid Intestacy in the First Place

Every intestate estate represents a plan the decedent never made. The fix is straightforward and inexpensive compared to the cost of an intestate administration. A simple will lets you name your own personal representative, direct exactly who inherits, and provide for people the statute would ignore — an unmarried partner, a charity, a stepchild. Pairing a will with beneficiary designations and, where appropriate, a revocable trust keeps assets out of probate and away from the creditor gauntlet entirely.

If you’ve recently lost a family member who died without a will, or you want to make sure your own estate never lands in intestacy, learn more about Florida probate or contact our Palm Beach office for a focused consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the State of Florida take my property if I die without a will?

Almost never. The estate only escheats to the state under section 732.107 if no surviving spouse and no kindred — down to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins — can be found. In practice, the estate passes to family long before it reaches the state.

If I’m married, doesn’t my spouse automatically get everything?

Only in certain situations. Under section 732.102, your spouse inherits the entire intestate estate when there are no descendants, or when all descendants belong to both of you. In blended families, the spouse typically takes only one-half, with the rest going to the decedent’s descendants.

How long do creditors have to file claims in an intestate Florida estate?

Generally three months from the first publication of the Notice to Creditors, or 30 days after being served directly. All claims are absolutely barred two years after death under section 733.710, even without notice.

Can heirs be paid before creditors in an intestate estate?

No. Creditor claims and administration costs are paid first under the priority order in section 733.707. A personal representative who distributes to heirs before the claims period closes can be personally liable to creditors who later file valid claims.

Who becomes the personal representative when there’s no will?

Section 733.301 gives first preference to the surviving spouse, then to a person chosen by a majority of the heirs, then to the heir nearest in kinship. The appointee must be legally qualified to serve in Florida.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the State of Florida take my property if I die without a will?

Almost never. The estate only escheats to the state under section 732.107 if no surviving spouse and no kindred — down to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins — can be found. In practice, the estate passes to family long before it reaches the state.

If I'm married, doesn't my spouse automatically get everything?

Only in certain situations. Under section 732.102, your spouse inherits the entire intestate estate when there are no descendants, or when all descendants belong to both of you. In blended families, the spouse typically takes only one-half, with the rest going to the decedent’s descendants.

How long do creditors have to file claims in an intestate Florida estate?

Generally three months from the first publication of the Notice to Creditors, or 30 days after being served directly. All claims are absolutely barred two years after death under section 733.710, even without notice.

Can heirs be paid before creditors in an intestate estate?

No. Creditor claims and administration costs are paid first under the priority order in section 733.707. A personal representative who distributes to heirs before the claims period closes can be personally liable to creditors who later file valid claims.

Who becomes the personal representative when there's no will?

Section 733.301 gives first preference to the surviving spouse, then to a person chosen by a majority of the heirs, then to the heir nearest in kinship. The appointee must be legally qualified to serve in Florida.