Your Estate Rights in Florida: What You’re Entitled To

Understanding your estate rights isn’t just about paperwork — it’s about protecting your loved ones and ensuring your wishes are honored. Florida law provides specific protections and procedures for estate planning and inheritance, whether you’ve prepared a comprehensive plan or are navigating the loss of someone who didn’t.

Knowing what you’re entitled to can make a significant difference during difficult times. From spousal protections to tax advantages, Florida offers unique benefits that distinguish it from other states. EC Law Counsel breaks down your estate rights, explains the inheritance process, and outlines the steps to take after a loved one passes away.

Understanding Your Rights to Direct Asset Distribution

Florida law grants you considerable control over how your assets are distributed after your death. Through a Will or Trust, you can specify exactly who receives your property, financial accounts, and personal belongings.

• Creating a Will allows you to appoint a personal representative (executor) to manage your estate and designate guardians for minor children. However, your personal representative must be either a Florida resident or a close relative — spouse, sibling, parent, child, or other blood relative — to qualify under state law.
• Establishing a Trust offers additional flexibility. Trusts can help your beneficiaries avoid the time-consuming probate process entirely, allowing assets to transfer more quickly and privately. Whether you choose a revocable living trust that you can modify during your lifetime or an irrevocable trust with specific tax advantages, these instruments give you control while potentially reducing administrative burdens on your family.

Both options enable you to customize your legacy according to your values and family circumstances, rather than leaving these critical decisions to state default rules.

Protections for Surviving Spouses

Florida provides robust protections for surviving spouses that go beyond what many other states offer. These safeguards ensure that a spouse isn’t left financially vulnerable, regardless of what a Will stipulates.

The 30% Elective Share

If a Will provides insufficient assets to a surviving spouse — or excludes them entirely — Florida law grants the spouse the right to claim 30% of the “elective estate.” This calculation includes not just probate assets, but also jointly held property, trust assets, payable-on-death accounts, and other transfers that occurred during the marriage.

This protection prevents a deceased spouse from completely disinheriting their partner, offering financial security during a vulnerable time.

Homestead Property Rights

Florida’s homestead laws are among the strongest in the nation. The primary residence receives special protection, often passing directly to the surviving spouse outside of probate. If there’s no surviving spouse, the homestead may transfer to children or other heirs according to specific rules.

These homestead protections also shield the property from most creditors during the owner’s lifetime, providing both estate planning advantages and asset protection benefits.

What Happens Without a Will: Intestate Succession

When someone dies without a Will in Florida, their assets don’t simply disappear or revert to the state. Instead, Florida’s intestate succession laws determine who inherits based on family relationships.

If the deceased is survived by a spouse and no children, the spouse inherits everything. If there are children from the current marriage and the spouse has no other children, the spouse still receives the entire estate. However, if either spouse has children from another relationship, the surviving spouse receives half of the estate, with the other half divided among the deceased’s children.

When there’s no surviving spouse, assets pass to children equally. If no children exist, the estate moves to parents, then siblings, and continues through more distant relatives according to statutory priority.

Understanding these default rules highlights why creating a Will matters. Without one, your assets are distributed according to a one-size-fits-all formula that may not reflect your actual wishes or family dynamics.

Navigating the Probate Process

Probate is the court-supervised process of transferring a deceased person’s assets to their beneficiaries or heirs. While often viewed as complex, understanding the basic steps can demystify the process.

Depositing the Will

Florida law requires that anyone holding a Will must deposit it with the local Clerk of Court within 10 days of learning about the person’s death. This requirement applies even if you don’t plan to initiate probate immediately.

Initiating Probate

If the deceased owned assets solely in their name — without joint ownership, beneficiary designations, or trust arrangements — probate becomes necessary to transfer legal ownership. The process begins by filing a petition with the circuit court in the county where the deceased resided.

Appointing the Personal Representative

The court formally appoints the personal representative named in the Will (or an appropriate family member if there’s no Will). This individual receives legal authority to manage the estate, access accounts, and make decisions on behalf of the estate.

Inventory and Creditor Notification

The personal representative must identify all estate assets, determine their value, and notify known creditors of the death. Florida law provides specific timeframes for creditors to file claims against the estate.

Paying Debts and Distributing Assets

Valid debts and expenses are paid from estate assets before any distribution to beneficiaries. Once obligations are satisfied, the remaining assets are distributed according to the Will or intestate succession laws.

The entire process typically takes six months to a year, though complex estates may require longer.

Florida’s Tax Advantages for Estate Planning

Florida offers significant tax benefits that make it an attractive state for estate planning. Unlike many states, Florida imposes no state inheritance tax or estate tax.

This means beneficiaries receive their inheritance without paying Florida state taxes on those assets, regardless of the estate’s size. While the federal estate tax may still apply to very large estates (those exceeding $13.61 million in 2024), most Florida residents avoid both state and federal estate taxes entirely.

This tax-friendly environment allows you to preserve more wealth for your loved ones and gives you greater flexibility in structuring your estate plan.

Protect Your Family with Proper Estate Planning

Understanding your estate rights is the first step — but implementing a comprehensive plan is what truly protects your family. Florida’s laws offer powerful tools for asset protection and wealth transfer, but only if you take advantage of them.

Without proper planning, your loved ones may face unnecessary probate costs, family disputes, and outcomes that don’t align with your wishes. The intestate succession rules, while fair in their general application, rarely account for the unique dynamics and needs of individual families.

If you’re a Florida resident without an estate plan — or if your existing documents need updating — now is the time to act. EC Law Counsel specializes in helping Florida families navigate estate planning and inheritance matters with confidence.

Contact EC Law Counsel today to schedule a consultation and ensure your estate rights are fully protected.