INTESTATE SUCCESSION
Any part of the estate of a decedent not effectively disposed of by Will passes to the decedent's heirs.
SPOUSE'S SHARE
- If there is no surviving lineal descendant of the decedent, the entire intestate estate.
- If there are surviving lineal descendants of the decedent,
- all of whom are also lineal descendants of the surviving spouse, the first $60,000 of the intestate estate, plus one-half of the balance of the intestate estate.
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If there are surviving lineal descendants, one or more of whom are not lineal descendants of the surviving spouse, one-half of the intestate estate.
SHARE OF OTHER HEIRS
The part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes as follows:
- To the lineal descendants of the decedent.
- If there is no lineal descendant, to the decedent's father and mother equally, or to the survivor of them.
- If there is none of the foregoing, to the decedent's brothers and sisters and the descendants of deceased brothers and sisters.
- If there is none of the foregoing, the estate shall be divided, one-half of which shall go to the decedent's paternal, and the other half to the decedent's maternal, kindred in the following order:
- To the grandfather and grandmother equally, or to the survivor of them.
- If there is no grandfather or grandmother, to uncles and aunts and descendants of deceased uncles and aunts of the decedent.
- If there is either no paternal kindred or no maternal kindred, the estate shall go to the other kindred who survive, in the order stated above.
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If there is no kindred of either part, the whole of the property shall go to the kindred of the last deceased spouse of the decedent as if the deceased spouse had survived the decedent and then died intestate entitled to the estate.
HALF BLOOD
When property descends to the collateral kindred of the intestate and part of the collateral kindred are of the whole blood to the intestate and the other part of the half blood, those of the half blood shall inherit only half as much as those of the whole blood; but if all are of the half blood they shall have whole parts.
AFTERBORN HEIRS
Heirs of the decedent conceived before his or her death, but born thereafter, inherit intestate property as if they had been born in the decedent's lifetime.
ESCHEAT
- When a person dies leaving an estate without being survived by any person entitled to a part of it, that part shall escheat to the state.
- Property that escheats shall be sold as provided in the Florida Probate Rules and the proceeds paid to the Treasurer of the state and deposited in the State School Fund.
- At any time within 10 years after the payment to the Treasurer, a person claiming to be entitled to the proceeds may reopen the administration to assert entitlement to the proceeds. If no claim is timely asserted, the state's rights to the proceeds shall become absolute.
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The Department of Legal Affairs shall represent the state in all proceedings concerning escheated estates.
RIGHTS OF ADOPTED PERSONS AND PERSONS BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK
- For the purpose of intestate succession by or from an adopted person, the adopted person is a lineal descendant of the adopting parent and is one of the natural kindred of all members of the adopting parent's family,
- An adopted person is not a lineal descendant of his or her natural parents, nor is he or she one of the kindred of any member of the natural parent's family or any prior adoptive parent's family, except that:
- Adoption of a child by the spouse of a natural parent has no effect on the relationship between the child and the natural parent or the natural parent's family.
- Adoption of a child by a natural parent's spouse who married the natural parent after the death of the other natural parent has no effect on the relationship between the child and the family of the deceased natural parent.
- Adoption of a child by a close relative has no effect on the relationship between the child and the families of the deceased natural parents.
- For the purpose of intestate succession in cases of a person born out of wedlock is a lineal descendant of his or her mother and is one of the natural kindred of all members of the mother's family.
- A person born out of wedlock is also a lineal descendant of his or her father and is one of the natural kindred of all members of the father's family, if:
- The natural parents participated in a marriage ceremony before or after the birth of the person born out of wedlock, even though the attempted marriage is void.
- The paternity of the father is established by an adjudication before or after the death of the father.
- The paternity of the father is acknowledged in writing by the father.
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