Dying without a will in Florida does not mean the state seizes your assets. It means a set of default rules, called intestate succession, decides who gets what, and your family pays for the process either way. For Miami-Dade residents, that means a court file at the probate division downtown, a personal representative the judge appoints, and a timeline measured in months. Here is how it actually works, and what it costs.
Who Inherits Under Florida Intestacy
Florida Statutes Chapter 732 sets a fixed order. If you are married with no descendants, your spouse takes everything. If you and your spouse share all the same children, the spouse still takes everything. But if either of you has children from a prior relationship, the surviving spouse takes one-half and the descendants split the rest, a common outcome in blended Miami families. With no spouse, assets pass to your children, then parents, then siblings, and outward. The law never accounts for a partner you never married, a close friend, or a charity you cared about.
The Homestead Wrinkle
Your Florida homestead, the home you live in, follows special constitutional rules under Article X, Section 4. If you are survived by a spouse and minor children, you cannot freely direct the home even with a will, and intestacy controls how the title passes. In a Coral Gables or Brickell condo situation, this often means a surviving spouse receives a life estate or, by election, a one-half interest, with children holding the remainder. It surprises families every time.
The Probate Process and Timeline
Without a will, your estate still goes through probate in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Two tracks exist. Summary administration is available when the estate is under $75,000 or the death occurred more than two years ago, and it can wrap in a few weeks to a couple of months. Formal administration, used for larger estates, requires a court-appointed personal representative, a notice to creditors with a roughly three-month claim window, and often runs six months to a year or more. Because there is no nominated executor, the court decides who serves, which can trigger family disputes.
What It Costs
Probate is not free. Expect a court filing fee, publication costs for the creditor notice in a Miami-Dade legal newspaper, and attorney fees, which in formal administration are commonly based on a statutory percentage of the estate’s value under Florida law. A personal representative may also claim a fee. One piece of good news: Florida imposes no state estate tax and no inheritance tax, so the cost is procedural, not a death-tax bite.
How to Avoid the Default
A valid Florida will, signed before two witnesses under Section 732.502, lets you name your own personal representative, direct your assets, and reduce the friction. Better still, a revocable living trust paired with proper beneficiary designations can keep most assets out of the Miami-Dade probate file entirely. A durable power of attorney under Chapter 709 covers you while you are alive but incapacitated, something a will never does.
Talk to a Florida Attorney
Intestacy rarely matches what people actually want, and the homestead rules alone can rewrite your plans. Before relying on the default, consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney who handles Miami-Dade probate to map out the right documents for your family and your home.
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