No Will in Florida? Know Who Steps In Before the Court Decides

Who Becomes Executor if There Is No Will in Florida? The Short Answer

When someone dies without a will in Florida, the probate court decides who may be appointed. The family doesn’t simply choose. Florida law sets an order of preference, and the court starts there. Florida calls this role a personal representative, and many people still say executor.

This page explains that order, how intestate succession decides who inherits, what court involvement can look like, and which assets may pass outside probate. Each point turns on the decedent’s family, the assets involved, any existing documents, and applicable Florida law. For the broader role, see our guide to professional trustee and executor services.

What Is a Personal Representative?

A personal representative is the person who administers a decedent’s estate under Florida’s probate code. In everyday conversation, many people call the personal representative an executor.

Typical tasks may include gathering property, paying valid debts, and distributing what remains. Those tasks depend on the governing instrument, applicable Florida law, any court orders, and the estate’s facts. They are not automatic.

Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as personal representative. The firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries. The firm itself does not serve as personal representative. The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel notes that fiduciary and legal services are separate roles that may involve separate fees. Compensation for a personal representative depends on the statute, any court order, and the facts of the estate.

Florida’s Order of Priority for Appointment Without a Will

Without a will, the court looks first to the preference order in Fla. Stat. § 733.301. For an intestate estate, the surviving spouse comes first. The person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs comes second. The heir nearest in degree comes third. If more than one heir in that class applies, the court may select one of them.

If no one in that order applies for appointment, the court appoints a capable person. That person cannot work for the court or hold office under a judge exercising probate jurisdiction, under the same statute.

The order is a starting point. How the court applies it depends on the petition, the family’s circumstances, and applicable law.

Who has more power, a beneficiary or executor?

The two roles differ. A beneficiary receives property under the will or the intestacy rules. A personal representative manages the estate’s administration. What each may do depends on governing law and the facts of the estate.

How Florida Intestate Succession Decides Who Inherits

Intestate succession is the set of rules that decide who inherits when there is no valid will. Under Fla. Stat. § 732.101, property not effectively disposed of by will passes to the decedent’s heirs under the intestacy sections. The decedent’s death is the event that vests the heirs’ right to that property.

The surviving spouse’s share depends on who else survives. Under Fla. Stat. § 732.102, the spouse takes the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving descendant. The spouse also takes it all if every descendant is also the spouse’s and the spouse has no other descendant. The spouse takes one-half if some descendants are not the spouse’s lineal descendants.

Under Fla. Stat. § 732.102, if there is no surviving descendant of the decedent, the entire intestate estate passes to the surviving spouse. A married person with children from an earlier relationship would leave the spouse one-half, under the rule for descendants who are not the spouse’s.

The rest passes under Fla. Stat. § 732.103. That statute lists descendants first, then the decedent’s parents, then siblings and their descendants, then paternal and maternal kindred in the order it sets out.

Inheritance and appointment are separate questions. The person who inherits is not automatically the person the court appoints.

Requirements to Serve and How the Court Appoints a Personal Representative

Any interested person may petition for administration, under Fla. Stat. § 733.202. The court then reviews the petition and the eligibility of the person named.

Under Fla. Stat. § 733.302, a person who is sui juris and was a Florida resident when the decedent died may qualify, subject to the limits in that part of the code. Fla. Stat. § 733.303 lists disqualifiers, including a conviction for any felony, a conviction in any state or foreign jurisdiction of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an elderly person or a disabled adult, a mental or physical inability to perform the duties, and being under 18. A person not domiciled in Florida generally cannot qualify unless they fall within family relationships listed in Fla. Stat. § 733.304.

Notice matters too. Under Fla. Stat. § 733.212, the personal representative must promptly serve notice on the surviving spouse, beneficiaries, and others known to the personal representative. Under § 733.212, an interested person served with notice of administration has 3 months from that service to object to the qualifications of the personal representative, the venue, or the court’s jurisdiction (and, where there is a will, to its validity), and an untimely objection is forever barred.

Under Fla. Stat. § 733.3101, a personal representative who knows they were not qualified at appointment must resign immediately.

Which Assets Generally Go Through Probate Without a Will

Probate usually involves property held in the decedent’s own name. Whether a particular asset goes through court depends on how it is titled and on applicable Florida law.

What happens to a bank account when someone dies without a will in Florida?

An account with a named beneficiary or a joint owner may pass under its own terms. An account titled only in the decedent’s name may need a court process. The result depends on the account’s title, the institution’s terms, and Florida law.

Small estates can sometimes skip full administration. Under Fla. Stat. § 735.304, administration is not required when the estate holds only exempt property and nonexempt personal property worth no more than $20,000, plus certain funeral and medical expenses. The decedent must have been deceased more than 1 year, and no administration can be pending in Florida. An heir may request distribution by affidavit, which the statute says must be signed and verified by the surviving spouse and the heirs, with listed exceptions.

Real estate and vehicles are examples whose treatment turns on title, value, and whether a court process is needed. None of these categories is automatic.

When Heirs Disagree: Beneficiaries, Personal Representatives and Possible Conflict

Disagreement among heirs can arise over who is appointed or how the estate is handled. How it is resolved depends on governing law, any court rulings, and the facts.

Beneficiaries may have rights to notice and to object within the time limits discussed above. A personal representative’s duties depend on the statute, any court orders, and the estate’s facts.

Talking with a lawyer early may help a family understand its options. It does not assure that conflict will be avoided or reduced. Results depend on the governing law and the facts.

For a related read on how the two roles differ, see should a trustee and executor be the same person.

Planning Ahead: Will or Trust Versus Intestate Succession

A valid will can name a personal representative and direct who inherits. The effect depends on the document, Florida law, and the facts. The Florida Department of State’s notary FAQ on wills explains Florida’s self-proving will procedure and states that self-proving a will can simplify probate.

Trusts are another planning tool. The LTCFE Care Navigator explains common trust types, including revocable and irrevocable trusts. Whether a trust fits a family depends on its goals and governing terms.

Planning can change who serves and who inherits, but it does not guarantee that probate or disputes will be avoided. For related reading, see is it better to have a will or a trust in Florida and what is the 5 by 5 rule in estate planning.

Talk With a Coral Gables Attorney About Your Situation

If a family member died without a will, you may be trying to work out who can act and what comes next. That is a hard position, and you don’t have to sort it out alone.

Leslie V. Marenco is the responsible lawyer at Trust Counsel, PL. Our only office is in Coral Gables. You can call (305) 707-7126 or schedule online to discuss the facts of your situation.

The free initial consultation is confidential and carries no obligation to continue. Matters may be referred to another lawyer or firm where appropriate.