{"id":9016,"date":"2026-11-06T02:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T02:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustcounsel.com\/resources\/trust-litigation-attorney\/intestate-heir-dispute-florida\/"},"modified":"2026-11-06T02:07:54","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T02:07:54","slug":"intestate-heir-dispute-florida","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/trustcounsel.com\/resources\/trust-litigation-attorney\/intestate-heir-dispute-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Intestate Heir Dispute Florida: Who Inherits Without a Will"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Coral Gables, Florida | Probate Litigation<\/p>

When There Is No Will, Florida Law Decides Who Inherits<\/h1>

Trust Counsel, PL focuses on probate and trust disputes for heirs, beneficiaries and fiduciaries. We serve clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Doral, Kendall, Pinecrest, Key Biscayne and Aventura from our Coral Gables office.<\/p>

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By Leslie V. Marenco \u00b7 Published November 5, 2026<\/p>\n\n

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An intestate heir dispute in Florida starts when someone dies without a valid will and family members disagree about who inherits. Florida’s intestate succession statutes set the order of inheritance. The answer depends on family relationships and, when records conflict, on the court’s findings. This page explains who takes, how heirship is challenged, and which deadlines matter most. Leslie V. Marenco, of Trust Counsel, PL in Coral Gables, is the responsible lawyer for this page.<\/p>\n

Who Inherits When Someone Dies Without a Will in Florida<\/h2>\n

When there’s no will, Florida law sets the shares. The statutes give the surviving spouse and certain relatives a fixed place in line.<\/p>\n

Under Fla. Stat. \u00a7 732.102<\/a>, the surviving spouse takes the entire intestate estate in some families. That happens when the decedent left no descendants, or when every descendant is also the spouse’s and the spouse has no other descendants. If the decedent left descendants who are not the spouse’s, the spouse takes one-half.<\/p>\n

Under Fla. Stat. \u00a7 732.103<\/a>, the rest goes to the decedent’s descendants first. If there are none, the estate goes to the decedent’s father and mother equally, or to the survivor of them. If neither parent survives, it passes to brothers and sisters and their descendants. Grandparents, uncles, aunts and other kindred come after that, in the order the statute sets.<\/p>\n

Five relationships usually decide the shares: spouse, children, grandchildren, parents and siblings. A single missing or disputed relative can change the result.<\/p>\n\n

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Who Qualifies as an Heir and Who Can Dispute Heirship<\/h2>\n

An heir is anyone the intestacy statutes entitle to share in the estate. Heirship disputes ask whether a claimed person really meets that test.<\/p>\n

Under Fla. Stat. \u00a7 731.201<\/a>, heirs include the surviving spouse and others entitled under the intestate statutes. The same section excludes a person who is only a stepchild from the definition of “child.” So a stepchild generally does not take as a child.<\/p>\n

Fla. Stat. \u00a7 732.108<\/a> treats an adopted person as a descendant of the adopting parent. For intestate succession purposes, Florida law treats an adopted person as a descendant of the adopting parent and as kin of all members of the adopting parent’s family, not as a descendant of the natural parents or kin of the natural parent’s family or any prior adoptive parent’s family. One exception is 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 (Fla. Stat. \u00a7 732.108<\/a>). A child born outside marriage is a descendant of the mother. The child is also a descendant of the father if the parents took part in a marriage ceremony, even a void one. The same is true if paternity is established by court ruling, or if the father acknowledges paternity in writing.<\/p>\n

An interested person is anyone who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome. Under Fla. Stat. \u00a7 733.105<\/a>, when property passes by intestate succession or the will is unclear and there is doubt about who is entitled or the shares, an interested person may ask the court to determine beneficiaries or their shares. Proper notice also matters. Under Fla. Stat. \u00a7 731.301<\/a>, people given proper notice are bound by the orders entered in that proceeding.<\/p>\n

Common Florida Heir Disputes Without a Will<\/h2>\n

Most intestate heir disputes involve a contested relationship, a contested marriage, or a fight over who manages the estate.<\/p>\n