What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Palm Beach, FL

When Carlos died unexpectedly at his Palm Beach home, his family assumed his longtime girlfriend of 15 years would inherit the house they shared. She inherited nothing. Carlos died intestate — without a will — and under Florida law, an unmarried partner is not an heir. The home passed to relatives he hadn’t spoken to in years. This is how intestacy works, and why it catches Palm Beach families off guard.

Florida’s Intestacy Ladder

Chapter 732 of the Florida Probate Code sets a fixed order of inheritance when there’s no will:

• Spouse and no descendants: the spouse takes everything.
• Spouse and shared descendants only: the spouse still takes everything.
• Spouse plus descendants from a prior relationship (a blended family): the estate splits — the spouse gets half, the descendants get half.
• No spouse: assets pass to descendants, then parents, then siblings, and outward to more distant relatives.

Notice who never appears on this ladder: partners, close friends, stepchildren you never adopted, and charities. The statute does not care about relationships — only legal status.

The Homestead Adds Its Own Rules

Carlos’s biggest asset — his Palm Beach house — was his constitutional homestead (Art. X, §4). Homestead doesn’t always follow the intestacy ladder. If a person leaves a spouse and a minor child, the surviving spouse generally receives a life estate (or can elect a one-half interest), with the remainder to descendants. Because Carlos had neither, the home flowed to his nearest blood relatives. Homestead also carries creditor protection that passes to heirs, which is valuable but doesn’t help if the wrong people are inheriting.

Probate Still Has to Happen

Dying without a will doesn’t avoid probate — it usually complicates it. The Palm Beach County probate court appoints a personal representative following the statutory priority (surviving spouse first, then a majority-chosen heir). Florida offers two paths:

• Summary administration — available when the estate (excluding exempt homestead) is valued at $75,000 or less, or the decedent died more than two years ago. It’s faster and cheaper.
• Formal administration — the standard process for larger estates, involving a court-appointed representative, creditor notice, and a months-long timeline.

The Hidden Costs

Without a will, there’s often more conflict, more court supervision, and slower distribution. If minor children are involved, the court must appoint a guardian with no guidance from the parent — a stressful process for any Palm Beach family. And because the personal representative wasn’t chosen by the deceased, relatives sometimes fight over who serves.

One Bit of Good News

Florida imposes no state estate or inheritance tax, so dying intestate doesn’t trigger a state death-tax bill. But that’s the only silver lining — everything else about intestacy is the state making your decisions for you.

Consult a Florida Attorney

Carlos’s story is avoidable. If you live in Palm Beach and have no will — or your situation has changed — a licensed Florida estate planning attorney can ensure the right people inherit, instead of a statute deciding for you.