What happens to your assets when you die without a Will?

Do you know what happens with your assets if you pass away without a will?  Do you wonder if the State will take ownership of your assets?  If you die without a will, assets that are owned in your individual name will pass by “Intestate Succession”.  Some assets aren’t affected by intestate succession and will pass to a co-owner or named beneficiary.  These assets include Property you have transferred to a living trust; Life insurance proceeds; 401(k), IRA or other retirement accounts; Securities held in a transfer-on-death or payable-on-death bank accounts; Property you own jointly with another person as joint tenants with rights of survivorship or tenancy by the entirety.

In Florida, if you die without a will, who gets what, depends on your familial status.  If you are married and you die without a will, what your spouse gets depends on whether or not you have living descendants – children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren.  If you have no living descendants, your spouse will inherit all of your intestate property.  If you die with children or other living descendants from your surviving spouse, and your surviving spouse has no descendants from a prior relationship, then your spouse inherits everything.

Contact our office at 352.399.6944 to schedule a complementary consultation to discuss how you can make sure the right people inherits your assets when you die or to find out if you need to probate the assets of a loved one who has passed away without a will.