Does an intestate estate automatically go to a surviving spouse?

In the state of Florida, the answer to the question of whether an intestate estate automatically goes to a surviving spouse is yes, it does. Intestate succession is the process of distributing a person’s estate when they die without a will. In most cases where the deceased has a surviving spouse, the entire estate will go to them. In Florida, if the decedent is survived by a spouse and also has surviving children, the surviving spouse will inherit the first $60,000 of the deceased’s estate, plus one-half of the remaining estate. The remaining one-half of the estate will then be divided equally among the surviving children. Similarly, if the deceased has children but no surviving spouse, the children will receive the entire estate in equal shares. In Florida, any property that is owned by the decedent in joint tenancy with a right of survivorship will automatically go to the surviving joint tenant. This means that if a decedent owns a house as joint tenants with the right of survivorship with his or her spouse, the house will automatically be transferred to the surviving spouse after the decedent’s death. In summary, under the intestate succession laws of Florida, if a person dies without a will, and they are survived by their spouse, the entire estate will go to the surviving spouse. If there are also surviving children, the spouse will receive the first $60,000 and one-half of the remaining estate. If children survive but there is no spouse, the entire estate will be divided equally among the children.

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Does an intestate estate automatically go to a surviving spouse?

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