Sarasota Estate Planning: What Happens When Someone Dies Without a Will?

Most people intend to get around to creating a will eventually. However, while life gets busy and it’s easy to assume there’s still time, the reality is that not addressing it now could have real consequences for the people you leave behind.

If you die without a will in Florida, the state steps in and makes decisions about how to handle your estate. Our experienced Sarasota wills and probate lawyer explains common reasons why people delay creating a will and how your assets are distributed without one in place.

Common Reasons Sarasota Residents Put Off Creating A Will

According to the American Association of Retired People (AARP), only half of all adults over 50 have a will in place. The number drops lower the younger you get. Unfortunately, dying without one can create serious complications, regardless of your age. It leaves your loved ones having to guess what you might have wanted and could result in potentially costly and contentious probate proceedings.

Common reasons residents along the Gulf Coast often have for not delaying a will include:

• Believing they do not have enough assets to make a will worthwhile.
• Assuming a spouse will automatically inherit everything.
• Finding the subject too emotionally uncomfortable to confront.
• Thinking the process is expensive or complicated.
• Simply never finding the right time.

While none of these is unreasonable, they can leave you and your family unprotected if the unexpected happens.

What Happens When You Don’t Create a Will in Sarasota

Dying without a will in Sarasota is known as dying “intestate”. In this situation, your remaining property and assets are distributed according to a strict legal formula outlined under Chapter 732 of the Florida Statutes.

The formula is not based on what you might have wanted. It simply applies a fixed set of rules based on which relatives survived them. Here is how Florida’s intestate succession law distributes assets:

• If someone is married, their spouse inherits everything (even if the couple had children).
• If the deceased had children from a prior relationship, the spouse and the children each receive half of the estate.
• If there is no surviving spouse, the children divide the estate equally among themselves.
• If there is no spouse or children, the estate passes to the deceased’s parents, then to siblings, and then to more distant relatives in order of relation.
• If no qualifying relatives exist, the estate escheats to the State of Florida.

This formula surprises many blended families, where a surviving spouse may receive far less than expected, and stepchildren receive nothing at all since Florida law does not recognize them as heirs.

Contact Our Experienced Sarasota Estate Planning Lawyer

Creating a will in Sarasota is not something to put off. Without one, Florida law determines what happens to your estate, without any regard for what you might have wanted.

Suncoast Civil Law has spent decades helping clients throughout the Central Gulf Coast put plans in place that protect their families and reflect their wishes. Contact our experienced Sarasota estate planning lawyer and request a consultation today.

Sources:

aarp.org/pri/topics/work-finances-retirement/financial-security-retirement/wealth-transfer-inheritance-wills/

flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/Chapter732/All