Estate Planning and Tax Lawyer Blog

In Florida (and other states) there are two basic types of estates that are processed through the court system. A testate estate and an intestate estate.

A testate estate is one that is governed or controlled by the terms of the Will (also known as a Last Will and Testament). A court will be required to follow the terms of the Will to the extent that the Will is properly drafted and consistent with Florida estate planning and Florida probate laws.

There are many people who die without a Will or with an invalid Will, which is called dieing intestate. If there is no Will in place or the court deems a Will invalid, the probate process will be governed by Florida's intestate laws pursuant to Chapter 732, Florida Statutes. As stated in Section 732.101, Intestate Estate, Florida Statutes, any part of the estate of a decedent not effectively disposed of by Will passed to the decedent's heirs as prescribed in the following sections of this. The statute further states that the decedent's death is the event that vests the heirs' rights to the decedent's intestate property. See Section 732.101, Intestate Estate, Florida Statutes.

While it is far better to have a Will in place and proper estate planning that helps to avoid probate or most of the probate process, intestate estates are still quite common and can be handled through the representation of a Florida probate attorney. In an intestate estate, the heirs and beneficiaries are determined by statute by petitions of the Florida probate attorney and by order of a Florida probate judge.