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732.101 Intestate estate.
(1) Any part of the estate of a decedent not effectively disposed of by will
passes to the decedent's heirs as prescribed in the following sections of
this code.
(2) The decedent's death is the event that vests the heirs' right to the
decedent's intestate property.
732.102 Spouse's share of intestate estate.
The intestate share of the surviving spouse is:
(1) If there is no surviving lineal descendant of the decedent, the entire
intestate estate.
(2) If there are surviving lineal descendants of
the decedent, all of whom are also lineal descendants of the surviving
spouse, the first $60,000 of the intestate estate, plus one-half of the
balance of the intestate estate. Property allocated to the surviving spouse
to satisfy the $60,000 shall be valued at the fair market value on the date
of distribution.
(3) If there are surviving lineal descendants,
one or more of whom are not lineal descendants of the surviving spouse,
one-half of the intestate estate.
732.103 Share of other heirs.
The part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse under
s. 732.102, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse,
descends as follows:
(1) To the lineal descendants of the decedent.
(2) If there is no lineal descendant, to the decedent's father and mother
equally, or to the survivor of them.
(3) If there is none of the foregoing, to the decedent's brothers and
sisters and the descendants of deceased brothers and sisters.
(4) If there is none of the foregoing, the
estate shall be divided, one-half of which shall go to the decedent's
paternal, and the other half to the decedent's maternal, kindred in the
following order:
(a) To the grandfather and grandmother equally, or to the survivor of them.
(b) If there is no grandfather or grandmother,
to uncles and aunts and descendants of deceased uncles and aunts of the
decedent.
(c) If there is either no paternal kindred or no
maternal kindred, the estate shall go to the other kindred who survive, in
the order stated above.
(5) If there is no kindred of either part, the whole of the property shall
go to the kindred of the last deceased spouse of the decedent as if the
deceased spouse had survived the decedent and then died intestate entitled
to the estate.
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(6) If none of the foregoing, and if any of the
descendants of the decedent's great-grandparents were Holocaust victims as
defined in 1s. 626.9543(3)(b), including such victims in countries
cooperating with the discriminatory policies of Nazi Germany, then to the
lineal descendants of the great-grandparents. The court shall allow any such
descendant to meet a reasonable, not unduly restrictive, standard of proof
to substantiate his or her lineage. This subsection only applies to
escheated property and shall cease to be effective for proceedings filed
after December 31, 2004.
732.104 Inheritance per stirpes.
Descent shall be per stirpes, whether to lineal descendants or to collateral
heirs.
732.105 Half blood.
When property descends to the collateral kindred of the intestate and part
of the collateral kindred are of the whole blood to the intestate and the
other part of the half blood, those of the half blood shall inherit only
half as much as those of the whole blood; but if all are of the half blood
they shall have whole parts.
732.107 Escheat.
(1) When a person dies leaving an estate without being survived by any
person entitled to a part of it, that part shall escheat to the state.
(2) Property that escheats shall be sold as
provided in the Florida Probate Rules and the proceeds paid to the Chief
Financial Officer of the state and deposited in the State School Fund.
(3) At any time within 10 years after the
payment to the Chief Financial Officer, a person claiming to be entitled to
the proceeds may reopen the administration to assert entitlement to the
proceeds. If no claim is timely asserted, the state's rights to the proceeds
shall become absolute.
(4) The Department of Legal Affairs shall
represent the state in all proceedings concerning escheated estates.
(5)(a) If a person entitled to the proceeds
assigns the rights to receive payment to an attorney, Florida-certified
public accountant, or private investigative agency which is duly licensed to
do business in this state pursuant to a written agreement with that person,
the Department of Financial Services is authorized to make distribution in
accordance with the assignment.
(b) Payments made to an attorney, Florida-certified public accountant, or
private investigative agency shall be promptly deposited into a trust or
escrow account which is regularly maintained by the attorney,
Florida-certified public accountant, or private investigative agency in a
financial institution authorized to accept such deposits and located in this
state.
(c) Distribution by the attorney, Florida-certified public accountant, or
private investigative agency to the person entitled to the proceeds shall be
made within 10 days following final credit of the deposit into the trust or
escrow account at the financial institution, unless a party to the agreement
protests the distribution in writing before it is made.
(d) The department shall not be civilly or criminally liable for any
proceeds distributed pursuant to this subsection, provided such distribution
is made in good faith.
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