Florida does not recognize common-law marriage, so no matter how long you and your partner have been together in Miami, the law treats you as legal strangers unless you plan. That makes estate planning essential for unmarried couples. Here are the questions we hear most.
If my partner dies, do I automatically inherit?
No. Under Florida’s intestacy rules (Florida Statutes Chapter 732), an unmarried partner inherits nothing by default. Without a will or trust, your partner’s estate passes to their relatives, even if you shared a home and a life for decades. The only way to provide for each other is to put it in writing through a valid Florida will under Statute 732.502 or a revocable trust under Chapter 736.
Can I make medical decisions for my partner?
Not automatically. Without a designation of health care surrogate, you may have no legal standing to direct your partner’s care or even, in some cases, to receive information. Florida’s default proxy hierarchy favors legal relatives, not partners. Each of you should name the other as health care surrogate so you are not shut out during a medical crisis.
Who manages finances if one of us is incapacitated?
A durable power of attorney under Florida Chapter 709 is critical for unmarried couples. Without it, you cannot access your partner’s accounts or manage their affairs if they are incapacitated, and you would have no automatic right to be appointed by a Miami-Dade court. Naming each other as agents avoids that gap.
What about our home?
How your Miami home is titled matters enormously. If you own it together as joint tenants with right of survivorship, it passes to the surviving partner automatically. If it is titled in one partner’s name alone, the survivor has no automatic claim. Florida homestead protection (Article X, Section 4) still applies to the owner’s primary residence, but homestead devise restrictions are tied to a spouse or minor children, which an unmarried partner is not, so careful titling and a Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed can be used to pass the home to a surviving partner outside probate.
Why not just rely on beneficiary designations?
Beneficiary designations on accounts and life insurance are powerful for unmarried couples because they pass directly, outside probate, to whomever you name. Use them, but coordinate them with your will and trust so nothing is left to the default rules that ignore partners.
Will there be estate tax?
Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax. Be aware, though, that the unlimited marital deduction for federal estate tax does not apply to unmarried partners. For most Miami couples this is not an issue, but couples with large estates should get tailored advice.
What if a family member challenges our plan?
Relatives sometimes contest a partner’s inheritance. Clear, properly executed Florida documents, ideally a revocable trust to keep matters private and avoid probate, make your wishes far harder to challenge.
A note for Miami couples
Because Florida gives unmarried partners no default protection, your plan, wills, durable powers of attorney, health care surrogates, coordinated titling, and beneficiary designations, is the only thing standing between your partner and the intestacy statute. A licensed Florida estate planning attorney can help you build a plan that genuinely protects each other.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of estate planning in Boca Raton. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .
