Sharing a home, a life, and a checking account does not make someone an heir in Florida. The 2026 small-estate probate changes did not fix that. The legal line is still marriage.

When a person dies without a valid will, Florida decides who inherits. The surviving spouse's share is in section 732.102. If there is no spouse — or for the part of the estate that does not go to the spouse — section 732.103 sends the property to descendants, then parents, then siblings, then more remote blood or adoptive relatives. An unmarried partner is not on that list. A local domestic-partnership card does not put them there.

Florida also does not recognize a new common-law marriage entered into after January 1, 1968 (§ 741.211). Years under one roof do not create a spouse.

Same-sex spouses who are legally married have the same Florida spouse rights as any other married couple: intestacy, homestead, tenancy by the entireties, and the elective share. Unmarried partners — of any gender — do not.

CS/HB 1337, which took effect July 1, 2026, raised dollar thresholds for summary administration and a few other small-estate shortcuts. It did not amend sections 732.102 or 732.103. Easier probate for an estate that goes to the decedent's children or siblings is not a win for the person who lived in the house.

The house is often the trap. If title is in one partner's name and that person dies intestate, the homestead follows the heir list, not the surviving occupant. Joint tenancy with right of survivorship can pass title to a co-owner outside probate. Tenancy by the entireties — Florida's spousal form of co-ownership — is available only to spouses. The constitutional limits on devising homestead (Art. X, § 4(c); § 732.4015) are about a surviving spouse or a minor child, not about a partner. An unmarried owner with no minor child can usually leave the home by will. Without a will, the default heir list still controls.

The hospital uses a similar default. If there is no written designation of a health-care surrogate, section 765.401 supplies a proxy in this order: a guardian already authorized to consent, then the spouse, then adult children, then parents, then adult siblings, then a qualifying relative, then a close friend. A partner is not listed as a partner. At best they are a close friend, and only after spouse and blood family. A designation of health-care surrogate is how a partner is put first. A living will is a separate document.

The elective share — generally 30 percent of the elective estate (§§ 732.201, 732.2065) — is also a spouse right. An unmarried partner cannot elect against a will or a trust. A cohabitation agreement can allocate bills and equity during life. It does not, by itself, create an heir, tenancy by the entireties, an elective share, or hospital authority. If the couple wants a contract that someone must leave property at death, Florida generally requires a writing signed in the presence of two attesting witnesses (§ 732.701). That contract is not a will and not a hospital directive.

What actually works is ordinary paperwork: a valid Florida will and, if you want to avoid probate of those assets, a funded revocable trust; beneficiary designations that actually name the partner; a deed and title that match the plan; a durable power of attorney; a health-care surrogate designation and a living will. If you later marry, a different set of tools — tenancy by the entireties, homestead elections, elective-share planning — comes into play. Marriage is not a requirement for a decent plan. It is the switch that turns on spouse statutes.

This article is general information, not advice about your documents or your family. The Law Office of Shawn C. Newman, P.A. offers a free consultation in person in Wilton Manors or by Zoom. Call (954) 563-9160 or visit www.shawnnewman.com. 710 NE 26th Street, Wilton Manors, Florida 33305. Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade Counties.