Florida gives surviving spouses protections that adult children generally do not receive. A surviving spouse may have elective share and homestead rights despite what a will provides. Those rights can also depend on factors such as a valid marital agreement or waiver.
Adult children have no comparable guaranteed share of a parent's estate. In most situations, a parent can intentionally leave an adult child nothing through a properly structured estate plan.
However, important exceptions can affect that general rule. A child's age and when they were born or adopted can change the outcome. Florida's homestead protections and the language of the estate documents can matter as well.
Those differences make disinheriting a child more complicated than simply leaving a name out of a will. A plan that does not account for Florida's exceptions can produce a result the parent never intended.
The General Rule: Florida Does Not Require Providing for Adult Children
Florida follows freedom of testation for adult children. A parent can leave an adult child nothing, favor one child heavily over another, or exclude a child entirely, without needing to state a reason and without the excluded child having any automatic legal claim to a share. This surprises people who assume, incorrectly, that children are entitled to some guaranteed portion of a parent's estate the way a spouse is.
Exceptions That Can Limit Disinheriting a Child
Florida's general rule has important exceptions. Children born or adopted after a will and certain minor children can have rights that affect the estate plan.
Children Born or Adopted After the Will
Florida Statute 732.302 protects certain children born or adopted after a parent executes a will. These children are commonly referred to as pretermitted children.
A qualifying child generally receives the share they would receive if the parent had died without a will. However, the statute contains several exceptions.
The child may not receive that share if the will shows the omission was intentional. An exception can also apply when the parent leaves all of the estate substantially to the child's other parent. That other parent must survive the testator and be entitled to take under the will.
The statute also accounts for property the parent provides to the child outside the will. A qualifying advancement can affect whether the child receives an additional share from the estate.
Existing children who are intentionally excluded do not automatically receive the same protection. The statute primarily addresses changes in the family that occur after the will is executed. A new child is also one reason to consider an estate planning review rather than assuming an existing will still produces the intended result.
Minor Children Have Additional Protections
Minor children can have rights that limit how certain estate property passes, even when a will attempts to exclude them. Two areas are particularly important: the family allowance and Florida's homestead protections.
Florida's family allowance can provide support during estate administration for certain lineal heirs the decedent supported or was obligated to support. That protection is not simply an automatic inheritance share given to every minor child.
Florida's homestead rules create a separate and often more significant restriction. When a parent dies with a surviving minor child, Florida law can restrict how protected homestead property may be devised.
Those homestead restrictions apply independently of a parent's general ability to disinherit an adult child. We can explain that distinction more fully in the next section.
When Florida Law May Limit a Parent's Disinheritance Plan
| Child's Situation | General Florida Rule |
| Adult child intentionally excluded | Generally can be disinherited; adult children do not have a guaranteed share simply because they are children |
| Existing adult child omitted from the will | May receive nothing, but an unexplained omission can create uncertainty about the parent's intent |
| Child born or adopted after the will | May qualify for an intestate share under Florida's pretermitted-child law, subject to statutory exceptions |
| Minor child and protected homestead | Florida homestead rules can restrict the parent's ability to devise the property to someone else |
| Child affected by conflicting estate documents | The outcome can depend on the will, trusts, account designations, and how particular assets are titled |
How Homestead Rules Complicate Disinheriting a Child in Florida
Florida's homestead protections can limit what a parent may accomplish through a will. These protections come from the Florida Constitution and related statutes, and they operate independently of ordinary inheritance rules.
When a parent dies with a surviving minor child, protected homestead generally cannot be freely devised to someone else. An attempted devise that violates Florida's homestead restrictions can be invalid, regardless of how clearly the will expresses that intent.
A surviving spouse can also affect how homestead property passes. However, the rules differ depending on whether minor children survive and whether applicable homestead rights have been waived.
These restrictions apply specifically to qualifying homestead property. They do not give an adult child a general right to inherit the parent's other probate assets.
Documenting an Intentional Disinheritance in a Florida Will
Leaving an adult child's name out of a will does not always communicate why that person receives nothing. The omission may be intentional, but it can also create questions about whether the child was simply overlooked.
Clear estate documents reduce that ambiguity. A will lawyer can help ensure the document clearly reflects who should inherit and who should not.
Several considerations can help make that intent clearer:
- Identify the child clearly when the estate plan addresses the exclusion.
- State that the decision is intentional rather than relying solely on omission.
- Review the will after the birth or adoption of another child.
- Keep the will consistent with trusts, beneficiary designations, and other estate planning documents.
- Avoid unnecessary explanations that could create additional questions about the parent's reasoning or intent.
Clear drafting does not prevent someone from challenging a will. It can, however, make the testator's intended distribution easier to determine from the estate documents themselves.
Common Mistakes That Can Undermine the Intended Plan
Several recurring mistakes can create uncertainty about an intended disinheritance or increase the likelihood of a later dispute.
Simply omitting a child's name can create questions about whether the omission was deliberate. That concern becomes especially important when a child is born or adopted after the will is signed.
Failing to update an estate plan after a new child arrives creates a similar problem. Florida's pretermitted child statute specifically addresses certain children born or adopted after a will is executed.
Inconsistent documents can create problems as well. A will may exclude someone while a beneficiary designation, trust, or jointly owned account transfers property to that same person.
These inconsistencies can contribute to disputes between beneficiaries after death. Reviewing the entire estate plan together can help identify conflicts before they become probate disputes.
No-Contest Clauses Do Not Prevent Florida Will Challenges
Another potential mistake is relying on a no-contest clause, sometimes called an in terrorem clause. These provisions generally threaten a beneficiary with losing an inheritance for challenging the will.
Under Florida Statute 732.517, a provision penalizing someone for contesting a Florida will or instituting related proceedings is unenforceable.
Florida law contains a similar rule for trusts. Therefore, including a no-contest provision does not provide the deterrent someone might expect when planning for a possible challenge.
A carefully drafted estate plan can still reduce ambiguity and make the testator's intentions easier to establish. However, no provision can guarantee that an excluded child will not challenge the will.
Make Sure the Estate Plan Reflects the Intended Result
Florida generally allows a parent to disinherit an adult child, but the result is not automatic in every situation. Pretermitted children, minor children, and protected homestead property can change how an estate passes.
The documents themselves also matter. A parent's intentions should be reflected consistently across the will, trusts, account designations, and other estate planning documents.
Changes in the family can make an older plan particularly important to revisit. Births, adoptions, marriages, deaths, and other major events can affect whether existing documents still produce the intended result.
A Sebastian estate planning attorney can review those documents together and identify potential conflicts. Addressing those issues during the parent's lifetime is generally easier than resolving uncertainty during probate.
Make Sure Your Estate Documents Reflect Your Intentions
Florida generally allows parents to exclude adult children, but homestead and other statutory protections can affect the result. Lulich & Attorneys can help structure an estate plan around your intended distribution.
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