If you and your partner live together but are not married, Florida law treats you as legal strangers. There is no common-law marriage in Florida, so no matter how many years you have shared a home in Wynwood or Kendall, the state gives an unmarried partner no automatic right to inherit, to make medical decisions, or to manage your affairs. The good news is that careful planning can close every one of these gaps.
Why the Default Rules Fail Unmarried Couples
When a married person dies without a will, the surviving spouse is first in line. An unmarried partner is not on that list at all. Florida’s intestacy statutes (Chapter 732) send your property to your parents, children, or siblings, never to your partner. Without documents, your partner could be shut out of the home you built together and excluded from the hospital room.
Wills Are Non-Negotiable
Each partner should have a valid Florida will (section 732.502, signed before two witnesses). This is the only way to leave assets to a partner the law would otherwise ignore. In the will, you can also name your partner as personal representative so they, not an estranged relative, administer the estate through the Miami-Dade probate court.
Protecting the Shared Home
The home deserves special attention. How you hold title controls what happens. Property owned as joint tenants with right of survivorship passes automatically to the surviving co-owner. A Lady Bird deed (enhanced life estate deed) is another popular Florida tool: you keep full control during life, can sell or change your mind anytime, and the property passes to your named beneficiary at death without probate.
Florida’s homestead protections (Article X, Section 4) add complexity here. Homestead has restrictions on how it can be devised when there are certain heirs, so an unmarried couple should get the deed and will reviewed together, not in isolation.
Medical and Financial Authority
Without paperwork, your partner has no legal standing to act for you if you are incapacitated. Each of you should sign:
- Designation of health care surrogate naming your partner to make medical decisions.
- Durable power of attorney (Chapter 709) so your partner can handle finances and accounts.
- HIPAA authorization so providers can share information.
These documents prevent the painful situation of a partner being kept out of the room or out of the bank by relatives who legally outrank them.
Beneficiary Designations and Trusts
Life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death bank accounts pass by the form on file, regardless of your will. Name your partner directly. For couples who want privacy, want to avoid probate, or have a blended family, a revocable living trust (Chapter 736) can hold assets and direct exactly where they go, with a successor trustee ready to step in.
No Florida Death Tax, but Plan Anyway
Florida imposes no state estate or inheritance tax, so leaving assets to a partner is not penalized at the state level. The risk for unmarried couples is not taxes, it is the default rules that leave a partner with nothing. Documents, not silence, are what protect you.
Your Joint Checklist
- Wills naming each other as beneficiary and personal representative.
- Health care surrogate, living will, and durable POA for each partner.
- Title and deed review for the shared home, including Lady Bird deed options.
- Updated beneficiary designations on all accounts.
This is general information, not legal advice. Florida’s homestead and probate rules are technical and easy to get wrong. Consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney in Miami to tailor a plan to your relationship.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of Florida estate planning. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles New York probate and estate administration.