Q: Who would get the house if my partner dies without a will?
I have been living with my partner (girlfriend) for 20 years. She owns the house and has no living relatives. She refuses to get a will. Our bank accounts are joined and the house has been my legal address for 20 years. She pays the mortgage through the shared bank accounts. She does not make enough money to cover the mortgage and expenses on her own, the money comes mostly from my salary. Since I am not named as an owner in any way, if she should pass, would I be able to remain in the house? Would I be able to have the title put in my name? Or would I be asked to vacate by the mortgage company since I am not named even though I would be able to continue paying the bills?
A:
If you are not on the deed to the house and there is no will, the home would pass pursuant to Florida's intestacy laws. Section 732.103 of the Florida Statutes provides, in part, as follows:
"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 descendants of the decedent.
(2) If there is no 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."
A: While I agree with Ms.Tomshinsky's answer, in a nutshell you would not inherit from your GF, unless she leaves you some interest in the home by will. The intestacy statutes don't provide for inheritance by unmarried partners.
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