Florida abolished common-law marriage decades ago, which means living together in Miami, no matter how long, gives you and your partner no automatic legal rights to each other’s property, medical decisions, or estate. For unmarried couples, every protection a married couple receives by default must be created deliberately. This checklist shows you how.
Understand the Default: Your Partner Inherits Nothing
Under Florida’s intestacy statutes (Chapter 732), if you die without a will, your assets pass to blood relatives. Your partner of fifteen years is legally a stranger to your estate. There is no elective share, no homestead descent, and no priority to serve as personal representative for an unmarried partner. If you want your partner provided for, you must say so in writing.
Checklist: Documents Both Partners Should Sign
- Wills (Section 732.502). Each partner should have a valid Florida will naming the other as a beneficiary. Without it, the law ignores your relationship entirely.
- Durable powers of attorney (Chapter 709). Name each other to handle finances during incapacity, so a Miami court does not appoint an outside guardian.
- Health care surrogate designations. This is critical. Hospitals will not let an unmarried partner make medical decisions without one.
- Living wills. State your end-of-life wishes so your partner is not left guessing or fighting with relatives.
Handle the Home With Care
Real estate is often the biggest issue for unmarried couples. Florida’s homestead protection (Article X, Section 4) is powerful, but it also restricts how a homestead passes. How you hold title matters enormously. Joint tenancy with right of survivorship lets the home pass automatically to the surviving partner. A Lady Bird deed (enhanced life estate deed) is another popular Miami option that transfers the property to your partner at death while you keep full control during life. Owning a Wynwood condo as tenants in common, by contrast, means each share passes through that owner’s estate, so coordinate this with your wills.
Use Beneficiary Designations as a Direct Path
Retirement accounts, life insurance, and bank accounts let you name your partner directly. Pay-on-death and transfer-on-death designations move these assets outside probate, straight to your partner. For unmarried couples, this is one of the cleanest ways to provide for each other quickly and privately. Review these forms regularly, because an outdated beneficiary, often a parent or former partner, can undo your entire plan.
Consider a Revocable Trust for Privacy and Control
A revocable living trust under Chapter 736 lets you pass assets to your partner without probate and without the public record that a will creates. Trusts are especially useful for couples who want to provide for a partner during life and then redirect remaining assets to children or family afterward, a common arrangement in blended or later-in-life relationships. Florida imposes no state estate or inheritance tax, so the focus here is control and avoiding probate.
Document Shared Property and Intentions
If you and your partner have bought furniture, vehicles, or accounts together, keep records of contributions and intentions. Clear documentation prevents disputes with surviving family members who may not recognize your relationship.
Talk to a Florida Attorney
For unmarried couples, estate planning is not optional, it is the only way to give your relationship legal weight in Florida. Because deed structure, homestead rules, and surrogate designations are technical, consider working with a licensed Florida estate planning attorney who can build a coordinated plan for you and your partner in Miami-Dade County.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of Florida estate planning. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles Medicaid asset protection trusts.
