Florida Statute 732.201
“Right to elective share”
What it means
The surviving spouse of a person who dies domiciled in Florida has the right to a share of the decedent's elective estate, called the elective share (§ 732.201).
Two protections are written in. The election does not reduce what the spouse would receive if the election were not made, and the spouse is not treated as having predeceased the decedent (§ 732.201).
The amount is 30 percent of the elective estate (§ 732.2065). The property counted is listed in § 732.2035, and the deadline is in § 732.2135. The spouse's right may be waived in a written agreement signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses (§ 732.702(1)).
- The right belongs to the surviving spouse of a person who dies domiciled in Florida. (§ 732.201)
- The election does not reduce what the spouse would receive without it. (§ 732.201)
- The electing spouse is not treated as having predeceased the decedent. (§ 732.201)
- The amount is 30 percent of the elective estate. (§ 732.2065)
- The right to an elective share may be waived, wholly or partly, before or after marriage, by a signed and witnessed writing. (§ 732.702(1))
Text of the statute (2026)
The surviving spouse of a person who dies domiciled in Florida has the right to a share of the elective estate of the decedent as provided in this part, to be designated the elective share. The election does not reduce what the spouse receives if the election were not made and the spouse is not treated as having predeceased the decedent.
Excerpts are the subsections the summary relies on. Read the full official text of § 732.201.
History. s. 1, ch. 74-106; s. 13, ch. 75-220; s. 1, ch. 99-343; s. 3, ch. 2016-189.
How it applies
The amount of the elective share is set by § 732.2065 and the property counted by § 732.2035. Because the elective estate includes more than the probate estate (§ 732.2035), arrangements that avoid probate are counted in the calculation.
Two threshold questions are whether the spouse signed a valid waiver (§ 732.702) and whether the election deadline in § 732.2135 has run.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 732.201 does real work:
- When to update a Florida estate plan: marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a move, new assets and incapacity, what Florida law changes automatically and which documents to review after each event
- Florida will checklist: who may make a will, signing and witness rules under section 732.502, the self-proving affidavit, and decisions on beneficiaries, personal representative, guardian and homestead
- Florida spousal elective share: 30 percent of the elective estate, what the elective estate includes and leaves out, the filing deadline, waiver, the court process and a worked example
- Will contest in Florida: grounds, deadlines and the 3-month objection period
- Blended families and estate planning in Florida: homestead, elective share, stepchildren and trusts
- Florida snowbird estate planning: domicile, homestead, other-state taxes and ancillary probate
- Pretermitted spouse and child in Florida: the share owed when a will predates a marriage or birth
- Out-of-state wills in Florida: validity, moving to Florida and probate steps
- Anna Nicole Smith
- Cornelius Vanderbilt
Questions people ask
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 732.201, Right to elective share (2026) ("has the right to a share of the elective estate of the decedent")
- Fla. Stat. § 732.2065, Amount of the elective share (2026) (The elective share is 30 percent of the elective estate.)
- Fla. Stat. § 732.702, Waiver of spousal rights (2026) (Waiver of the elective share by written contract signed before two subscribing witnesses.)
Last checked: October 17, 2026
Published by the Probate.Help editorial team.How these pages are written and checked.