Florida Statute 732.301

“Pretermitted spouse”

What it means

When a person marries after making a will and the spouse survives the testator, the surviving spouse receives a share of the estate equal in value to what the spouse would have received if the testator had died intestate (§ 732.301). The intestate share is set by § 732.102.

The spouse does not receive that share if (1) provision was made for the spouse, or the spouse waived it, by a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement; (2) the spouse is provided for in the will; or (3) the will discloses an intention not to make provision for the spouse (§ 732.301).

The pretermitted share is obtained in accordance with § 733.805 (§ 732.301).

Text of the statute (2026)

Excerpts are the subsections the summary relies on. Read the full official text of § 732.301.

History. s. 1, ch. 74-106; s. 16, ch. 75-220; s. 9, ch. 77-87.

How it applies

The statute applies when a will was signed before a marriage and not updated afterward. Absent a marital agreement or will language that provides for or excludes the spouse, the surviving spouse takes a share equal to an intestate share under § 732.102, which is either the entire intestate estate or one-half.

The pretermitted share can be waived in writing (§ 732.702(1)). The share is charged against the estate's other devises in the order prescribed by § 733.805.

Where this shows up

Pages on this site where § 732.301 does real work:

• Will vs. trust in Florida: what each does, how each is signed and what each avoids
• 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
• Disinheriting a child in Florida: what the law allows, protected homestead and how to draft it
• 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

Related sections

Questions people ask

Sources

• Fla. Stat. § 732.301, Pretermitted spouse (2026) ("When a person marries after making a will and the spouse survives the testator")
• Fla. Stat. § 732.102, Spouse’s share of intestate estate (2026) (Defines the intestate share used to measure the pretermitted spouse's share.)
• Fla. Stat. § 732.702, Waiver of spousal rights (2026) (Lists the pretermitted share among rights a spouse may waive in writing.)

Last checked: October 17, 2026