Florida Statute 732.302

“Pretermitted children”

What it means

When a testator omits to provide by will for any of his or her children born or adopted after making the will, and the child has not received a part of the testator's property equivalent to a child's part by way of advancement, the child receives a share equal in value to what the child would have received if the testator had died intestate (§ 732.302).

The child does not receive that share if (1) it appears from the will that the omission was intentional, or (2) the testator had one or more children when the will was executed and devised substantially all of the estate to the other parent of the pretermitted child, who survived the testator and is entitled to take under the will (§ 732.302(1), (2)).

The pretermitted child's share is obtained in accordance with § 733.805 (§ 732.302).

Text of the statute (2026)

Excerpts are the subsections the summary relies on. Read the full official text of § 732.302.

History. s. 1, ch. 74-106; s. 16, ch. 75-220; s. 958, ch. 97-102; s. 36, ch. 2001-226.

How it applies

The statute applies when a will was signed before a child was born or adopted and was not updated. The child takes a share measured by what an intestate child would receive, and that share is charged against the other devises in the order set by § 733.805.

It does not reach children who were already born or adopted when the will was made. Intentional omission is determined from what appears in the will (§ 732.302(1)); the substantially-all devise exception is a separate test (§ 732.302(2)).

Where this shows up

Pages on this site where § 732.302 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
• 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
• Bette Davis
• Burt Reynolds
• Cornelius Vanderbilt
• Heath Ledger
• Jerry Lewis

Related sections

Questions people ask

Sources

• Fla. Stat. § 732.302, Pretermitted children (2026) ("any of his or her children born or adopted after making the will")
• Fla. Stat. § 733.805, Order in which assets abate (2026) (Order in which shares of the estate abate; used to obtain the pretermitted child's share.)

Last checked: October 17, 2026