What it means
In addition to protected homestead and statutory entitlements, if the decedent was domiciled in Florida, the surviving spouse and the decedent's lineal heirs whom the decedent was supporting or was obligated to support are entitled to a reasonable allowance in money out of the estate for their maintenance during administration. (§ 732.403)
The allowance may not exceed $18,000 in total. The court may order it paid as a lump sum or in periodic installments. It is paid to the surviving spouse, if living, for the use of the spouse and dependent lineal heirs; if the spouse is not living, to the lineal heirs or the persons having their care and custody. If a lineal heir does not live with the spouse, it may be paid partly to the heir or guardian and partly to the spouse. (§ 732.403)
The allowance is not chargeable against any benefit or share otherwise passing to the spouse or dependent lineal heirs unless the will provides otherwise. A recipient's death ends the right to the part not yet paid. "Lineal heirs" means lineal ascendants and lineal descendants of the decedent. (§ 732.403)
- Available when the decedent was domiciled in Florida: a reasonable allowance for maintenance during administration (§ 732.403).
- Payable to the surviving spouse and the decedent's lineal heirs the decedent was supporting or obligated to support (§ 732.403).
- The total allowance may not exceed $18,000 (§ 732.403).
- The court may order a lump sum or periodic installments (§ 732.403).
- Not chargeable against other benefits or shares passing to the recipients unless the will provides otherwise (§ 732.403).
- A recipient's death ends the right to any unpaid part; "lineal heirs" includes ascendants and descendants (§ 732.403).
Text of the statute (2026)
In addition to protected homestead and statutory entitlements, if the decedent was domiciled in Florida at the time of death, the surviving spouse and the decedent’s lineal heirs the decedent was supporting or was obligated to support are entitled to a reasonable allowance in money out of the estate for their maintenance during administration. The court may order this allowance to be paid as a lump sum or in periodic installments. The allowance shall not exceed a total of $18,000. It shall be paid to the surviving spouse, if living, for the use of the spouse and dependent lineal heirs. If the surviving spouse is not living, it shall be paid to the lineal heirs or to the persons having their care and custody. If any lineal heir is not living with the surviving spouse, the allowance may be made partly to the lineal heir or guardian or other person having the heir’s care and custody and partly to the surviving spouse, as the needs of the dependent heir and the surviving spouse appear. The family allowance is not chargeable against any benefit or share otherwise passing to the surviving spouse or to the dependent lineal heirs, unless the will otherwise provides. The death of any person entitled to a family allowance terminates the right to that part of the allowance not paid. For purposes of this section, the term “lineal heir” or “lineal heirs” means lineal ascendants and lineal descendants of the decedent.
Excerpts are the subsections the summary relies on. Read the full official text of § 732.403.
History. s. 1, ch. 74-106; s. 19, ch. 75-220; s. 960, ch. 97-102; s. 40, ch. 2001-226.
How it applies
The family allowance is paid from the estate during administration and is separate from the exempt property set apart under § 732.402. In the order of payment of estate obligations in § 733.707(1), the family allowance is Class 5, after administration expenses, funeral expenses, certain preferred debts and claims, and medical expenses of the last 60 days of the last illness. The statute fixes the cap on the total but leaves the amount, the choice of lump sum or installments, and any division among recipients to the court.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 732.403 does real work:
- 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 intestate succession: who inherits when there is no will, the spouse's share, descendants, parents, siblings and other relatives, the homestead, who is not an heir and steps to settle the estate
- 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
- Florida personal representative duties: who can serve, a phased checklist from appointment to discharge, creditor and tax deadlines, compensation, liability, resignation and removal
- Family allowance and exempt property in Florida: amounts, eligibility and deadlines
- Disposition without administration in Florida under § 735.301: who qualifies, limits and filing steps
- Disinheriting a child in Florida: what the law allows, protected homestead and how to draft it
- Athletes and the short window
- Charles Dickens
- Ulysses S. Grant
Questions people ask
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 732.403 (2026), Online Sunshine / Florida Senate (The allowance shall not exceed a total of $18,000.)
- Fla. Stat. § 733.707 (2026), Online Sunshine / Florida Senate (Order of payment, Class 5: Family allowance.)
Last checked: October 17, 2026
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