Chapter 732 — Wills & Intestate Succession

Florida Statute 732.8031

“Forfeiture for abuse, neglect, exploitation, or aggravated manslaughter of an elderly person or a disabled adult”

What it means

Florida extends slayer-statute logic to elder abuse. A person convicted in any state or foreign jurisdiction of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or aggravated manslaughter of an elderly person or disabled adult forfeits what would have flowed from the victim's death: the estate passes as if the convicted person had predeceased, survivorship rights in joint property are severed, and insurance and bond benefits are lost.

A final conviction creates a rebuttable presumption that the section applies. Without a qualifying conviction, the court may determine by the greater weight of the evidence whether the death was caused by or contributed to by the person's conduct.

— What it says

Triggering convictions — in any state or foreign jurisdiction: abuse, neglect, or exploitation (§§825.102, 825.103) or aggravated manslaughter (§782.07(2)) of an elderly person or disabled adult.
Effect: no benefit under the will or the Probate Code — the estate passes as if the convicted person predeceased the victim.
Joint tenancies and tenancies by the entirety are severed; the decedent's share passes as the decedent's sole property.
A final judgment of conviction creates a rebuttable presumption; absent one, the court may act on the greater weight of the evidence.
A capacitated victim may ratify the person's inheritance afterward by a written instrument sworn to and witnessed by two persons, proved by clear and convincing evidence.
Purchasers for value without notice from the convicted person are protected before rights are adjudicated.

— In a real probate

How it plays out

This statute changes the endgame of exploitation cases: the person who drained the accounts during life is often also the will's main beneficiary, and a conviction presumptively removes them from everything — the will, the joint accounts, the life insurance. When our office finds an exploitation prosecution in an estate's background, distributions wait on it, because a final judgment hands the estate a rebuttable presumption of forfeiture that no separate civil case has to build.

Where this shows up

Pages on this site where § 732.8031 does real work:

Related sections

§ 732.802Killer not entitled to receive property or other benefits by reason of victim's death § 825.103Exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult; penalties § 736.1104Person not entitled to receive property or other benefits by reason of victim's death § 772.11Civil remedy for theft or exploitation § 415.1111Civil actions

Questions people ask

Can someone convicted of exploiting an elderly person still inherit from them in Florida?

Presumptively no. Under Florida Statute 732.8031, a conviction for abuse, neglect, exploitation, or aggravated manslaughter of an elderly person or disabled adult creates a rebuttable presumption of forfeiture — the estate passes as if the convicted person predeceased the victim. A sworn, witnessed ratification by a capacitated victim is the narrow exception.

The official text

This page is a plain-English summary, verified against the 2026 Florida Statutes — it is not the statute, and it isn't legal advice for your situation.

Read § 732.8031