What it means
Section 741.211 is short and decisive: no common-law marriage entered into after January 1, 1968, is valid in Florida. A couple who live together for decades, share a name, and call each other spouses are simply not married under Florida law, no matter how long it lasted. That single rule drives the inheritance result — an unmarried partner is not a 'surviving spouse,' takes no intestate share and no elective share, and inherits nothing unless a will, trust, or beneficiary designation names them. Common-law marriages formed in Florida before 1968 remain valid.
- No common-law marriage entered in Florida after January 1, 1968 is valid.
- A long-term unmarried partner is not a surviving spouse — no intestate share, no elective share, no homestead right.
- Common-law marriages formed in Florida before January 1, 1968 remain valid.
- Living together, joint finances, and a shared surname do not create a marriage in Florida by themselves.
How it plays out
This is one of the hardest conversations our office has. A partner of twenty or thirty years arrives after a death assuming they are the spouse, and 741.211 says they are not — the intestate estate goes to the decedent's blood relatives instead. We raise it while both partners are alive, because the fix is straightforward and entirely in their hands: a will, a trust, joint titling, or beneficiary designations. One caveat we do check — a common-law marriage validly formed in a state that still allows them can be recognized here, so we ask where the couple lived.