Florida Statutes 732.401 – Descent of homestead
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 732.401
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
- Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
- Per stirpes: The legal means by which the children of a decedent, upon the death of an ancestor at a level above that of the decedent, receive by right of representation the share of the ancestor
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
ELECTION OF SURVIVING SPOUSE
TO TAKE A ONE-HALF INTEREST OF
DECEDENT’S INTEREST IN
HOMESTEAD PROPERTY
STATE OF   
COUNTY OF   
1. The decedent,     , died on    . On the date of the decedent’s death, the decedent was married to    , who survived the decedent.
2. At the time of the decedent’s death, the decedent owned an interest in real property that the affiant believes to be homestead property described in s. 4, Article X of the State Constitution, which real property being in    County, Florida, and described as:   (description of homestead property)  .
3. Affiant elects to take one-half of decedent’s interest in the homestead as a tenant in common in lieu of a life estate.
4. If affiant is not the surviving spouse, affiant is the surviving spouse’s attorney in fact or guardian of the property, and an order has been rendered by a court having jurisdiction of the real property authorizing the undersigned to make this election.
    
  (Affiant)  
Sworn to (or affirmed) and subscribed before me by means of ? physical presence or ? online notarization this   day of   (month)  ,   (year)  , by   (affiant)  
  (Signature of Notary Public)  
  (Print, Type, or Stamp Commissioned Name of Notary Public)  
Personally Known OR Produced Identification
  (Type of Identification Produced)