Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida

First, it is State Intestate Laws, not Palm Beach County Ordinances. As to distribution in this situation, when you have an unmarried childless man (assuming no grandhchildren or other lineal descendents), you look up to the parents.

If there are no parents, you look down from the parents to brother and sisters, which divide it equally. If the decedent was predeceased by a brother or sister, and that brother or sister had children (or lineal descendents), then those children (or lineal descendents) would get that predeceased brother or sister's share.

To make it easy, if the decedent was survived by one living sister, and he had a brother who predecease him but had 2 surviving children, it would go 1/2 to the sister, and 1/4 each to the brothers children.

Brothers, sisters, nieces and nephew all come before a cousin.