A Florida estate plan usually combines a will or revocable living trust, a durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate designation and a living will. Each document has its own signing rules. Without them, Florida statutes decide who inherits and who makes medical decisions for you, and a court may need to appoint a guardian.
Estate planning is not only for wealthy families or people near retirement. If you own a home, have children, have a bank account or simply want someone you trust to speak for you in a medical emergency, you already have reasons to plan. Without a plan, Florida law fills in the gaps, and the result may not be what you would have chosen.
As your estate planning lawyer, our role is to listen to what matters to you, explain your options in plain English and prepare documents that are signed correctly and easy for your family to use when the time comes. This page maps out each part of a Florida plan, how it must be signed and what happens if it is missing.
The core documents in a Florida estate plan
Every family is different, but most Florida estate plans are built from the same documents. Each one answers a different question.
- A last will and testament answers who receives your property, who settles your estate and who you would want to raise minor children.
- A revocable living trust answers how your assets can pass to your family without probate, and who manages them if you become unable to.
- A durable power of attorney answers who handles your money and property if you cannot.
- A health care surrogate designation answers who talks with your doctors and makes medical decisions when you are unable to.
- A living will answers what treatment you want, or do not want, if you are near the end of life.
- Florida homestead planning answers how your home is protected and who can receive it, under rules that apply only in Florida.
How each document must be signed
Florida is strict about formalities, and the rules are not the same for every document. A document that misses a step can fail exactly when your family needs it.
- Will: signed at the end by you in front of two witnesses, who sign in your presence and in each other's presence (section 732.502). A self proving affidavit before a notary makes probate simpler (section 732.503).
- Revocable trust: the parts that take effect at death must be signed with the same formalities as a will (section 736.0403).
- Durable power of attorney: signed before two witnesses and a notary (section 709.2105).
- Health care surrogate designation and living will: signed before two adult witnesses, and at least one may not be your spouse or a blood relative (sections 765.202 and 765.302).
We supervise every signing so the right number and type of witnesses are present.
What Florida law does if a document is missing
When people say they will get to estate planning later, they are really choosing the default rules. Here is what those defaults look like in Florida:
- No will or trust. Florida's intestate succession statutes (sections 732.102 and 732.103) decide who inherits, and nobody you chose is in charge of your estate.
- No health care surrogate. Section 765.401 sets an order of people who may decide for you: a court appointed guardian, then your spouse, then a majority of your adult children, then a parent, then a majority of your adult siblings, then other relatives or a close friend. That order may not match who you trust most.
- No durable power of attorney. If you cannot manage your finances, your family may need to ask a court to appoint a guardian, which takes time and money and places the decision with a judge.
- No homestead planning. If your home is not left in a way Florida allows, section 732.401 decides who receives it, often a life estate for your spouse with the remainder to your descendants.
Wills and trusts: which do you need?
People searching for a wills and trusts attorney often want to know which one is better. The honest answer is that it depends on your goals. A will is simpler to prepare, but property that passes under a will generally goes through probate. A revocable living trust takes more work up front, because assets have to be retitled into the trust, but assets titled in the trust pass without probate under the Florida Trust Code.
Many plans use both. The trust holds the main assets, and a pour over will catches anything left outside the trust and moves it in. A trust can also make sense if you own real estate in more than one state, want an inheritance managed for a young or vulnerable beneficiary, or value privacy, since a trust is not filed with the court the way a will is in probate. We walk you through the tradeoffs so you can decide with a clear picture.
Planning for incapacity, not just death
A will only speaks after you die. Some of the most important estate planning documents work while you are alive. If an illness or accident leaves you unable to manage your affairs, a durable power of attorney and a health care surrogate designation let the people you trust step in right away. A living will gives them your written instructions about life prolonging treatment, so they are not left guessing at the hardest moment.
A revocable trust also helps here. If you become unable to manage the trust, the successor trustee you named can take over the trust assets without a court proceeding.
Plans that need extra attention
Some situations call for more careful drafting:
- Blended families. Homestead rules and a surviving spouse's elective share can change what children from an earlier marriage receive.
- Minor children. You can nominate a guardian and decide how and when an inheritance is paid out.
- New Florida residents. Documents from another state may be valid, but the people you named may not qualify to serve here, and homestead rules may apply for the first time.
- Business owners. Ownership interests need a plan for who controls them if you cannot. Our corporate law team can coordinate entity documents with your estate plan.
Keeping your plan useful
A plan only helps if the right people can find it and it still reflects your life. Keep original documents somewhere safe that your personal representative or successor trustee knows about, and give copies of your health care surrogate designation and living will to the people you named and to your doctors. Revisit beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance whenever you update your will or trust, because those designations generally control who receives those accounts regardless of what your will says. As a rule of thumb, review the whole plan every few years and after any major change in your family, health, property or state of residence.
How we work with you
- Free consultation. We learn about your family, your property and your concerns, and explain which documents fit your situation.
- Clear drafting. You receive documents written in plain language and have time to ask questions before anything is signed.
- Proper signing. We arrange the witnesses and notary required under Florida law.
- Ongoing reviews. Marriage, divorce, a new child, a move or a new home are all good reasons to revisit your plan.
Our firm limits its caseload so you work directly with an attorney, not a rotating team.
Estate planning across Florida
We serve estate planning clients in Broward County, Brevard County, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County and Orange County, and we also help families in Miami-Dade County, Palm Beach County, the Treasure Coast, Volusia County, Polk County, Marion County, Lee County, Collier County and Sarasota and Manatee counties. You can meet us at our Fort Lauderdale office, our Indian Harbour Beach office or our Orlando office, or contact us to arrange a consultation.
If a loved one has already passed away, our probate administration page explains what happens next.
