Gainesville Estate Planning Attorney

Alachua County mixes a university city with farm country and small towns like High Springs, Newberry and Micanopy. Some families here have owned the same land for generations. Others arrived for a job in Gainesville and own a first home. The planning questions differ, but one theme runs through the local records: property that passes without a plan often ends up with unclear title, and unclear title causes trouble with the tax roll as well as with a sale. This page covers how to avoid that in Alachua County.

Communities we serve in Alachua County

• Gainesville
• Alachua
• High Springs
• Newberry and Archer
• Hawthorne, Waldo and Micanopy

The core documents

1. A Florida will. Signed at the end before two witnesses, with a self proving affidavit so it can be admitted later without locating them. Without a will, Florida's intestacy statutes decide who inherits, which is how many heirs' properties begin.
2. A revocable living trust. Assets titled in the trust pass without probate. Its testamentary parts must be signed with the same formalities as a will.
3. A durable power of attorney. Signed before two witnesses and a notary, effective when signed, with certain powers separately initialed.
4. A health care surrogate designation and a living will. Each signed before two adult witnesses, at least one of whom is not your spouse or a blood relative.

If you own rural acreage alongside your home, the plan should say clearly who receives each parcel and who manages it in the meantime. Land left to several children together, with no one in charge, is where disputes and unpaid taxes tend to start. A trust lets you name one trustee to hold, rent or sell the land under instructions you write now.

Alachua County offices that touch your plan

Homestead: what the Property Appraiser tells families

The Florida Constitution protects a primary residence from most creditors and limits how it can be left by will when a spouse or minor child survives. Our Florida homestead planning page explains those limits. The property tax exemption runs on its own rules, and the Alachua County Property Appraiser is unusually direct about them:

• Timing. You must hold recorded title and live in the home as your permanent residence on January 1, and apply by March 1 (section 196.011) on form DR-501. The office takes applications by drop box, by mail and online. When we checked in November 2026, its online filing page said electronic filing was temporarily disabled.
• The exemption is personal. The Property Appraiser states that a homestead exemption is not transferable. A new owner applies in their own name, and the office strongly recommends an attorney or another professional for title work.
• After a death. Because exemptions belong to individuals, they must be removed when the owner dies. If the office is not told, it can place a lien for up to 10 years of improperly claimed exemptions, with a 50 percent penalty on the escaped taxes and 15 percent annual interest. Its Heirs Penalty and Interest Relief Program waives penalty and interest for families who come forward voluntarily.
• Heirs can apply early. An heir who lives in the home can apply for homestead before probate is finished. The office holds the application, and if the requirements are met the exemption applies back to the year it was received.

Those rules are a strong argument for planning. A home placed in a revocable trust or passed by an enhanced life estate deed gives the next owner recorded title without waiting on a court, so their own homestead filing can follow promptly. Before a deed into a trust is recorded, we confirm with the Property Appraiser what trust documentation it wants with your application.

If a family member has died

The original will must be deposited with the Clerk within 10 days after learning of the death (section 732.901). The Alachua Clerk asks for proof of death, accepts only the original, does not charge to file a will and charges a small fee for a receipt. The Eighth Circuit tells families to take original wills directly to the Clerk, never to the judge or the probate case manager. Summary administration is generally available when the non exempt estate is $150,000 or less, or the death was more than two years ago. Our Alachua County probate page covers the court steps, and our Florida probate administration page explains the process.

How we work with Alachua County clients

We work with Gainesville and Alachua County clients by phone and video, and you are welcome to meet at any of our offices, including Orlando. Your first consultation is free. We review the deeds and accounts you already have, explain which documents fit, draft them in plain language and arrange a proper signing with the witnesses and notary Florida requires. When a deed is part of the plan, we prepare it, have it recorded with the Alachua Clerk and walk you through the homestead filing. Because the firm limits its caseload, you work directly with an attorney. If you own farmland or rental property in the county, our Alachua County real estate page covers that work. See our Florida estate planning overview, or contact us to begin.