Florida estate planning

Start with the goal, then choose the documents

An estate plan answers a few practical questions: who decides for you if you cannot, who receives your property, when and how they receive it, and how much court involvement your family will face. The documents are only half the work. Deeds, account titles, and beneficiary forms have to match them, or assets pass somewhere you did not intend.

Planning tools

• Revocable living trusts: management during life and incapacity, and distribution after death, for the assets you transfer into it
• Florida community property trusts: an elective structure for married couples with possible income-tax benefits and significant tradeoffs
• Florida homestead trust planning: how a trust interacts with the homestead tax exemption, creditor protection, and inheritance limits
• Enhanced life estate (Lady Bird) deeds: one property, full lifetime control, and transfer at death without probate

Which tool addresses which goal

Goal	Will	Revocable trust	Lady Bird deed	Beneficiary designation	Durable power of attorney
Avoid probate	No: a will is administered through probate	Yes, for assets transferred to it	Yes, for that property	Yes, for that account or policy	No
Manage assets if you are incapacitated	No	Yes, for trust assets	No	No	Yes, within the powers granted
Staged or protected distributions	Only through a testamentary trust	Yes	No	No, unless the beneficiary is a trust	No
Name a guardian for minor children	Yes	No	No	No	No
Covers all your assets	Only those in your name at death	Only those titled to it	One property	One account or policy	Only during life
Needs individualized review for homestead	Yes	Yes	Yes	n/a	Yes, if selling or mortgaging the home

The rest of the plan

Wills and pour-over wills

A Florida will must be signed at the end by the testator in the presence of two witnesses, who sign in the presence of the testator and each other (§ 732.502). It names a personal representative, can nominate a guardian for minor children, and directs where probate assets go. A pour-over will leaves anything outside your trust to the trust (§ 732.513); it is a safety net, and assets it covers still go through probate. A divorce generally voids will provisions for the former spouse (§ 732.507).

Durable powers of attorney

A financial power of attorney names an agent to act for you during life. In Florida it must be signed with two witnesses and a notary (§ 709.2105), and it ends at your death (§ 709.2109). Some powers, such as making gifts, creating or changing a trust, or changing beneficiary designations, are valid only if you separately sign or initial next to each one.

Health-care surrogates and living wills

A health-care surrogate designation names who makes medical decisions if you cannot, and should name an alternate (§ 765.202). A living will states your wishes about life-prolonging procedures if you have a terminal or end-stage condition or are in a persistent vegetative state (§ 765.302). Each needs two adult witnesses, and at least one must be neither your spouse nor a blood relative.

Beneficiary designations and survivorship ownership

Life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary, not under your will or trust. Jointly owned property with survivorship rights passes to the surviving owner. These designations should be reviewed together with the documents, especially after a marriage, divorce, birth, or death. A divorce can automatically revoke some designations of a former spouse (§ 732.703).

Planning for minor children

Children cannot hold property or sign for themselves. A will can nominate a guardian of the person and of the property, and courts give priority to a named standby or preneed guardian (§ 744.312). Leaving assets to a trust for a minor, rather than outright, avoids a court guardianship of the property and lets you set the age or purpose of distributions. See what happens if a beneficiary is a minor.

Blended families

When one or both spouses have children from earlier relationships, the default rules can produce results nobody intended. The intestacy rules and the surviving spouse’s rights, including the elective share and homestead protections, need to be considered alongside each spouse’s wishes. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement may also affect those rights.

Unmarried couples

Florida’s intestacy statutes give an unmarried partner no right to inherit (§ 732.102, § 732.103). Without a will, trust, deed, or beneficiary designation, the partner receives nothing, and without a health-care surrogate designation and power of attorney, the partner may have no authority to make decisions.

What to bring to a planning consultation

• Existing wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health-care documents
• Recorded deeds, mortgage information, and how each property is titled
• Account and investment statements, showing owners and beneficiaries
• Life insurance and retirement account beneficiary forms
• Family information: marriages and prior marriages, children and their ages, and anyone who needs long-term support
• Your choices for personal representative, trustee, agent, health-care surrogate, and guardian, with alternates
• Any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement

Sources: Florida Statutes § 709.2105, § 709.2109, § 732.102, § 732.103, § 732.502, § 732.507, § 732.513, § 732.703, § 744.312, § 765.202, and § 765.302 (2026), and the sources on each linked page. Checked on October 23, 2026.