Your 2025 Guide to Florida Estate Planning

What are the most important parts of an estate plan?

Most estate plans in Florida include some combination of last wills, living trusts, powers of attorney (POAs), and healthcare advance directives. A lawyer or reputable online legal service like LegalZoom can help you create these documents—plus, our estate planning bundles come with the option to meet with an experienced attorney for advice. 

First, here's what to consider for each estate planning document. 

Wills

A will, formally known as a last will and testament, specifies how you want your property distributed after you die. You'll also appoint an executor—a personal representative responsible for carrying out these wishes—and can name a guardian to care for minor children. 

Florida allows you to name almost anyone you trust as an executor. They must be at least 18 years old, mentally and physically capable of performing their duties, and have no convictions for felonies or certain forms of abuse (FL Stat. 733.303). 

In addition, your will must meet these requirements to be valid in Florida (FL Stat. 732.501 and 732.502):

• It must be in writing.
• You must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind.
• You and two witnesses must sign the will in each other's presence. 

While Florida allows anyone to be a witness, it’s generally recommended to avoid asking “interested” parties (or those who directly benefit from the will) to act as witnesses. 

You can also create a "self-proving" will in Florida by signing an affidavit in front of a notary along with your witnesses (FL Stat. 732.503). This affidavit confirms that the will was properly executed and should expedite probate—the court-supervised process of distributing assets—since your witnesses won't need to testify to validate it later. 

Trusts

A trust is a legal arrangement that holds and manages your property for the benefit of others. When you create a trust, you'll transfer your assets into its ownership and name beneficiaries who will inherit from the trust. 

Most Floridians set up living trusts (known as "inter vivos" trusts), which come in two forms:

• Revocable living trusts allow you to keep control over your assets and act as the trustee to manage the trust. You can modify or even dissolve the trust at any point. After your death, the trust becomes irrevocable, its terms are fixed, and your successor trustee will manage it according to your instructions.
• Irrevocable living trusts require you to give up control over the trust assets once they're established. These trusts are less common and more expensive to set up, so it's best to consult an attorney for help. 

One of the main advantages of living trusts is that they avoid probate (provided they're set up and funded correctly). Many Florida estate plans have both documents—a living trust for major assets and a "pour-over" will to catch any remainders. Likewise, it makes sense to have a will for guardianship matters, as trusts can't specify these terms. 

Power of attorney

A power of attorney (POA) gives someone (known as an agent or attorney-in-fact) the authority to handle your financial, business, or legal matters. A POA can be customized with these features in Florida: 

• A general POA grants your agent broad authority to manage most matters on your behalf, such as paying bills, signing contracts, or selling investments. 
• A limited POA restricts your agent's authority to specific transactions or time periods, such as temporarily overseeing your affairs while you're traveling. 
• A durable POA remains effective even if you become incapacitated. 

It's worth noting that Florida law doesn't recognize "springing" POAs, which only take effect under specific circumstances like future incapacity (FL Stat. 709.2108). Florida also requires you to explicitly list each power you're granting your agent—a general statement authorizing "all acts" isn't valid under state law (FL Stat. 709.2201). 

Lastly, in order to validate your POA, you and two witnesses must sign the document before a notary public (FL Stat. 709.2105).

Advance healthcare directive

An advance healthcare directive is a collection of legal documents that plan for your medical care if you become incapacitated. In Florida, this can include a living will, healthcare surrogate designation, and anatomical donation. Here's what each document does.

• Living will: Specifies your preferences for medical care and life-prolonging procedures for when you can't speak for yourself. 
• Healthcare surrogate designation: Also known as a medical proxy, this names someone you trust to make medical decisions on your behalf. Your surrogate can also access your health information and communicate with your care team.
• Anatomical donation: Allows you to specify whether you want to donate organs or tissue after death and, if so, how they may be used (e.g., research or education). 

Each document must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, as explained in FL Stat. Chapter 765. Once completed, you can provide copies to interested persons, such as your primary care physician and named surrogate. 

Beneficiary designations

Beneficiaries are the people you name to inherit specific assets—whether through a will or trusts. Some assets also pass directly to beneficiaries, such as:

• Life insurance proceeds
• Retirement accounts like 401(k)s
• Bank accounts with transfer-on-death (TOD) designations
• Annuities

You'll want to review accounts like these that ask for beneficiary designations. Confirm that you've named your intended beneficiaries and keep these designations updated, especially after major changes like marriage, divorce, or death of a beneficiary.

What's unique about Florida estate plans?

The Sunshine State has a few unique considerations when it comes to estate planning. It's a good idea to work with a Florida estate planning attorney or LegalZoom to understand the state's rules and requirements, with some notable examples below.

Common law property

Florida is a common law property state, which affects how property is divided in divorce and how it passes after death. Under common law rules, each spouse generally owns assets in their own name (unlike in community property states, where marital property is jointly owned). 

When one spouse dies, the estate plan (i.e., a will or trust) guides how property is distributed. If there's no will, Florida's intestate succession laws (Probate Code Chapter 732) determine how to divide the decedent's estate, but the surviving spouse usually has the largest claim. The main exception is if either spouse had children from a prior relationship—if so, then the surviving spouse and the deceased's children typically split the estate equally (FL Stat. 732.102).

Even if there's a will, courts may override certain distributions that fail to satisfy the surviving spouse's elective share. This gives spouses the right to claim at least 30% of the estate, regardless of what the will says (FL Stat. 732.2065). 

Florida probate

Probate is the court process that closes the deceased's estate and distributes their assets. While some assets bypass Florida probate entirely—like living trusts, property held in joint tenancy, and accounts with beneficiary designations—assets included in a will must go through this process.

After a person dies, someone close to them (usually the deceased's named executor) must file the will with the probate court within 10 days of learning of their death (FL Stat. 732.901). The court then validates the will, gives creditors a chance to file claims, and distributes assets to beneficiaries after all debts have been paid. Altogether, the process typically takes several months to a year. 

When it comes to the cost of probate, Florida sets suggested attorney fees based on the estate's total value (FL Stat. 733.6171). However, these fees can be negotiated and are subject to change. Here are the current fees as of 2025.