Five Tips for Creating an Effective Estate Plan in Florida

By Kristian Chestnut, Esq.

Estate planning is about more than deciding who receives your property after you die. A well-designed estate plan can help protect your family, provide for your loved ones, address incapacity, and make it easier to manage your affairs when the unexpected happens.

For Florida residents, estate planning also requires careful attention to Florida-specific laws and execution requirements. Here are five important tips for creating an effective estate plan.

1. Start With a Properly Executed Will

A last will and testament is the foundation of most estate plans. Your will allows you to determine who receives assets that pass through your probate estate, nominate a personal representative, and, if you have minor children, nominate a guardian. (The Florida Bar⁠)

Florida has specific requirements for executing a valid will. Generally, the will must be in writing and signed with the formalities required under Florida law, including the appropriate witnessing and notarization procedures. Failing to follow Florida’s execution requirements can create significant problems after death. (The Florida Bar⁠)

A will should also be reviewed whenever there is a significant change in your family, finances, or personal circumstances.

2. Consider Whether a Revocable Living Trust Makes Sense

A revocable living trust can be an important part of an estate plan, particularly for people who own substantial assets, own property in multiple states, want additional control over the management and distribution of their assets, or want to plan for incapacity.

Unlike an irrevocable trust, a revocable trust generally can be amended or revoked by the person who created it. Florida law specifically provides for the creation and modification of revocable trusts. (Online Sunshine⁠)

However, simply signing a trust document is not enough. Assets generally need to be properly coordinated with the trust for the trust-based plan to work as intended. A revocable trust also does not automatically eliminate every potential probate issue or provide asset protection merely because it exists.

The right question is not, “Do I need a trust?” but rather, “What problem am I trying to solve, and is a trust the appropriate tool?”

3. Plan for Incapacity—Not Just Death

One of the most overlooked aspects of estate planning is what happens if you become incapacitated but are still alive.

A comprehensive Florida estate plan should address both financial and medical decision-making. A durable power of attorney can authorize another person to handle financial and legal matters on your behalf, while a health care surrogate designation and living will can address medical decision-making and end-of-life wishes. (The Florida Bar⁠)

Florida has specific execution requirements for powers of attorney. For example, Florida law generally requires the principal’s signature, two subscribing witnesses, and acknowledgment before a notary public. (Online Sunshine⁠)

Choosing the right people to serve in these roles is just as important as preparing the documents themselves. You should select individuals you trust to act responsibly if you cannot make decisions for yourself.

4. Coordinate Your Beneficiary Designations

Your estate plan is not limited to your will and trust.

Life insurance policies, retirement accounts, annuities, and certain other financial accounts may pass according to beneficiary designations rather than through your will. Consequently, a person can have a carefully drafted estate plan and still unintentionally leave assets to the wrong person because an old beneficiary designation was never updated. (The Florida Bar⁠)

Review the beneficiary designations on your:

• Retirement accounts

• Life insurance policies

• Annuities

• Investment accounts

• Bank accounts with payable-on-death designations

• Other accounts that provide for beneficiary transfers

  
  

This becomes particularly important after marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, or the death of a previously designated beneficiary.

5. Review Your Estate Plan Regularly

An estate plan should not be treated as a document you sign once and put in a safe for the next 30 years.

Your plan should be reviewed when there is a significant change in your circumstances, such as:

• Marriage or divorce

• Birth or adoption of a child

• Death or incapacity of a beneficiary or fiduciary

• Significant changes in your assets

• Purchase or sale of real estate

• Changes in your business interests

• Moving to or from another state

• Changes in your retirement accounts or insurance policies

  
  

Divorce is a particularly important example. Florida law contains provisions affecting certain estate-planning documents and beneficiary arrangements after divorce, but relying on automatic statutory consequences is not a substitute for affirmatively reviewing and updating an estate plan. (The Florida Bar⁠)

A Good Estate Plan Is More Than a Stack of Documents

The goal of estate planning is not simply to accumulate legal documents. The goal is to create a coordinated plan that reflects your family, your assets, your wishes, and the possibility that you may become incapacitated.

For many Florida residents, that means considering a combination of a will, appropriate trust planning, financial powers of attorney, health care documents, beneficiary designations, and—when applicable—guardianship provisions for minor children.

Most importantly, estate planning should be tailored to the individual. A Florida estate plan for a young family with minor children may look very different from one designed for a retired couple, a business owner, or someone with significant real estate or investment assets.

If you have not reviewed your estate plan recently, now is a good time to determine whether your documents and beneficiary designations still accomplish what you intend.

This article is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Florida estate-planning laws and individual circumstances vary, so you should consult with a qualified Florida attorney regarding your particular situation.