How Do I Avoid Probate in Florida?
In Florida, a home under a Lady Bird deedFla. Unif. Title Std. 6.10 (RPPTL Section of The Florida Bar; June 2019 text, 2024.09.04 compilation)Verified Oct 23, 2026View source and a payable on death accountFla. Stat. § 655.82(3)(b)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source pass outside probate, as does property in a revocable trust; what is left is the probate estate.
At a death in Florida, the sums in a joint account belong to the surviving owner unless the account says otherwiseFla. Stat. § 655.79(1)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. On the pay on death designation: a pay-on-death designation passes to the named beneficiary at the owner's deathFla. Stat. § 655.82(3)(b)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source.
Florida has no general statute making a payable-at-death provision in a written instrument nontestamentaryFla. Stat. chs. 121, 222, 627, 655, 678, 689, 710, 711 and 731 to 736Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. A policy with no beneficiary, or one payable to the estate, is part of the probate estate.
An employer plan is governed by federal law: An employer retirement plan pays its death benefit to the beneficiary named in the plan's records, and federal law displaces a state rule that would redirect it. A married participant's spouse is the beneficiary unless the spouse consented in writing to another29 U.S.C. § 1144(a)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. A retirement account with no beneficiary named is part of the probate estate.
Survivorship title in Florida: Florida's survivorship vestings are joint tenants with right of survivorship, which the deed must state expressly, and tenants by the entirety between spouses. A deed to two or more owners without that language creates a tenancy in commonFla. Stat. § 28.222(3)(g); Fla. Stat. § 689.15; Fla. Unif. Title Stds. 6.6-6.8Verified Oct 26, 2026View source. In Florida, no statute authorizes a transfer on death deed. A home in the owner's name alone, with no survivor, deed beneficiary or trust, is part of the probate estate.
In Florida, no transfer on death designation is titled on a vehicle. A vehicle in the owner's name alone is part of the probate estate; one titled in a revocable trust passes under the trust's terms.
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New Baby or Adoption
Your family is growing. Your protection should too. Guardian nominations, trusts for minors, beneficiary updates, and the documents new parents need in place.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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New Home
How to put your house in a revocable trust: the deed you record, what it does to your mortgage and property taxes, and when a TOD deed is simpler.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Florida
Free forms for planning your estate in Florida: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In Florida, a will is signed before 2Fla. Stat. § 732.502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyFla. Stat. § 732.502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Codicil to a Will
In Florida, a codicil is signed before 2Fla. Stat. § 732.502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, like a will, and the self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyFla. Stat. § 732.503(1)Verified Oct 25, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Florida requires 2Fla. Stat. § 765.203Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredFla. Stat. § 765.203Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
HIPAA Release
In Florida, a HIPAA release names who may receive your records and, as the state requires, names HIV/AIDS-related information and genetic informationFla. Stat. § 381.004(2)(b), (e)(2), (f) (last amended s. 8, ch. 2018-24); Fla. Stat. § 760.40(1), (2) (last amended s. 2, ch. 2021-216)Verified Jun 20, 2026View source expressly before a provider releases them.
Financial Power of Attorney
Florida requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityFla. Stat. §§ 709.2101, 709.2104, 709.2105, 709.2106, 709.2108, 709.2109, 709.2113, 709.2119, 709.2120, 709.2201, 709.2202, 709.2208, 709.2209 (2024 supported decisionmaking — informational only, not a POA); § 695.01 (recording); § 695.03 (alternative acknowledgment methods referenced by § 709.2105(2))Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, and it is signed before 2Fla. Stat. §§ 709.2101, 709.2104, 709.2105, 709.2106, 709.2108, 709.2109, 709.2113, 709.2119, 709.2120, 709.2201, 709.2202, 709.2208, 709.2209 (2024 supported decisionmaking — informational only, not a POA); § 695.01 (recording); § 695.03 (alternative acknowledgment methods referenced by § 709.2105(2))Verified Oct 21, 2026View source witnesses and a notary.
Lady Bird Deed
In Florida, no statute authorizes a transfer on death deed; a Lady Bird deed is recognized by the state bar's title standardsFla. Unif. Title Std. 6.10 (RPPTL Section of The Florida Bar; June 2019 text, 2024.09.04 compilation)Verified Oct 23, 2026View source: the owner keeps a life estate and the power to sell or convey the property without the grantee and revoke or revise the deedFla. Unif. Title Std. 6.10, Problem 2Verified Oct 23, 2026View source.
Living Will
In Florida, the living will is the Living WillFla. Stat. ch. 765, Part III (ss. 765.301-765.309)Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Florida
Free tools for planning your estate in Florida: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
How Much Does a Will Cost?
An attorney-prepared will in Florida runs $1,320Estimate: 3 hours at $440, Clio's Florida Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,640Estimate: 6 hours at $440, Clio's Florida Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $30,600Fla. Stat. § 733.6171Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In Florida, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writingFla. Stat. § 744.3046Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18Fla. Stat. § 743.07(1)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
In Florida, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees on a statutory schedule presumed reasonableFla. Stat. § 733.6171Verified Sep 8, 2026View source; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
How Much Is the Federal Gift Tax?
Whether a gift owes federal gift tax, how much of the annual exclusion and lifetime exemption it uses, and whether Form 709 is due.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Florida runs $4,320Estimate: 10 hours at $432, Clio's Florida Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,480Estimate: 15 hours at $432, Clio's Florida Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,320Estimate: 3 hours at $440, Clio's Florida Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,640Estimate: 6 hours at $440, Clio's Florida Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Florida, four years at a public university cost about $64,352NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax. Fla. Const. Art. VII, § 5(a) caps any Florida estate or inheritance tax at the federal credit amount; the Chapter 198 estate tax (Fla. Stat. § 198.02) is a federal-credit pickup — not repealed, but $0 since EGTRRA eliminated the federal state death tax credit, and the Florida Department of Revenue confirms the estate tax was eliminated for people who died after Dec. 31, 2004. Florida has no inheritance tax and no gift tax.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Florida automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceFla. Stat. § 732.703Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
How Do I Sign Estate Documents?
In Florida, a will is signed before 2Fla. Stat. § 732.502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and notarization is not requiredFla. Stat. § 732.502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
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Florida Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Florida probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.