Are Beneficiary Designations Protected in Florida?
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.
A beneficiary designation on life insurance, a retirement account, a payable-on-death bank account or a transfer-on-death brokerage account decides who receives that asset at death, in Florida as everywhere. The designation controls over the will or trust, and an outdated one stays in force whatever the other documents say.
Yes. Florida automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary on divorce for these asset types: life insurance, retirement accounts, pod accounts, tod accounts, annuitiesFla. Stat. § 732.703Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. An ERISA-governed employer plan (a 401(k), a pension) follows federal law instead and must be updated by hand whatever the state rule says.
Yes. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts state law for an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k), a pension or group life insurance: the plan pays the designation on file with the plan administrator, and a qualified plan requires the spouse's consent to name anyone else (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 2001; Kennedy v. Plan Administrator, 2009). Florida sets no spousal-consent requirement of its ownFla. Stat. § 732.702; § 732.2155(2)(c)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source for an individual account.
Yes. Florida gives inherited IRAs full statutory protection from creditorsFla. Stat. § 222.21(2)(a), (2)(c)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. After Clark v. Rameker (2014) held that federal bankruptcy law does not protect an inherited IRA, the state statute is the shield.
No. Florida does not default to per stirpes for beneficiary designationsFla. Stat. § 732.603; § 655.82(3)(b); § 711.507; § 711.51(1)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source: when a named beneficiary dies before the account holder, the share lapses unless the designation says per stirpes or names a contingent beneficiary.
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
Divorce
What divorce does and does not undo: beneficiary designations, your will, powers of attorney, and the one account your ex stays on until you change it.
Learn more
Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
Learn more
Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
Learn more
Serious Diagnosis
A serious diagnosis changes priorities. Healthcare proxies, financial powers of attorney, and the documents that ensure your wishes are honored.
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.
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.
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 Sep 18, 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 Sep 18, 2026View source witnesses and a notary.
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.
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.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Florida costs an estimated $30,600Fla. Stat. § 733.6171Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees on a statutory schedule presumed reasonableFla. Stat. § 733.6171Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Florida, a surviving spouse takes the entire estateFla. Stat. § 732.102Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per stirpesFla. Stat. § 732.104Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living 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 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
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 Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
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.
When you're ready, we're here.
Florida Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Florida probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.