States / Florida / Wills, estates & planning ahead
Wills, estates & planning ahead
Legal help in Florida
A prepaid benefit may help you make or review basic estate documents. Making a will, authorizing help during your lifetime, and administering an estate after a death are three different jobs.
Compare Florida estate-planning rules with another state
Practical routes source-checked October 15, 2026, including the July 2026 summary-administration change. Existing will-signing and inheritance research retains its October 11 date. Not a complete estate or coverage review.
All wills, estates & planning ahead situations · All Florida topics
Florida · Wills, estates & planning ahead
I need a will or want to update one
Source-checked October 15, 2026. Existing will-signing research below retains its October 11 date. Individual family and asset questions need review.
What to do first
Start with who depends on you, who should make decisions if you cannot, and who should receive or manage what you leave.
Deadlines and urgent risks
A drafted form is not necessarily a validly executed will. Signing rules, family circumstances, and asset ownership need attention.
Steps to take
Make a short inventory of assets, debts, account ownership, beneficiaries, and existing documents. Tell the lawyer about a spouse, children from another relationship, a dependent with disabilities, and property outside Florida. These details can change the work required.
Ask what the will does not control. Review beneficiary designations and joint ownership alongside it. A document package that ignores how your accounts and home are held may leave the practical plan unfinished. The Florida Bar's will guide explains the broader planning conversation.
From our Florida research
Previously reviewed state point. Check the linked source and current instructions; exceptions and local procedure still matter.
Wills
Two attesting witnesses; witnesses sign with the testator and each other present.
The testator signs at the end or acknowledges the signature in the witnesses' presence. Do not assume the Texas handwritten-will exception transfers to Florida; electronic wills have separate procedures.
Florida Statutes section 732.502
Ask your prepaid planAsk whether a simple will, revisions, and signing guidance are included. Trusts, tax planning, or probate work may need a different benefit or paid engagement.
Planning follow-through: After a move, will a Florida lawyer review my old will rather than assume its signing method still works? Compare will-signing rules and prepaid help. Estate comparison reviewed October 11, 2026.
What may happen next
Arrange signing guidance, safe storage of the original, and a way for your chosen representative to find it. Ask when revisions cost extra and what to revisit after a move, marriage, divorce, birth, or death. A trust is not automatically necessary for everyone.
Documents to gather
Existing will and trusts, asset and debt inventory, beneficiary forms, and intended decision-makers.
Do not enter documents or private case details into this site's search.
Which rules apply?
Florida signing rules are only one part of the check. Homestead protections, spouse or child rights, and another state's property may require tailored advice. An old out-of-state will should be reviewed, not automatically discarded or assumed sufficient.
Read the full prepaid-focused guide
Where prepaid help may fit
A simple-will benefit may cover a lawyer's consultation, drafting, or review. Ask whether revisions, signing instructions, and discussion of beneficiaries are included. A useful deliverable is a document you understand and know how to complete.
What it may not cover
Do not assume a simple-will benefit includes trusts, changing account titles, recording deeds, tax advice, special-needs planning, or later probate. Ask for a separate scope and price when the family or assets need more than a standard document.
Ask for the written coverage terms · Compare the actual extra costs
Common questions
Does making a will avoid probate?
Not by itself. How property is titled and whether it has a valid beneficiary designation also matter. Ask which assets would need administration and whether any change is appropriate before paying for a trust or transferring property.
What should I ask before choosing the plan's will package?
Ask whether a Florida lawyer discusses your circumstances, drafts or only reviews the document, explains signing, and handles revisions. Confirm effective coverage and whether home ownership, a blended family, or a dependent's needs fall outside the included service.
All wills, estates & planning ahead situations · All Florida topics
Florida · Wills, estates & planning ahead
I want someone to help if I cannot decide
Source-checked October 15, 2026. Document roles and selected signing distinctions, not a complete execution checklist or capacity assessment.
What to do first
Choose trusted people and backups for money and health decisions. Ask whether they are willing and available. They may be different people, and the authority you give should be deliberate.
Deadlines and urgent risks
A will does not appoint someone to act during your lifetime. Financial authority and health-care decisions use different documents and rules.
Steps to take
Financial power of attorney: authorizes specified financial acts. Florida generally requires the principal's signature, two subscribing witnesses, and a notarial acknowledgment; special situations need their own instructions. Section 709.2105.
Health-care surrogate designation: names someone for health decisions or information under the document's terms. It requires two adult witnesses; the named surrogate cannot witness, and at least one witness cannot be your spouse or blood relative. Section 765.202.
Living will: records certain treatment wishes; it is not the same as naming a financial agent. Review the Florida Bar explanation of related planning documents with a lawyer and your clinician. Do not use one document's signing instructions for every form.
What may happen next
Ask when each authority begins, what it permits, and how to replace or revoke it. Give appropriate copies to the people and institutions that need them. A perfectly stored document is less useful if no one can find it when care is needed.
Documents to gather
Existing authority documents, trusted contacts, care preferences, and relevant account information.
Do not enter documents or private case details into this site's search.
Which rules apply?
The legal authority, signing process, and institutional review are separate checks. If a person already cannot make the required decisions, ask a lawyer promptly about existing authority and lawful alternatives; a new form may not solve the problem.
Read the full prepaid-focused guide
Where prepaid help may fit
Ask whether the plan includes a Florida financial power of attorney, health-care surrogate designation, and living will, with a lawyer explaining scope, backups, signing, and revisions. A conversation about who should act can be more useful than another blank form.
What it may not cover
A basic package is not a capacity evaluation, guardianship case, or guarantee of acceptance by every institution. Complex powers, an urgent authority dispute, or work involving another state may need specialist help and a separate engagement.
Ask for the written coverage terms · Compare the actual extra costs
Common questions
Does naming an executor let them help while I am alive?
No. A will concerns what happens after death. Financial and health decision-making during life need their own legal authority. Ask the lawyer which documents fit and when the authority becomes usable.
Are the signing requirements the same for every document?
No. The power-of-attorney and health-surrogate rules above illustrate different requirements. Ask for document-specific instructions, including who can witness. This overview is not a complete signing checklist.
All wills, estates & planning ahead situations · All Florida topics
Florida · Wills, estates & planning ahead
Someone died or there is no will
Source-checked October 15, 2026. Current summary-administration starting point; the selected inheritance distinction below retains its October 11 date.
What to do first
Locate the original will if one exists, death certificate, account titles, beneficiary designations, debts, and family information. Ask a Florida probate lawyer which assets need court administration and who is authorized to act.
Deadlines and urgent risks
A will, no-will inheritance rules, and beneficiary transfers are different checks. Do not distribute property based only on a simplified inheritance summary.
Steps to take
Summary administration has a new value threshold. Under current section 735.201, the value of the Florida estate subject to administration, less property exempt from creditor claims, must not exceed $150,000, or the person must have been dead for more than two years. If there is a will, it must not direct administration under chapter 733. Other requirements still apply.
The threshold increased from $75,000 effective July 1, 2026: chapter 2026-57, sections 7 and 14 (PDF). Do not use an older $75,000 guide or simply subtract all debts from total assets. Ask which property counts, how homestead is treated, and which procedure applies to this estate.
A smaller estate still needs the right process. Section 735.206 requires creditor inquiry, notice to identified creditors, and provision for payment to the extent assets are available before the court's summary order. This is not a generic bank affidavit or permission to distribute everything immediately.
Florida: a selected no-will distinction
All or half to the spouse, depending on both spouses' descendants.
The spouse receives the intestate estate if all the deceased's descendants are shared and the spouse has no other descendants. If either specified nonshared-descendant situation applies, the spouse receives half. Homestead and other protections require separate review.
Florida Statutes 732.102-732.103
Reviewed October 11, 2026. Selected spouse/descendant rules, not a full inheritance calculation. Non-probate assets and family exceptions need separate review.
What may happen next
The lawyer may identify beneficiary transfers, summary administration, or a different probate route. Request a written quote that separates advice, petition preparation, court representation, filing costs, and work on creditor or family disputes. A qualifying value is not a promised completion date.
Documents to gather
Death certificate, original will if found, account titles and beneficiaries, debt information, and family relationships.
Do not enter documents or private case details into this site's search.
Which rules apply?
Florida statutes set the legal requirements; the circuit court and clerk handle local filing procedures. Ask the appropriate probate clerk about current forms and filing logistics, and the lawyer about eligibility, creditor issues, and distribution.
Read the full prepaid-focused guide
Where prepaid help may fit
An eligible consultation may help identify probate versus beneficiary transfers, explain the first documents, and flag whether a smaller-estate route needs closer review. Ask who the client is: you personally, a representative, or an estate.
What it may not cover
The deceased person's will benefit does not automatically pay to administer their estate. Probate filings, court work, creditor disputes, tax returns, and representation of a personal representative may require a separate lawyer and fee.
Ask for the written coverage terms · Compare the actual extra costs
Common questions
Is an estate under $150,000 automatically eligible?
No. The statute measures a defined estate value, not every asset or a general net-worth figure. The will's directions, exempt property, creditors, and other procedural requirements matter. There is also a more-than-two-years-since-death route; ask a lawyer which provisions apply.
Does a prepaid will benefit include handling the estate later?
Do not assume so. Ask whether any probate benefit exists, who qualifies to use it, and whether it covers only advice or actual court work. Compare the written extra-work quote with a direct probate attorney's quote.
Official contacts and more help
State court and legal-help directory
County or court details: Use the court named on your papers. Ask about local forms, filing, service, fees, response dates, and hearings. A statewide form may need local additions.
Find local civil legal aid. Eligibility, scope, and availability vary; applying does not establish representation or stop a deadline.
These agencies and directories serve different purposes. Court staff explain procedure, not individualized advice. Civil legal aid is not the usual source of criminal defense.
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