Yes. A will isn’t just about dividing up assets — it’s how you name a guardian

for minor children, choose who administers your estate (your personal

representative), and make sure the people you actually want to receive your

property do. Without one, Florida’s intestacy statutes decide for you, and the

result often surprises people.

A will takes effect at death and typically goes through probate. A revocable

living trust can hold and manage assets during your lifetime and pass them to

beneficiaries afterward, usually without probate. Many Florida estate plans use

both: a trust to hold major assets and avoid probate, and a simple “pour-over”

will as a backstop for anything left outside the trust.

Whether a trust makes sense for you depends on the size and type of your

assets, whether you own property in more than one state, and how much

privacy and control you want over the process. That’s a conversation worth

having before deciding.

Your estate passes under Florida’s intestacy law (Chapter 732, Florida

Statutes), which distributes assets according to a fixed formula based on your

surviving spouse, children, and other relatives — regardless of what youactually would have wanted. It can also complicate things like blended families,

unmarried partners, or a family member you’d prefer not receive anything.

Florida requires the will to be in writing, signed by you (or by someone else at

your direction and in your presence), and signed by two witnesses in your

presence and in each other’s presence. Florida does not recognize

handwritten (holographic) wills or oral wills, even if they’d be valid in another

state. We also recommend adding a self-proving affidavit, signed before a

notary, which speeds up probate later by avoiding the need to track down

witnesses.

Often yes, Florida will generally honor a will that was validly executed

elsewhere. But “valid” isn’t the same as “well-suited.” Florida has unique rules

around homestead property, elective share for spouses, and personal

representative qualifications (out-of-state, non-relative personal

representatives generally cannot serve). It’s worth having a Florida attorney

review an out-of-state plan rather than assuming it will work the way you

expect.

It might, in a good way. Effective July 1, 2026, Florida raised the threshold for

the simplified “summary administration” probate process from $75,000 to

$150,000 of non-exempt assets (homestead property is excluded from that

calculation). For estates that fall under the new cap, this can mean a faster,

less expensive probate process than before. It applies to estates of people

who pass away on or after July 1, 2026.

Not if it’s set up correctly. A properly drafted revocable trust that gives you a

present possessory interest for life in the property can preserve both your

homestead tax exemption and the Florida Constitution’s creditor protection for

the home. The trust language and the deed both matter here, and some

counties have their own filing requirements, so this isn’t a do-it-yourself step.

It depends on the type. A revocable living trust does not shield assets from

your own creditors while you’re alive, since you still control and can access the

trust property. Meaningful creditor and lawsuit protection generally requires an

irrevocable trust, where you give up direct control of the assets. The right

structure depends on what you’re protecting against and how much access

you’re willing to give up.

Signing the trust document only creates the trust — it doesn’t move anything

into it. Funding means retitling assets (your home, bank and investment

accounts, business interests) into the name of the trust, or updating beneficiary

designations to point to it. An unfunded trust generally accomplishes nothing at

death; the assets left outside it may still have to go through probate. We help

you work through funding as part of the planning process, not as an

afterthought.

Yes, with a revocable living trust, most people name themselves as trustee and

keep full control over the assets during their lifetime. You’ll also name a

successor trustee, someone who steps in to manage the trust if you become

incapacitated or after your death, without needing court involvement.

A well-drafted trust names at least one backup (and often a second backup)

successor trustee, and can also spell out a process for beneficiaries or a trust

protector to appoint a replacement if everyone named is unable or unwilling to

serve. This is one of the most overlooked details in DIY trusts, and one of the

easiest to get right with proper drafting.

An irrevocable Medicaid asset protection trust can remove assets from your

countable estate for Medicaid eligibility purposes and shield them from

creditors, but Florida applies a five-year “look-back” period on transfers into

this type of trust. That means the trust generally needs to be set up and funded

well before care is needed, it isn’t a last-minute fix. A revocable living trust, by

contrast, does not provide this protection since you still control those assets.

Not by itself. A revocable living trust avoids probate but doesn’t reduce estate

taxes, since you still legally control and own the assets. The federal estate tax

only affects estates above the federal exemption amount, which is high

enough that it doesn’t apply to most families. Florida has no separate state

estate or inheritance tax. If your estate is large enough that federal estate tax

is a real concern, that calls for more advanced planning, which we can walk

you through.

It depends on what your plan needs to accomplish. A straightforward will-

based plan with basic powers of attorney and healthcare documents costs lessthan a plan built around a revocable living trust, business succession, or

blended-family planning. We quote flat fees whenever possible, so you know

the cost up front before any work begins — there are no surprise hourly bills.

Most straightforward plans can be drafted, reviewed, and signed within a few

weeks of your initial consultation. Trust-based plans or those involving

business or real estate holdings can take longer, mainly because they require

gathering more detailed information about your assets. We’ll give you a

realistic timeline once we understand your situation.

A general list of your assets and roughly what they’re worth, information on any

existing wills, trusts, or powers of attorney, and a sense of who you’d want to

name as personal representative, trustee, guardian, or healthcare surrogate.

You don’t need exact figures or perfect paperwork — we’ll walk through it

together.

As a rule of thumb, review your plan every three to five years, and any time

you have a major life change: marriage, divorce, a new child or grandchild, a

significant change in assets, moving to or from Florida, or the death of

someone named in your documents. Powers of attorney and healthcare

directives are worth a fresh look periodically too, since some institutions are

hesitant to honor older documents.

Yes. We start with a consultation to understand your family, your assets, and

your goals, and to walk you through what a plan tailored to your situation

would look like and cost — before you decide to move forward.