A basic Florida estate plan typically includes a Last Will and Testament, a Durable Power of Attorney, a Designation of Health Care Surrogate, and a Living Will. Many clients also benefit from a Revocable Living Trust, HIPAA authorization, and a Pre-Need Guardian Designation. We review your family, assets, and goals during your consultation and recommend the combination of documents that fits your situation.

Yes. Even with a fully funded revocable living trust, Florida residents should also sign a pour-over will. The pour-over will directs any assets you did not retitle into the trust during your lifetime to be transferred into the trust after your death. It also lets you name a guardian for minor children, which a trust cannot do under Florida law.

A revocable living trust is an estate planning document you create during your lifetime and can change at any time. Assets titled in the name of the trust pass directly to your beneficiaries under the terms of the trust, without going through the Florida probate court. We help clients draft the trust, fund it by retitling assets, and coordinate beneficiary designations so the plan works as intended.

A Florida Durable Power of Attorney is a written document authorizing another person, your agent, to handle financial and legal matters on your behalf. Because it is durable, it remains effective if you become incapacitated. Florida law requires very specific language for certain powers, such as making gifts or changing beneficiary designations, and a power of attorney signed in another state may not be honored in Florida.

A Designation of Health Care Surrogate is a document authorized under Florida Statute 765 that names the person who will make medical decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself. It is separate from a Living Will, which expresses your wishes about life-prolonging procedures. We typically prepare both documents together as part of a complete Florida estate plan.

We recommend reviewing your estate plan every three to five years and after any significant life event, such as marriage, divorce, a birth or death in the family, a move to or from Florida, a material change in assets, or the sale of a business. Florida law also changes periodically, which can affect powers of attorney, health care directives, and trust provisions.

A will validly executed in another state is generally recognized in Florida, but there are important exceptions. Florida does not honor out-of-state holographic (handwritten) wills or nuncupative (oral) wills, and certain appointments, such as the naming of a non-resident personal representative, may be restricted. We regularly review out-of-state documents for clients who have moved to Florida and update them to comply with Florida law.

If a Florida resident dies without a will (intestate), assets passing through probate are distributed under Florida’s intestacy statutes. The rules are rigid. They split assets among a surviving spouse, children, and more distant relatives based on family structure, without regard to your personal wishes. The homestead, exempt property, and family allowance rules add further complexity. A properly drafted Florida estate plan avoids this outcome.

Most of our estate plans are handled on a flat-fee basis so clients know the cost before work begins. Pricing depends on the documents required and the complexity of the plan. For example, a basic will package is priced differently from a funded revocable trust with tax planning. We provide a written fee quote after the complimentary initial consultation.

Yes. We develop options for business succession as part of the estate planning process, including buy-sell agreements, transfer on death provisions, revocable trusts that own business interests, and coordination with corporate or LLC operating documents. The goal is to keep the business running and minimize tax and probate exposure when ownership transfers.