Estate Planning Checklist for Florida Residents: What You Actually Need

Published March 2026 | Reviewed March 2026
By John R. Nelson, Esq.

Every Florida adult needs at least four estate planning documents: a Last Will and Testament, a Durable Power of Attorney, a Healthcare Surrogate Designation, and a Living Will.

If you are a Florida resident and you do not have an estate plan, you are not alone. Surveys consistently show that more than half of American adults have no will at all. The reasons are usually the same: it feels complicated, it feels expensive, and nobody wants to think about dying.

Here is the reality: estate planning in Florida is more straightforward than most people expect. You do not need a binder full of legal documents. You need the right documents, properly executed under Florida law, and you need to revisit them when life changes. This article walks you through exactly what those documents are, when you might need more than the basics, and what it should cost.

The Four Essential Documents

Florida law provides a clear framework for estate planning. The following four documents form the foundation of virtually every plan I prepare at our firm.

1. Last Will and Testament

Your will is governed by Florida Statutes Chapter 732. It directs how your assets are distributed after death, names a personal representative (executor) to manage the process, and, if you have minor children, designates a guardian. Without a valid will, Florida's intestacy statutes decide who gets what, and the result may not match your wishes.

A Florida will must be signed with the formalities required by Florida law, typically including two witnesses, and most attorneys also use a self-proving affidavit before a notary. Handwritten (holographic) wills are not valid in Florida, even if they were valid in the state where they were written.

2. Durable Power of Attorney

Under Florida Statutes Chapter 709, a durable power of attorney (DPOA) allows a person you designate (your "agent" or "attorney-in-fact") to handle financial matters on your behalf. This includes paying bills, managing bank accounts, selling property, filing taxes, and handling insurance claims.

The word "durable" is critical. It means the authority survives your incapacity. Without a DPOA, your family may need to petition a court for guardianship just to pay your mortgage or access your bank account. That process is slow, expensive, and entirely avoidable.

3. Designation of Healthcare Surrogate

Florida Statutes Chapter 765 governs the healthcare surrogate designation. This document names a person to make medical decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself. Your surrogate can access your medical records, consult with physicians, and authorize or refuse treatment.

This is, in my experience, the most important document in the estate plan. I say that from both professional and personal experience, having served as a caregiver for my own mother. Without a healthcare surrogate designation, hospitals and doctors may not be able to share information with your family or allow them to make decisions, even in an emergency.

4. Living Will

Also governed by Chapter 765, the living will is a narrower document. It provides written instructions regarding end-of-life medical care, specifically whether you want life-prolonging procedures if you are in a terminal condition, have an end-stage condition, or are in a persistent vegetative state. It works alongside the healthcare surrogate designation to give your surrogate clear guidance during the most difficult decisions.

Summary: The Four Core Documents

Document	Florida Statute	What It Does	When It Takes Effect
Last Will and Testament	Chapter 732	Distributes assets, names personal representative and guardian	After death
Durable Power of Attorney	Chapter 709	Authorizes agent to handle financial and property matters	Upon signing (survives incapacity)
Healthcare Surrogate	Chapter 765	Names person to make medical decisions on your behalf	Upon incapacity
Living Will	Chapter 765	Directs end-of-life medical treatment preferences	Terminal/end-stage condition

Do I Need a Trust?

This is the question I hear most often. The short answer: many Florida residents do not need a trust. The longer answer depends on your specific circumstances. If you are also wondering about the probate process a trust helps avoid, see our Florida probate guide.

When a Will Is Enough

A will, combined with proper beneficiary designations and potentially a Ladybird deed (discussed below), handles estate planning effectively for many families. A will-based plan typically works well when:

• Your primary asset is your Florida home
• You do not own real estate in other states
• Your estate is relatively straightforward (assets pass to a spouse, then children)
• You are comfortable with the Florida probate process, which your personal representative and attorney will handle

When a Trust Makes Sense

A revocable living trust becomes a better tool when:

• You own real property in multiple states (a trust avoids probate in each state)
• You have a blended family and want to provide for a surviving spouse while protecting assets for children from a prior marriage
• You want to set conditions on when or how beneficiaries receive assets (for example, distributions at certain ages)
• Privacy is a priority. Probate is a public proceeding; trust administration is private
• Your estate is large enough to benefit from more sophisticated planning

A trust is not inherently "better" than a will. It is a different tool for different situations. I discuss the tradeoffs honestly with every client during our initial meeting. For more on the probate process and trust administration, see our probate and trust administration page.

Life Estate (Ladybird) Deeds: Florida's Probate Avoidance Tool

Florida is one of a handful of states that recognizes the enhanced life estate deed, commonly called a Ladybird deed. This is one of the most practical estate planning tools available to Florida homeowners, and it is significantly less expensive than a trust.

Here is how it works: you sign a deed that names one or more beneficiaries (called "remaindermen") who will receive your home when you pass away. During your lifetime, you retain complete control. You can live in the home, rent it, sell it, refinance it, or revoke the deed entirely, all without permission from the beneficiaries.

When you pass away, the property transfers to the named beneficiaries automatically, outside of probate. There is no court proceeding, no waiting period, and no personal representative involvement for that asset. The beneficiaries record a death certificate with the county and the property is theirs.

Key advantages of a Ladybird deed:

• Avoids probate for your home without the cost of a trust
• You retain full control and all homestead protections during your lifetime
• Does not trigger a reassessment of property taxes
• Beneficiaries receive a stepped-up tax basis at your death
• Revocable at any time

For many of my clients, a will plus a Ladybird deed accomplishes everything a trust would, at a fraction of the cost.

Beneficiary Designations: The Documents People Forget

Your will does not control everything. Certain assets pass by beneficiary designation, meaning they go directly to the person named on the account, regardless of what your will says. These include:

• Life insurance policies
• 401(k) and IRA accounts
• Pension and annuity contracts
• Payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts
• Transfer-on-death (TOD) brokerage accounts

I have seen situations where a client creates a thoughtful will leaving everything to their current spouse, but an old 401(k) beneficiary designation still names an ex-spouse. The 401(k) goes to the ex-spouse. The will does not override it.

As part of every estate planning engagement, I encourage clients to pull their beneficiary designations for every account and review them. It takes an afternoon and it prevents a serious problem.

When to Update Your Estate Plan

An estate plan is not a document you sign once and put in a drawer. Life changes, and your plan should change with it. Review your estate plan when any of the following occurs:

• Marriage or divorce: Florida law has specific provisions that may revoke certain designations upon divorce, but you should not rely on statutory defaults
• Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild
• Death of a named agent, surrogate, personal representative, or beneficiary
• Significant change in assets: buying or selling a home, inheritance, business changes
• Relocation to or from Florida: estate planning documents from other states may not comply with Florida requirements
• Changes in health: particularly if a named agent or surrogate develops their own health issues
• Changes in the law: Florida has updated its power of attorney and trust statutes several times in recent years

As a general rule, if nothing has changed, review your plan every three to five years to confirm everything still reflects your intentions. For more on what to discuss with your family about your plan, see our article on whether to share your estate plan with your family.

What Estate Planning Costs in Florida

One of the biggest barriers to getting an estate plan done is uncertainty about cost. Many attorneys bill hourly for estate planning, which means you do not know the total until the work is finished. I think that is the wrong approach for something this important.

At the Law Office of John R. Nelson, P.A., we use flat-fee pricing for estate planning. You know exactly what you will pay before we start:

Service	Flat Fee
Individual Estate Plan (Will, DPOA, Healthcare Surrogate, Living Will)	$1,150
Couple Estate Plan (both spouses, all four documents each)	$1,600
Ladybird Deed (add-on)	$350

That price includes the initial consultation, document drafting, revisions, and a signing session at our New Smyrna Beach estate planning office. There are no hidden fees and no hourly billing. If your situation requires a trust or more complex planning, we will discuss that during the consultation and provide a quote before any work begins.

For a deeper look at one of the most important documents in the plan, see our guide to Durable Power of Attorney in Florida.

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