Florida Estate Planning Questions Answered: What You Actually Need to Know

Most people have questions about estate planning long before they ever walk into an attorney's office — and that's completely normal. Whether you're wondering if a will is enough, what happens to your house when you're gone, or whether you even need a trust, these are exactly the kinds of conversations we have every day at Yergey & Yergey, P.A. Here are honest, straightforward answers to the questions Central Florida residents ask most often.

Do I really need a will if I don't have much to leave behind?

A will is less about the size of your estate and more about who gets to make the decisions. Without a valid will, Florida's intestacy laws — found in Chapter 732 of the Florida Statutes — determine who inherits your property. That might mean a distant relative receives assets you would have preferred to give to a close friend, a charitable cause, or even a neighbor who helped you through a hard season of life. Florida law has a fixed order of priority, and it doesn't account for your personal relationships or wishes.

A will also lets you name a personal representative — the person responsible for gathering your assets, paying debts, and distributing your estate through the Orange County or Osceola County probate court. Without that designation, the court appoints someone, and it may not be the person you would have chosen. Even a modest estate benefits from having that guidance spelled out clearly.

What's the difference between a will and a revocable living trust — and do I need both?

A will goes through probate, which is a court-supervised process. In Florida, even a straightforward probate can take several months and involves filing fees, publication costs, and attorney fees governed by statute. A revocable living trust, on the other hand, allows assets held in the trust to transfer directly to your beneficiaries without going through probate at all. You remain in full control of trust assets during your lifetime, and you can change or revoke the trust at any time.

That said, most people who create a revocable living trust also sign what's called a pour-over will. This catches any assets you forgot to transfer into the trust during your lifetime and funnels them into the trust at death — so nothing falls through the cracks. Whether a trust makes sense for you depends on factors like the types of assets you own, your family situation, and how much privacy and simplicity matter to you. There's no one-size-fits-all answer, which is why sitting down with an attorney to talk through your specific picture is worth the time.

How does Florida's homestead law affect my estate plan?

Florida homestead law is one of the most misunderstood areas of estate planning in the state, and it matters enormously. Under the Florida Constitution and Chapter 732.4015 of the Florida Statutes, your homestead property cannot be freely devised — that is, left to whoever you choose — if you have a surviving spouse or minor children. In that situation, strict rules govern what happens to the home, and a will that tries to leave the homestead to someone other than those protected heirs may be partially or entirely ineffective.

If you are single with adult children, you have more flexibility, but the homestead designation still affects how the property passes and whether it goes through probate. Many Central Florida homeowners are surprised to learn that putting a home into a revocable living trust requires careful attention to these rules to avoid unintended consequences. This is one area where working with an attorney familiar with Florida-specific law really does make a difference.

What is a durable power of attorney, and why does it matter for estate planning?

A durable power of attorney, governed by Chapter 709 of the Florida Statutes, authorizes someone you trust — your agent — to handle financial matters on your behalf if you become incapacitated. Without one, your family may need to petition a court for a guardianship to manage even routine financial transactions like paying your mortgage or accessing a bank account. Guardianship proceedings in Florida can be time-consuming, costly, and emotionally draining for everyone involved.

Florida law requires that a durable power of attorney be signed in front of two witnesses and a notary to be valid. Certain powers — like the ability to make gifts or change beneficiary designations — must be specifically and expressly granted in the document; they are not assumed. An outdated power of attorney from another state, or one downloaded from the internet, may be rejected by Florida banks and financial institutions. Getting this document right is just as important as the will itself.

Do I need a health care surrogate designation and a living will? Aren't they the same thing?

They work together, but they serve different purposes. A health care surrogate designation, authorized under Chapter 765 of the Florida Statutes, names a specific person to make medical decisions for you when you cannot make them yourself — whether due to surgery, illness, or an accident. Your surrogate speaks directly with your doctors and has the legal authority to consent to or refuse treatment on your behalf.

A living will, also called an advance directive, is a written statement of your own wishes regarding end-of-life care — things like whether you want life-prolonging measures continued if you are in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state. Having both documents means your surrogate knows who has authority, and your medical team has written guidance about your values and preferences. Without these documents, Florida law may place that decision-making burden on family members who disagree with one another, which can create painful conflicts at an already difficult time.

What about beneficiary designations — does my estate plan cover those automatically?

This is one of the most common misconceptions we see. Beneficiary designations on life insurance policies, retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s, and payable-on-death bank accounts pass outside of your will or trust entirely. That means if your beneficiary designation names an ex-spouse, a deceased parent, or simply says 'estate,' the asset may not end up where you intend — no matter how carefully your will is drafted.

Reviewing and coordinating your beneficiary designations is an essential part of any thorough estate plan. Florida residents also need to be mindful of naming minor children as direct beneficiaries, since a minor cannot legally receive a significant sum outright in Florida without court-supervised guardianship of the property. An attorney can help you structure these designations — or direct assets into a trust — in a way that actually accomplishes your goals.

Estate planning isn't about paperwork — it's about making sure the people and causes you care about are protected when you can't speak for yourself. If any of these questions feel familiar, or if you have one we didn't cover here, we'd genuinely enjoy the conversation. Yergey & Yergey, P.A. has been helping Florida families work through these decisions since 1928, and we're always happy to answer questions without pressure or obligation.