A last will and testament allows you to decide who should receive property after your death, who should serve as personal representative of your estate, and who you would prefer to serve as guardian for minor children if one becomes necessary.
A properly prepared Florida will can also reduce uncertainty for family members by clearly documenting your wishes and coordinating with the rest of your estate plan.
Florida Consumer Lawyers helps individuals and families prepare wills that reflect their goals, family circumstances, and property.
A will should not be drafted in isolation. It should be reviewed alongside beneficiary designations, jointly owned property, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and other arrangements that may control what happens during incapacity or after death.
A Florida Will May Be Especially Important If:
- You have minor children;
- You want to choose who receives your property;
- You want to name a personal representative;
- You are remarried or have children from a prior relationship;
- You own a home or other significant assets;
- You want to leave specific property to particular people;
- You want to reduce uncertainty among family members; or
- Your current will no longer reflects your wishes.
What Does a Will Do in Florida?
A will directs how property that is subject to probate should be distributed after death.
It can also allow you to:
- Name beneficiaries;
- Identify who should serve as personal representative;
- Make specific gifts of property;
- Provide instructions for the remainder of the estate;
- Nominate a guardian for minor children; and
- Address other estate-related wishes permitted by Florida law.
A will does not control every asset you own. Property that passes by beneficiary designation, survivorship, trust, or other nonprobate arrangement may pass outside the will.
What Makes a Will Valid in Florida?
Florida law requires a will to be in writing and executed with specific formalities.
Generally:
- The testator must sign the will at the end, or another person may sign the testator's name at the end in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction;
- The signing or acknowledgment must occur in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses; and
- The witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other.
Florida law also recognizes self-proved wills, which can simplify proof of execution during probate when the statutory self-proving requirements are satisfied.
A valid will also requires the person making it to have the legal capacity to do so and to act free from fraud, duress, or undue influence.
Those issues can become especially important when an older adult, a person with declining health, or someone in a dependent relationship is creating or changing a will.
What Is a Self-Proving Will?
A Florida will can be made self-proved through the statutory acknowledgment and witness affidavits completed before an authorized officer.
A self-proving affidavit does not make a poorly drafted will automatically valid, but it can simplify the probate process by providing statutory proof of proper execution.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Florida?
If a Florida resident dies without a valid will, the person is considered to have died intestate. Property that is part of the intestate estate passes according to Florida's intestacy statutes rather than according to the decedent's personal wishes.
The surviving spouse's share depends on the family structure. In some situations, the surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate. In others—such as when the decedent or surviving spouse has descendants from another relationship—the surviving spouse may receive only part of it.
Property not passing to a surviving spouse generally passes first to descendants, then to parents, then to siblings and descendants of deceased siblings, with more remote family members considered if none of those relatives survive.
Dying without a will also means you lose the opportunity to make certain choices yourself, such as naming the person you want to serve as personal representative or expressing your preference for a guardian for minor children.
A will gives you more control over those decisions instead of leaving them to Florida's default rules and the probate court.
Does a Will Avoid Probate in Florida?
No.
A will tells the probate court how probate assets should be administered and distributed, but having a will does not automatically keep an estate out of probate.
Probate may still be necessary to transfer assets owned solely in the decedent's name, resolve creditor issues, appoint a personal representative, and complete the legal administration of the estate. Florida Courts explains that probate administration applies to probate assets and is used to transfer those assets and complete the decedent's financial affairs.
What Property Does a Will Actually Control?
A will generally controls probate assets—property that does not already pass through another legal arrangement.
Probate assets can include property such as:
- A bank or investment account owned solely by the decedent;
- Certain real estate owned solely by the decedent or as a tenant in common; and
- Life insurance, annuity, or retirement benefits made payable to the estate.
Other assets may pass outside the will through mechanisms such as survivorship ownership, beneficiary designations, or trusts.
That is why a will should be coordinated with the rest of the estate plan rather than prepared as a stand-alone document.
Want to understand what happens after someone dies?
Learn more about Florida probate and estate administration.
Can You Make Your Own Will in Florida?
Florida law does not require an attorney to draft a will. But the document must still satisfy Florida's execution requirements, and drafting mistakes can create problems that may not become apparent until after death.
Common concerns can include:
- Improper signing or witnessing;
- Ambiguous beneficiary language;
- Failure to address the remainder of the estate;
- Conflicts with beneficiary designations or jointly owned property;
- Failure to account for remarriage, children from prior relationships, or Florida homestead issues; and
- Using forms that were not designed for the person's actual circumstances.
The value of legal advice is not simply having someone type the document. It is making sure the will fits the family, property, and larger estate plan.
What About Online Will Forms?
An online form can produce a document, but it cannot automatically determine whether the form addresses Florida-specific issues or coordinates correctly with the rest of the person's assets and estate plan.
Simple estates can still create complicated results if the wrong property is included, beneficiaries are described poorly, or execution requirements are not followed.
When Should You Update Your Florida Will?
A will should be reviewed when major life, family, or financial circumstances change.
Common reasons to update a will include:
- Marriage or divorce;
- Birth or adoption of a child;
- Death of a beneficiary;
- Death, incapacity, or unavailability of the person named as personal representative;
- A new marriage involving children from a prior relationship;
- Significant changes in property or finances;
- Buying or selling a home;
- Moving to Florida from another state;
- A major change in family relationships; or
- Simply deciding that the current distribution plan no longer reflects your wishes.
What Happens to a Will After Divorce in Florida?
Divorce can affect provisions in an existing will, but it is still wise to review and update the estate plan rather than relying on automatic statutory consequences.
A divorce may also affect beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, healthcare documents, jointly owned property, and other parts of the plan that operate outside the will.
Should You Update Your Will After Moving to Florida?
A will that was validly executed in another state may still be recognized in Florida, but moving to Florida is a good time to review the document for Florida-specific issues.
The review should also include beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, real estate ownership, and any Florida homestead issues that may affect the estate plan.
Should You Use a Codicil or Make a New Will?
A codicil is a formal amendment to an existing will.
In some situations, a codicil can make a limited change. In others, preparing a new will is clearer and reduces the risk of confusion between multiple documents.
Whether to use a codicil or a replacement will depends on the scope of the changes and the condition of the existing estate plan.
A codicil must be executed with the same formalities required for a will.
Simply writing changes on an existing will, crossing out provisions, or adding handwritten notes may not create a valid amendment and can create uncertainty in probate.
How Do You Revoke an Old Will in Florida?
A prior will can be revoked by a later valid will or other methods recognized by Florida law.
When a new will is prepared, the goal should be to make it clear which document controls and to avoid leaving conflicting versions that may create confusion after death.
Before destroying or altering an existing will, make sure the replacement plan has been properly prepared and executed.
An incomplete attempt to change or revoke a will can create a worse result than leaving the existing document in place temporarily.
Questions about whether someone had the capacity to make or change a will?
Learn more about testamentary capacity in Florida.
What Does It Mean to Execute a Will in Florida?
To “execute” a will means to complete the required signing and witnessing formalities that make the document legally effective as a will.
In Florida, the testator must sign the will at the end, or direct another person to sign the testator's name in the testator's presence. The signing or acknowledgment must occur in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, and the witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and each other.
A will should not be treated like an ordinary contract that can simply be signed later or witnessed casually.
If the execution formalities are not followed correctly, the document may be vulnerable to challenge or may fail to operate as intended.
What Is a Personal Representative?
A personal representative is the person appointed to administer the probate estate after death.
Depending on the estate, the personal representative may be responsible for:
- Gathering and protecting estate assets;
- Identifying creditors;
- Paying valid expenses and claims;
- Handling required court filings;
- Working with the probate attorney;
- Managing estate property during administration; and
- Distributing remaining assets to the beneficiaries.
Can You Choose Your Personal Representative in Your Will?
Yes. A Florida will can nominate the person you want to serve as personal representative, although the person must still satisfy Florida's qualification requirements and be appointed by the probate court.
Naming someone in the will does not automatically give that person authority before death or before appointment.
Who Should You Choose?
A good personal representative should generally be someone who is:
- Trustworthy;
- Organized;
- Able to communicate with family members and professionals;
- Willing to handle financial and administrative responsibilities; and
- Legally eligible to serve under Florida law.
The best choice is not always the oldest child or closest relative.
It is also wise to name at least one alternate personal representative in case the first choice dies, becomes incapacitated, declines to serve, or is otherwise unavailable.
A personal representative's role begins after death and court appointment. It is different from a durable power of attorney, which generally operates during the principal's lifetime.
Need someone to handle financial matters during your lifetime if you become incapacitated?
Learn more about Florida durable powers of attorney.
Talk With a Florida Wills and Estate Planning Lawyer
A will should reflect your current family, property, and goals—and it should work together with the rest of your estate plan.
Florida Consumer Lawyers can help you prepare or update a Florida will and make sure it is coordinated with powers of attorney, healthcare directives, beneficiary designations, and other planning documents.
We Can Help If You Need To:
- Create your first Florida will;
- Update an old or out-of-state will;
- Name beneficiaries;
- Choose a personal representative;
- Nominate a guardian for minor children;
- Address a blended-family situation;
- Coordinate a will with jointly owned property or beneficiary designations;
- Review whether your current estate documents still reflect your wishes; or
- Build a simple estate plan that includes a will, durable power of attorney, and healthcare directives.
Estate Planning Does Not Have to Be Complicated
Many people do not need an elaborate trust-based plan. They need clear documents that identify who should receive property, who should handle financial matters if they become incapacitated, and who should make healthcare decisions if they cannot speak for themselves.
The goal is to create a plan that is understandable, legally appropriate, and practical for the family.
Need a Florida Will or Want to Update an Existing One?
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Florida Consumer Lawyers assists estate-planning clients throughout Florida from our Tampa office. Many consultations can be handled by phone or video conference, with in-person meetings available when appropriate.
Estate planning is fact-specific, and the appropriate documents depend on the person's family, assets, goals, and existing legal arrangements. A will is an important part of many estate plans, but it is not the only document that may be needed.