Your will can offer real peace of mind, providing protection against intestacy—the legal term for dying without a will—while ensuring your family’s best interests are kept safe from uncertainty. However, simply writing a will, naming heirs, and detailing your preferences isn’t always enough to meet the standards set by Florida’s probate courts.
DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis, P.A., have spent decades helping Florida families plan their legacies. Our experienced team of Sun City Center estate planning lawyer knows what it takes to craft an ironclad document that takes the biggest risks out of probate.
Read on to learn about what Florida expects from a will, or click the button below to contact us and start exploring your best strategies for making an effective estate plan.
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An Overview of Florida Wills and Testaments
A last will and testament is a legally binding document that details how your estate should be handled after your death. By writing a will, you can:
- Nominate an personal respresentative for your estate (also known as an executor).
- Appoint a guardian for your minor children.
- Name heirs, and distribute inheritances to different beneficiaries
Creating a will is also the easiest way to ensure that your estate avoids the perils of intestate succession—a form of closely monitored probate that uses a strict legal formula to determine how inheritances should be distributed.
Four Types of Florida Wills
During estate administration, your executor must submit a copy of your will to the probate court for verification. Your will—even if it’s signed—will only be considered authentic if it meets certain requirements. These requirements vary and are determined by the form by which you’ve chosen to record your last wishes.
Florida broadly recognizes the following four types of wills, each subject to different validation standards.
1. Simple Will
This is the most common type of will. It’s used to nominate executors, name heirs, and determine the disposition of different estate assets. It helps spare smaller estates from probate but isn’t ideal for leaving behind real estate properties or trying to manage inheritances within a blended family.
2. Pour-Over Will
Florida residents create these when they’ve also established a revocable living trust, and the purpose is straightforward. A pour-over will directs any property not already transferred into the trust to be re-titled to the trust’s name, thereby keeping most of the decedent’s assets out of probate.
3. Mirror-Image Will
While a joint will may be possible, they are never advisable. But instead of a joint will, many married couples creat what are termed “mirror-image wills.” In this type of will, each spouse leaves the entirety of their estate to the other spouse, with each partner still reserving the right to alter or amend their will as they see fit. Only if both spouses die do asset go to the agreed upon secondary/remainder beneficiaries.
4. Out-of-State Will
Quite simply, an out-of-state will is any directive executed in another state. In most cases, Florida will recognize out-of-state wills as valid provided that the will was recorded in a legitimate format and doesn’t contain provisions that cannot legally be enforced under our state law.
How We Help You Determine the Best Ways to Protect Your Legacy
Although many Florida families consider writing a will the first and final step in estate planning, it’s an imperfect way to leave a legacy. Your will could, for example, ensure that your estate isn’t thrust into intestacy—but it can’t keep your family out of probate, or give you the freedom to condition your children’s inheritances.
DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis, P.A., can assist you in protecting your family’s rights to a fair inheritance by:
- Drafting a will that meets Florida state requirements for probate.
- Reviewing and revising an out-of-state will that won’t work in a Florida court.
- Helping you explore your options for making a Florida estate plan that spares your family from probate and minimizes the risk of litigation.
- Establishing a revocable living trust that could keep your estate out of probate while giving you additional flexibility in leaving an inheritance.
Contact Our Estate Planning Attorney in Sun City Center
The lawyers at DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis, PA, have been protecting the interests and ensuring the legacies of Floridians since 1976. Let us help you find the peace of mind you need with an effective, comprehensive estate plan.
Fill out our online contact form by clicking the button above for a prompt response from our legal team. We have conveniently located offices in Seminole, Sun City Center and New Port Richey, Florida. For immediate assistance, call 727.777.6842 now!
