You should review your Florida estate plan at least once every three to five years, and immediately after any major life event such as a marriage, divorce, death, move to Florida, or a significant change in your real estate holdings. A review confirms that your will, trust, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations still match your wishes, your family, and current Florida law. An estate plan is not a one-time document you sign and file away; it is a living set of instructions that drifts out of alignment with your life faster than most people expect.
I have sat across the table from too many families holding a will that was signed in another state, before a divorce, before a grandchild was born, or before the parents moved to a condo in Boca Raton and homesteaded it. The documents were technically valid. They just no longer said what anyone actually wanted them to say. Most of those situations were avoidable with a simple, periodic review.
Why Florida estate plans go stale faster than you think
Estate planning feels permanent because the paperwork is formal and the signing ceremony is solemn. But the plan rests on a snapshot of three things: your family, your assets, and the law. All three move.
Florida is a particularly active state for this. People retire here, buy homestead property, remarry, and bring in estate plans drafted under the rules of New York, New Jersey, Ohio, or wherever they lived before. Those out-of-state documents often reference statutes and concepts that don’t translate cleanly. A power of attorney drafted in another state, for example, may not meet the heightened signing requirements Florida adopted in its updated Power of Attorney Act (Chapter 709, Florida Statutes), which requires that the document be signed before two witnesses and a notary, and that certain “superpowers” be separately initialed.
For homeowners, the stakes are higher still. Florida’s homestead protections and descent rules are unusually strict, and they can quietly override the language in your will. A plan that ignores how homestead actually passes is a plan with a hidden fault line running through your most valuable asset.
Life events that should trigger an estate plan review
Some triggers are obvious; others are easy to overlook until probate exposes the gap. If any of the following has happened since you last looked at your documents, it is time for a review.
- Marriage or remarriage. A new spouse acquires statutory rights in Florida, including an elective share (generally 30% of the elective estate under §§ 732.201–732.2155) and homestead protections. Blended families in particular need careful drafting so that a surviving spouse and children from a prior marriage are each protected.
- Divorce. Florida law automatically voids many provisions in favor of a former spouse (§ 732.507 for wills, § 736.1105 for revocable trusts), but it does not fix everything. Beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts often still name the ex-spouse.
- Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild. You may want to add beneficiaries, create trusts for minors, or update guardianship nominations.
- Death of a spouse, beneficiary, executor, or trustee. When a named fiduciary or heir dies, the chain of succession in your documents may break.
- A move to Florida (or away from it). Residency changes which state’s law governs, and Florida has no state estate tax but very particular homestead and probate rules.
- Buying, selling, or refinancing real estate. Especially homestead property, but also rental property, a vacation home, or out-of-state real estate that may need its own planning to avoid ancillary probate.
- A significant change in net worth. A business sale, inheritance, or large investment gain can change whether tax planning is warranted.
- A health diagnosis. A serious diagnosis for you or a loved one is the moment to confirm your durable power of attorney, health care surrogate, and living will are current and accepted.
The homestead problem most plans miss
Because this site speaks to South Florida property owners, the homestead issue deserves its own section. Many people assume their will controls who inherits their house. For homestead property, that is frequently wrong.
Florida’s constitution (Article X, Section 4) restricts how homestead can be devised when the owner is survived by a spouse or minor child. If you are married or have a minor child, you generally cannot leave your homestead to whomever you please. Under § 732.401, if you leave a surviving spouse and lineal descendants, the homestead may pass with a life estate to the spouse and a remainder to the descendants—unless the spouse timely elects instead to take a one-half tenancy in common. A will that “leaves the house” to an adult child, or to a friend, can be partially or wholly ineffective as to that property.
This is also where ownership form matters enormously. How your deed is titled—sole ownership, tenancy by the entireties between spouses, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or a life estate (including an enhanced life estate, often called a “Lady Bird” deed)—can control the outcome entirely, independent of your will. A periodic review is the right time to confirm that your deed, your homestead status, and your estate plan are telling the same story.
Strategies that work well in one state may need rethinking in Florida. The interplay between a retained life estate and homestead, for instance, is subtle; planners often discuss the mechanics of in the context of protecting a residence while preserving the right to live there. The concept travels, but the Florida-specific homestead overlay is what makes local counsel essential.
Changes in the law that quietly rewrite your plan
Even if nothing in your life changes, the legal ground can shift beneath your documents. A review keeps your plan synced to current law.
Federal estate and gift tax thresholds
The federal estate tax exemption is historically high right now, but it is scheduled to change. Plans built around an older, lower exemption may contain formula clauses—often called credit shelter or bypass trust formulas—that behave very differently when the exemption number moves. For larger estates, and for families who relocated from estate-tax states, it is worth confirming the formulas still produce the result you intended.
Florida statutory updates
Florida periodically updates its probate and trust codes. The modernized Power of Attorney Act, refinements to the Florida Trust Code (Chapter 736), and the recognition of electronic and remote-notarized documents under Florida’s electronic wills statute (§ 732.521 and related provisions) have all changed what a “current” document looks like. An older power of attorney may simply be rejected by a bank that wants to see compliance with the current statute.
Specialized planning tools
Sometimes the law creates or refines a tool that fits your situation better than what you have. Families planning for a disabled loved one or for long-term care eligibility, for example, often explore vehicles like a to preserve benefits while still meeting the person’s needs. These instruments are jurisdiction-specific and detail-sensitive, which is exactly why a review with counsel—rather than a do-it-yourself patch—is the safer path.
The documents to check in every review
A thorough review is not just re-reading your will. It is a coordinated check across every document and designation that controls your assets at death or incapacity. Work through this list in order.
- Last will and testament. Confirm the personal representative (Florida’s term for executor) is still appropriate and Florida-eligible, the beneficiaries are current, and any homestead devise is valid.
- Revocable living trust, if you have one. Verify it is actually funded—an unfunded trust accomplishes very little—and that recent assets, especially real estate, were properly titled into it.
- Durable power of attorney. Confirm it complies with the current Florida statute and that your named agent is still the right person.
- Health care surrogate designation and living will. Make sure your medical decision-makers and end-of-life wishes are current under Chapter 765.
- Beneficiary designations. Review life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities, and any payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts. These pass outside your will and are the single most common source of unintended outcomes.
- Deeds and titling. Confirm how each property is held and whether homestead status is properly claimed.
- Guardianship nominations. If you have minor children, confirm who would raise them.
If you want a deeper walk-through of the foundational document itself, our overview of Florida wills explains how a properly executed will fits into the larger plan, and our guide to the Florida probate process shows what your family will actually face if the plan is out of date when it matters most.
How often is “often enough”?
Absent a triggering event, a three-to-five-year cadence is a sensible default for most Florida families. If your estate is larger, includes a business, or involves blended-family dynamics, lean toward the shorter end. If your situation is simple and stable, the longer end is fine—as long as you genuinely re-examine the documents and don’t just assume they’re current.
The cost of a review is modest. The cost of a stale plan is paid by your family, usually during a hard season, often in the form of litigation, ancillary probate in another state, or a house that has to pass through a process you thought you had avoided. A short appointment now spares them a long ordeal later.
Getting a Florida-specific review
The single most valuable thing you can do is have your plan reviewed by an attorney who practices Florida estate law every day and understands homestead, the elective share, and the current statutory formalities. If you’re ready to take that step, our Florida estate planning team can review your existing documents and tell you, plainly, what still works and what needs updating—or you can reach us through our contact page to schedule a conversation.
Bring everything: your will, any trust, your powers of attorney, your deeds, and a recent statement showing your beneficiary designations. The goal is not to sell you new documents. It is to make sure the plan you already have does exactly what you believe it does, under the law as it stands today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I review my Florida estate plan?
As a default, review it every three to five years, and immediately after any major life event such as marriage, divorce, the birth or death of a family member, a move to or from Florida, or buying or selling real estate. Larger or blended-family estates should lean toward more frequent reviews.
Does my will control who inherits my Florida homestead?
Not always. Under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution and § 732.401, if you are survived by a spouse or minor child, Florida restricts how homestead can be devised. A will leaving the home to someone else may be partly or wholly ineffective, so homestead requires specific planning and correct deed titling.
Do I need to update an estate plan I made in another state after moving to Florida?
Almost always, yes. Florida has its own rules for wills, trusts, powers of attorney, the spousal elective share, and homestead. Out-of-state documents may not meet Florida’s signing formalities or may produce unintended results, so a Florida attorney should review them after you establish residency.
What happens if I never update my beneficiary designations?
Beneficiary designations on life insurance, IRAs, and retirement accounts pass outside your will and override it. If they still name a former spouse or a deceased person, those assets can go to the wrong recipient regardless of what your will says. This is one of the most common and costly oversights in estate planning.
Will a divorce automatically remove my ex-spouse from my estate plan in Florida?
Partly. Florida law (§ 732.507 for wills and § 736.1105 for revocable trusts) voids many provisions favoring a former spouse after divorce. However, it does not automatically update beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts, so those must be changed separately.
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