What Documents Should Be Included in a Florida Estate Plan?
A Florida estate plan often includes more than a Last Will and Testament. Depending on your family, property, health concerns, and long-term goals, your plan may include a will, revocable living trust, durable power of attorney, health care surrogate designation, living will, HIPAA authorization, and property-transfer documents such as a Lady Bird deed.
Why does that matter? Because estate planning addresses more than what happens to your property after death. The right Florida estate planning documents can also establish who may manage your affairs if you become incapacitated, communicate your healthcare preferences, and create a clearer path for transferring assets to the people you choose.
For individuals and families in Fort Lauderdale and throughout Florida, the goal should be a coordinated plan—not simply a collection of documents.
1. Last Will and Testament
A Last Will and Testament provides instructions for distributing assets that pass through your probate estate after your death. It can also name the person you want to serve as your Personal Representative and address other important estate matters.
Without a valid will, property subject to probate may be distributed according to Florida's intestacy laws rather than according to personal instructions you never formally documented.
A will can be particularly important when you:
- Have children or other dependents
- Own significant personal property
- Want specific individuals to inherit assets
- Want to nominate a Personal Representative
- Need to update an older estate plan after a life change
A will, however, should not automatically be viewed as the entire estate plan. Other documents address circumstances that can arise during your lifetime.
2. Revocable Living Trust
A revocable living trust can provide another way to hold and manage assets as part of a comprehensive estate plan.
During your lifetime, you generally retain control of assets properly transferred to your revocable trust. You can also identify a successor trustee to manage trust property under the terms of the document if necessary.
After death, assets properly titled in the trust may generally be administered outside probate.
The important phrase is properly titled. Creating a trust document without properly coordinating eligible assets with it can undermine the planning objective. This is why trust planning should include a discussion about how assets are owned, not simply the preparation of paperwork.
A trust may be worth discussing if you own real estate, want greater continuity in asset management, value privacy, or want to explore strategies for limiting the assets that must pass through probate.
3. Durable Power of Attorney
Estate planning should prepare for incapacity as well as death.
A durable power of attorney allows you to authorize another person to handle specified financial and legal matters on your behalf. Depending on the authority granted, those responsibilities may involve financial accounts, bills, business matters, legal documents, or real estate.
The practical issue is simple: Who could legally handle important affairs if you were suddenly unable to do so yourself?
Choosing an agent should therefore involve more than selecting the closest relative. Consider the person's reliability, judgment, willingness to serve, and ability to manage the responsibilities involved.
4. Healthcare Surrogate Designation
Financial authority and healthcare authority are different.
A Florida healthcare surrogate designation lets you identify a trusted person to make healthcare decisions or receive health information on your behalf, according to the authority provided in the document. Florida law recognizes the designation of a healthcare surrogate as a form of advance directive.
This document matters because an unexpected accident or illness can leave someone temporarily or permanently unable to communicate healthcare decisions.
Think carefully about whom you appoint. Your surrogate may need to communicate with physicians, understand your preferences, and make difficult decisions under stressful circumstances.
5. Living Will
Despite the similar name, a Living Will is not the same as a Last Will and Testament.
A Last Will and Testament primarily addresses matters after death. A Living Will communicates wishes concerning life-prolonging procedures under circumstances recognized by Florida law.
Florida law allows a competent adult to make a living will concerning life-prolonging procedures in the event of certain specified medical conditions. Florida also establishes execution requirements, including witness requirements.
Discussing these wishes in advance—and documenting them properly—can provide valuable guidance to both loved ones and healthcare professionals.
6. HIPAA Authorization
Medical privacy is another issue that should not be overlooked.
A HIPAA authorization can allow designated people to receive protected health information when appropriate. This can be especially important when someone assisting with your care needs information from doctors or other healthcare providers.
A coordinated incapacity plan may therefore include several documents serving different purposes:
- A Durable Power of Attorney for financial and legal affairs
- A Healthcare Surrogate Designation for healthcare decisions
- A Living Will for specified end-of-life wishes
- A HIPAA Authorization for access to appropriate medical information
The goal is to reduce uncertainty about both who can act and what you want.
7. Real Estate and Lady Bird Deed Planning
For many Florida families, a home or other real estate represents one of their largest assets. Property ownership should therefore be reviewed alongside the estate plan.
Depending on the circumstances, an Enhanced Life Estate Deed—commonly called a Lady Bird deed—may be considered as part of a strategy for transferring Florida real property.
The correct solution depends on the property, ownership structure, beneficiaries, and broader estate plan. A deed should not be changed simply because a particular strategy worked for a friend or relative.
Real estate planning should coordinate with wills, trusts, beneficiary planning, and probate objectives so that one planning decision does not unintentionally conflict with another.
How Do You Know Which Documents You Need?
There is no universal stack of estate planning documents that is right for every Florida resident.
A young parent, retiree, business owner, unmarried couple, and real estate investor can have very different planning needs.
An effective review should consider:
- Family and marital circumstances
- Minor children or other dependents
- Real estate ownership
- Business interests
- Financial and retirement accounts
- Existing beneficiary designations
- Healthcare preferences
- Trusted decision-makers
- Existing wills, trusts, and deeds
- Goals for transferring property after death
An experienced estate planning attorney can identify how these pieces interact and where gaps or conflicts may exist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does everyone in Florida need a trust?
No. Whether a trust is appropriate depends on your assets, family circumstances, privacy concerns, probate objectives, and other planning goals. A will-based estate plan may work for some people, while others may benefit from trust planning.
Is a will enough for a complete Florida estate plan?
Not necessarily. A will does not by itself address every incapacity, healthcare, asset-ownership, or non-probate transfer issue. A comprehensive plan may require several coordinated documents.
What happens if I do not name a healthcare surrogate?
Florida law provides a priority framework for certain people who may act as a healthcare proxy when an incapacitated patient has not made an effective designation and no designated surrogate is available. Choosing your own surrogate in advance can give you more control over who you want involved.
When should I review my estate planning documents?
Review your plan periodically and after significant changes such as marriage, divorce, a birth or death in the family, buying or selling property, retirement, starting or selling a business, or a major change in financial circumstances.
Can I create Florida estate planning documents myself?
Forms are available, but estate planning involves more than filling in blanks. Execution requirements, asset ownership, beneficiary designations, family circumstances, and interactions among documents can affect whether the overall plan accomplishes what you intended.
Build a Florida Estate Plan Around Your Life
The right estate plan should connect your legal documents, property, healthcare preferences, and long-term goals into one coordinated strategy.
With more than 25 years of legal experience, Lisa K. Crawford, Esq., PLLC helps individuals, families, retirees, business owners, and real estate investors in Fort Lauderdale and throughout Florida evaluate their estate planning needs and create personalized strategies for the future.
If you are starting an estate plan or wondering whether your existing documents still reflect your wishes, call (954) 864-8950 to schedule a consultation.