Estate Planning When You Are Single in Palm Beach: How It Works and What It Costs

Estate planning is sometimes treated as a married-couples concern, but being single in Palm Beach makes it more important, not less. With no spouse to default to, the gaps in your plan are wider. This guide explains how Florida handles a single person’s estate, what the process costs, and how long it takes.

What Happens If You Do Nothing

If you die without a will, Florida’s intestacy statutes (§732.101 and following) decide who inherits. For a single person with no children, that usually means your parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives. The state does not recognize close friends, a long-term partner, or a favorite charity. If you want anyone outside the statutory line to inherit, you need a will under §732.502 or a trust.

Who Speaks for You If You’re Incapacitated

This is where single people are most exposed. Without a durable power of attorney (Chapter 709) and a designation of health care surrogate, no one automatically has authority to pay your bills or make medical decisions. Your family may have to petition a Palm Beach County court for guardianship, an expensive and slow process. Naming agents in advance avoids that entirely and usually takes just a couple of weeks to put in place.

A Will, a Trust, or Both

A will directs who inherits but still goes through probate. A Florida revocable living trust (Chapter 736) lets your chosen successor distribute assets without court involvement. For a single person, a trust can be especially appealing because it also provides a built-in manager if you become incapacitated, without involving a court.

Cost and Timeline: The Probate Reality

If your estate goes through probate, formal administration in Palm Beach County commonly runs several months to over a year, with attorney’s fees guided by Florida’s statutory schedule (§733.6171). Summary administration is faster and less costly but only applies when the estate is under $75,000 in non-exempt assets or the death was more than two years ago. A funded trust avoids this path for the assets it holds, getting your wishes carried out faster.

Beneficiary Designations Do Heavy Lifting

For many single people, the simplest wins come from beneficiary and pay-on-death designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and bank accounts can pass directly to the people or causes you choose, bypassing probate entirely. Review these regularly, since they override your will. Updating them costs nothing and takes minutes.

Don’t Forget Digital and Personal Assets

Single people often hold accounts and property no one else knows about. A clear inventory, plus authority in your documents to access digital assets, prevents your representative from missing accounts or fighting platforms for access.

A Word on Homestead

If you own your Palm Beach home, it likely qualifies as homestead under Article X, §4. For a single owner without a surviving spouse or minor children, you generally have more freedom to leave the home as you wish, but how you title and transfer it still affects probate. A Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed is one tool that can pass the home outside probate while keeping your control during life.

Consult a Florida Attorney

Being single means there’s no automatic backstop, so the documents you choose carry more weight. Talk with a licensed Florida estate planning attorney serving Palm Beach to make sure your assets and your care decisions go to the people you intend.