When and Why to Review Your Florida Estate Plan: A Palm Beach Attorney’s Guide

You should review your Florida estate plan at least every three to five years, and immediately after any major life event such as a move to Florida, a marriage or divorce, a death in the family, or a significant change in your assets. A review confirms that your will, trust, beneficiary designations, and powers of attorney still reflect your wishes and remain valid under current Florida law. Estate planning is not a one-time signing ceremony; it is a living set of documents that has to keep pace with your life and the statutes that govern it.

I have sat across the desk from too many Palm Beach families who learned this the hard way. A widow brings in a trust drafted in New Jersey in 2004 that names a bank trustee that no longer exists. A retired couple from Ohio assumes their old will “works fine in Florida” until they discover the homestead rules do not match what the document says. The plan was fine when it was written. Time, distance, and the move south quietly broke it.

Why a Florida Estate Plan Goes Stale

An estate plan is a snapshot. It captures your family, your property, your wishes, and the law as they all existed on the day you signed. Every one of those things drifts. Children grow up and marry. Accounts get opened and closed. A spouse passes. And the Florida Legislature periodically amends Chapters 732 (the Probate Code) and 736 (the Florida Trust Code) in ways that can change how your documents operate.

For seasonal residents and retirees especially, the gap between the old plan and current reality tends to be wide. Many snowbirds carry documents drafted in a northern state years before they ever thought of themselves as Floridians. Those documents may still be technically valid, but “valid” and “optimized for Florida” are not the same thing.

Life Events That Should Trigger an Immediate Review

Calendar-based reviews are useful, but certain events should send you to your attorney’s office regardless of how recently you last looked at your plan. Do not wait for your scheduled check-in if any of these happen:

• You established or changed Florida residency. Becoming a Florida domiciliary affects your homestead protection, your creditor exposure, and which state’s law governs your estate. This is the single most overlooked trigger for snowbirds.
• Marriage or divorce. Florida law gives a surviving spouse strong statutory rights, and a divorce can leave dangerous gaps if beneficiary forms are not updated.
• A death in the family. If a named beneficiary, executor (called a personal representative in Florida), trustee, or agent under your power of attorney has died, your plan has a hole in it.
• The birth or adoption of a child or grandchild. New descendants may need to be added, and minor children change the homestead rules entirely.
• A significant change in assets. Selling the family business, receiving an inheritance, buying a second home, or a large swing in your portfolio can throw off a plan built around different numbers.
• A move of real estate across state lines. Buying property in another state can force your family into a second probate proceeding if you do not plan for it.
• A health decline for you or your spouse. This is precisely when your durable power of attorney and health care directives need to be airtight, not when you discover they are stale.

Three Florida Statutes Out-of-State Documents Often Miss

When a plan was drafted under another state’s law, three Florida rules tend to trip people up. None of these are obscure; they are core features of how Florida treats estates, and they routinely conflict with what an old will or trust assumes.

1. The Spousal Elective Share (30 Percent)

Under Florida Statutes section 732.2065, a surviving spouse is entitled to an elective share equal to 30 percent of the “elective estate.” The elective estate is broad, reaching beyond the probate estate into many non-probate transfers. The policy behind it, set out in section 732.201, is that marriage is a financial partnership and one spouse generally cannot disinherit the other.

This matters enormously in blended families. If your plan leaves the bulk of your estate to children from a first marriage, your current spouse can override that plan by electing against the will, unless the right was properly waived. A review catches that conflict before it becomes a courtroom fight.

2. Homestead Devise Restrictions

Florida’s homestead protections are famously strong, and famously rigid about who can inherit the home. Under section 732.4015, if you are survived by a spouse or a minor child, your homestead generally cannot be freely devised in your will. Where there is a surviving spouse and descendants, section 732.401 directs how the property passes by default: the spouse takes a life estate with a vested remainder to the descendants, or the spouse may elect, within six months, to take an undivided one-half interest as a tenant in common.

An out-of-state will that simply says “I leave my home to my daughter” may be unenforceable as to that home if you are survived by a spouse or minor child. A Florida-aware review reconciles your wishes with what the statute actually allows.

3. The Florida Trust Code and Trust Funding

Florida trusts are governed by Chapter 736, the Florida Trust Code. A revocable living trust is one of the cleanest tools for keeping your estate out of probate, but only if it is funded, meaning your assets are actually re-titled into the trust’s name. A trust drafted up north and never fully funded after your move accomplishes very little. Reviewing the trust is half the job; reviewing the title on your accounts and deeds is the other half.

The Snowbird Problem: Domicile and Ancillary Probate

Seasonal residents face a planning issue most full-time residents never think about: property and ties in more than one state. If you die owning real estate in another state in your individual name, your family may have to open a separate probate proceeding in that state, called ancillary probate, on top of the main administration. That means two sets of court filings, two sets of attorney’s fees, and two timelines.

A properly drafted and funded revocable trust can hold out-of-state real estate and sidestep ancillary probate altogether. For Palm Beach snowbirds who kept the lake house up north, this is often the difference between a smooth administration and a year of duplicated court work for the people you leave behind.

Domicile itself deserves attention. Establishing Florida as your legal home affects homestead protection, your exposure to other states’ estate and income taxes, and which state’s probate court has primary jurisdiction. If you have updated your driver’s license and voter registration but never revisited your estate documents, your paperwork is sending mixed signals about where you actually live. Our colleagues at the see this disconnect constantly with new arrivals from the Northeast and Midwest.

Don’t Forget the Documents That Work While You’re Alive

Estate planning is not only about death. Two documents do their hardest work while you are very much alive but unable to act for yourself:

1. Durable power of attorney. Florida tightened its power-of-attorney requirements years ago, and financial institutions here are notoriously strict about honoring them. An old, broadly worded out-of-state POA may be rejected by a Florida bank exactly when your family needs it. Specific “superpowers,” such as the authority to make gifts or fund a trust, must be separately initialed to be effective.
2. Health care surrogate and living will. These name who speaks for your medical care and state your wishes about life-prolonging procedures. Naming the right person, and a backup, becomes critical after a divorce, a death, or a falling-out.

Reviewing these incapacity documents is arguably more urgent than reviewing your will, because you are far more likely to need them during your lifetime than your heirs are to probate your estate next year.

Beneficiary Designations: The Plan Hiding Outside Your Will

Here is something many people never absorb: your will and trust do not control your retirement accounts, life insurance, or “payable on death” bank accounts. Those pass by beneficiary designation, no matter what your will says. A meticulous trust means nothing if your IRA still names an ex-spouse from 1998.

Every review should include pulling the actual beneficiary forms on every account and confirming the primary and contingent beneficiaries are correct and coordinated with the rest of the plan. This is the most common, and most preventable, estate planning failure I encounter.

Special Situations Worth a Closer Look

Some families have planning needs that go beyond a routine refresh. If you have a child or grandchild with a disability receiving needs-based government benefits, an outright inheritance can disqualify them. Specialized planning tools are designed to provide for a loved one without cutting off their benefits. For example, families in New York use vehicles such as a to preserve eligibility, and Florida offers comparable strategies.

Similarly, if long-term care and nursing home costs are a concern, asset protection planning should be coordinated with your estate plan rather than bolted on later. Approaches like a illustrate how families in other states shelter assets while planning for care; Florida residents should review whether parallel planning fits their situation, ideally well before a health crisis forces the issue.

What a Thorough Review Actually Covers

A real review is more than re-reading your will. When we sit down with a Palm Beach client, we work through a checklist that includes:

• Whether your will and trust still name the right people as personal representative, trustee, and guardian;
• Whether your homestead and out-of-state real estate are titled to avoid unnecessary probate;
• Whether your trust is actually funded;
• Whether your durable power of attorney and health care documents meet current Florida standards;
• Whether beneficiary designations on every account match the overall plan;
• Whether changes in Chapters 732 and 736 affect how your documents operate; and
• Whether your tax exposure or family circumstances call for new strategies.

If you would like a starting point, our overview of Florida wills and trusts walks through the building blocks, and you can schedule a review when you are ready to have a Florida attorney look at your specific documents.

The Bottom Line

The cost of reviewing your estate plan is a modest conversation with an attorney. The cost of not reviewing it is borne by your family, in probate fees, court delays, family conflict, and outcomes you never intended. Set a recurring reminder for every three to five years, and treat every major life event, especially your move to Florida, as a reason to look sooner. Your plan should be as current as your life is.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I review my Florida estate plan?

As a general rule, review your plan every three to five years, and immediately after any major life event such as establishing Florida residency, a marriage or divorce, a death in the family, the birth of a child or grandchild, a significant change in assets, or buying real estate in another state. Florida law in Chapters 732 and 736 also changes periodically, which can affect how older documents operate.

I have a will from another state. Is it valid in Florida?

A will validly executed in another state is generally recognized in Florida, but recognition is not the same as being optimized for Florida law. Out-of-state documents often conflict with Florida’s spousal elective share (30 percent under section 732.2065), homestead devise restrictions, and power-of-attorney requirements. Have a Florida attorney review it after you relocate.

What is the biggest estate planning mistake snowbirds make?

Two stand out: failing to update documents after establishing Florida domicile, and owning out-of-state real estate in their individual name. The second can force the family into a separate ancillary probate proceeding in the other state. A properly funded revocable trust can avoid that by holding the property across state lines.

Does my will control my retirement accounts and life insurance?

No. Assets with a beneficiary designation, such as IRAs, 401(k)s, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts, pass directly to the named beneficiary regardless of what your will or trust says. Reviewing and coordinating those designations is one of the most important and most overlooked parts of any estate plan review.

What happens to my Florida homestead if my will leaves it to the wrong person?

Under section 732.4015, if you are survived by a spouse or minor child, your homestead generally cannot be freely devised. Section 732.401 controls the default result, typically giving the surviving spouse a life estate with a remainder to descendants, or a one-half tenant-in-common interest if the spouse timely elects. A will that ignores this can be partly unenforceable as to the home.