Estate planning is not only about what happens after death. It is also about making thoughtful decisions now so that your wishes are documented, the right people are authorized to act when needed, and your family has clearer direction when important decisions arise.
Beckwith Legal helps individuals and families understand the estate-planning options available to them, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, and property-transfer strategies. For many clients, a simple will and properly coordinated ownership of assets may be enough. Others may benefit from a trust or additional planning depending on their goals, family circumstances, assets, and concerns.
Our goal is to explain the options in plain language, avoid unnecessary complexity, and help clients put a practical plan in place that reflects what they actually want to accomplish.
Estate planning does not have to be complicated. For many individuals and families, the goal is simply to make sure their wishes are documented, the right people are authorized to act when necessary, and property passes in the manner they intend.
Beckwith Legal assists clients with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, and selected property-transfer strategies. We help clients understand the differences between these planning tools and determine which documents make sense for their circumstances rather than creating unnecessary complexity.
One of the most common estate-planning questions is whether a person needs a will, a trust, or both. There is no single answer that works for everyone. The appropriate plan depends on your property, family circumstances, goals, concerns about probate, and how much control you want over the future management and distribution of your assets.
A Last Will and Testament allows you to state how property governed by the will should be distributed after death, identify the person you want to serve as personal representative, and address other important estate-planning decisions. For many individuals and families with straightforward circumstances, a properly prepared will—combined with appropriately titled assets and beneficiary designations—may provide the planning they need.
A revocable living trust can provide additional planning options. Assets properly transferred into a trust may generally be administered according to the trust terms without passing through probate. A trust can also provide instructions for the management of trust property during incapacity and allow greater control over how and when beneficiaries receive assets. However, creating a trust without properly funding and maintaining it may not accomplish the intended probate-avoidance goals.
A trust is therefore not automatically “better” than a will. Some clients benefit from a trust-based plan, while others may be better served by a simpler estate plan. Beckwith Legal helps clients understand the differences, consider the costs and benefits, and choose a planning approach appropriate for their circumstances.
Estate planning begins with understanding what you own, who you want to protect, and what you want to happen if you become unable to make decisions or after you pass away. The appropriate plan can be relatively simple or may involve several coordinated documents depending on your circumstances.
Beckwith Legal works with clients to identify their goals, review relevant assets and ownership arrangements, explain available planning options, and prepare the documents needed to put the plan into effect. That may include a will, trust, power of attorney, advance directive, deed transfer, beneficiary planning, or a combination of these tools.
Our approach is designed to make the process understandable and practical. We explain what each document does, how the pieces work together, and what steps may still need to be taken after signing—such as funding a trust, updating ownership, or reviewing beneficiary designations.
How Estate Planning Works
Estate planning is the process of organizing your legal documents, property, and decision-making authority so that your wishes are clearer during your lifetime and after your death. A good estate plan is not necessarily the most complicated plan. The goal is to choose the documents and ownership arrangements that fit your family, assets, and priorities.
Identify Your Goals:
Estate planning begins with understanding what you want to accomplish. Some clients primarily want a simple will that explains how property should be distributed. Others are concerned about avoiding probate, protecting minor children, planning for incapacity, transferring real estate, or making sure trusted individuals can handle financial and health-care decisions if necessary.
Review Assets, Ownership, and Beneficiary Designations:
The way property is owned can be just as important as the documents in an estate plan. Real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement benefits, life insurance, business interests, and jointly owned property may pass in different ways. We review relevant ownership arrangements and discuss how beneficiary designations, deeds, and other transfer mechanisms may interact with a will or trust.
Determine Which Estate-Planning Documents Make Sense:
Depending on the client’s circumstances, an estate plan may include a Last Will and Testament, revocable living trust, durable power of attorney, health-care surrogate designation, living will or other advance directive, and selected deed or property-transfer documents. A trust is not automatically necessary for every client; the appropriate documents depend on the planning goals and assets involved.
Prepare and Review the Documents:
Once the plan is determined, the documents should accurately reflect the client’s wishes and work together as part of a coordinated estate plan. Florida wills are subject to specific execution formalities, including signature and witness requirements, which makes proper preparation and execution important.
Sign and Implement the Plan:
Signing the documents is sometimes only part of the process. A revocable trust generally needs to be properly funded with appropriate assets if the client intends those assets to be administered through the trust. Property ownership and beneficiary designations may also need to be coordinated with the overall plan. A revocable trust should be implemented as part of an overall estate plan and ownership of assets must be coordinated with the trust.
Plan for Incapacity as Well as Death:
Estate planning can also address who may act on your behalf during your lifetime. A Florida durable power of attorney can remain effective despite the principal’s later incapacity when it contains the required language or similar language showing that intent.
Review the Plan When Life Changes:
Estate plans should not necessarily remain untouched forever. Marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the death of a beneficiary or fiduciary, a significant change in assets, the purchase or sale of real estate, or a move to another state may justify reviewing the existing plan to determine whether changes are appropriate.
When someone dies without a valid will, they are considered to have died “intestate.” Instead of following written instructions from the deceased person, Florida’s intestacy laws determine who receives probate assets and in what proportions.
The result may not always match what the person would have chosen. Depending on the family circumstances, property may pass to a surviving spouse, children, parents, siblings, or other relatives according to Florida law. The probate court may also be required to appoint a personal representative without the guidance that a properly prepared will can provide.
A will can give you greater control over who receives property, who is responsible for administering your estate, and certain other important decisions. However, a will only controls assets that are actually subject to the will. Jointly owned property, accounts with beneficiary designations, trust assets, and other non-probate transfers may pass differently.
Estate planning is therefore not simply about creating a document. It is about coordinating your will, property ownership, beneficiary designations, and other planning tools so that they work together.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Florida?
Dying Without a Will Is Called Dying “Intestate.” When a Florida resident dies without a valid will—or when a will does not effectively dispose of all probate property—Florida’s intestate succession laws determine who inherits that property. Instead of following instructions chosen by the person who died, the estate is distributed according to the statutory order established by Florida law.
Florida Law Determines Who Inherits:
The people who inherit an intestate estate depend on the family circumstances. A surviving spouse may receive all or part of the intestate estate depending on whether the deceased person had descendants and whether those descendants were also descendants of the surviving spouse. When there is no surviving spouse, Florida law establishes an order of inheritance that generally begins with descendants, followed by parents, siblings and their descendants, and then more remote relatives.
Not Every Asset Is Controlled by a Will or Intestacy Law:
Estate planning involves more than preparing a will. Florida probate administration generally applies to assets owned solely by the deceased person or assets that do not already contain a mechanism for transferring ownership at death. Jointly owned property with rights of survivorship, payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts, life insurance with a named beneficiary, retirement accounts with beneficiary designations, and certain other property may pass outside the probate estate.
A Will Lets You Make Important Choices Yourself:
A properly prepared will can identify the beneficiaries who should receive probate property and designate the person you want to nominate to administer the estate. Without a will, Florida law—not the deceased person's unwritten wishes—determines the heirs who receive intestate property. A will can therefore provide clearer instructions for the administration and distribution of an estate.
Having a Will Does Not Automatically Avoid Probate:
This is an important distinction because many people assume that preparing a will means their family will not have to deal with probate. A will generally provides instructions for the disposition of probate assets; it does not, by itself, remove those assets from probate. Probate avoidance may instead depend on tools such as properly funded trusts, beneficiary designations, joint ownership arrangements, or other planning strategies appropriate to the circumstances.
Estate Planning Is About Coordinating the Entire Plan:
A useful estate plan considers not only the will itself, but also how real estate is titled, who is named on beneficiary designations, whether a trust is appropriate, and who should have authority to make financial or health-care decisions during incapacity. Coordinating these pieces can help reduce uncertainty and make it more likely that the overall plan operates as intended.
The goal is not simply to have a will. The goal is to have a coordinated estate plan that reflects your wishes, your property, and the people you want to protect.
Estate planning should make important decisions clearer, not more complicated. Beckwith Legal focuses on helping clients understand their options, choose the planning tools that fit their circumstances, and put documents in place that reflect their actual goals.
We take a practical approach to wills, trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, deeds, and related estate-planning matters. Rather than assuming every client needs the same documents, we look at the family situation, property, ownership structure, probate concerns, and the level of planning the client actually wants.
Our goal is to make the process understandable, efficient, and personalized. We explain what each document does, how the pieces work together, and what steps may still need to be taken after signing so the plan is more likely to operate as intended.
Do I need a will or a trust in Florida?
Not everyone needs a trust, but most people can benefit from having an estate plan. A will can provide instructions for distributing probate assets, nominate a personal representative, and address other important decisions. A revocable living trust may be useful when a client wants additional management during incapacity, greater control over distributions, or a strategy for avoiding probate for assets properly transferred into the trust. The appropriate choice depends on your assets, family circumstances, and planning goals.
Does having a will avoid probate?
Generally, no. A will provides instructions for the distribution of probate assets, but those assets may still need to go through the Florida probate process. Other planning tools—such as properly funded trusts, beneficiary designations, and certain forms of joint ownership—may allow particular assets to pass outside probate.
What is the difference between a will and a revocable living trust?
A will generally controls the disposition of probate property after death and can nominate a personal representative and address guardianship wishes. A revocable living trust can hold and manage property during life, continue management during incapacity, and direct the distribution of trust assets after death. Property must actually be transferred into the trust for the trust to control it, which is why proper trust funding is an important part of trust planning.
Can I change my will or trust later?
Estate plans are not necessarily permanent. A Florida will can generally be changed or revoked while the person making it has the legal capacity to do so, but changes must comply with the required legal formalities. A revocable living trust can generally be amended or revoked during the settlor's lifetime, subject to the terms of the trust and applicable law. Major changes in family, property, or financial circumstances are good reasons to review an existing estate plan.
What is a durable power of attorney and why might I need one?
A durable power of attorney allows you to authorize another person—called an agent—to handle specified financial or legal matters on your behalf. Depending on the authority granted, this may include managing accounts, dealing with property, signing documents, or conducting other transactions. Florida law imposes specific requirements on powers of attorney, and certain significant powers must be specifically granted.
What is a health-care surrogate or living will?
A designation of health-care surrogate allows you to choose someone to make health-care decisions for you when the circumstances described in the document and Florida law apply. A living will addresses your wishes concerning life-prolonging procedures and end-of-life medical treatment. These documents are different from a financial power of attorney and can form an important part of planning for incapacity.
Can a deed be used as part of an estate plan?
Yes. The way real estate is titled can play an important role in an estate plan. Depending on the circumstances, a deed may be used to coordinate property ownership with a trust or another planning strategy. However, transferring real property can create issues involving homestead rights, mortgages, title, taxes, creditor protection, and other legal consequences, so a deed should be evaluated as part of the overall plan rather than treated as an isolated document.
What happens to my house when I die?
That depends on how the property is titled, whether it qualifies as Florida homestead, whether there are surviving family members with protected rights, and whether the property is owned individually, jointly, or through a trust. Some jointly owned property may pass automatically to a surviving owner, while property held solely in a deceased person's name may require probate or other administration. Florida homestead law can also affect who may receive a primary residence.
How often should I review or update my estate plan?
There is no single schedule that works for everyone, but an estate plan should be reviewed periodically and whenever an important life event occurs. Marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, death of a beneficiary or fiduciary, significant changes in assets, buying or selling real estate, moving to another state, or changes in the law may justify reviewing the plan. The Florida Bar also recommends periodically reviewing how assets are coordinated with a revocable trust.
Do I need an attorney to prepare a will or trust?
Florida law imposes specific requirements on the creation and execution of estate-planning documents, and errors may not become apparent until the person who created the document is incapacitated or deceased. An attorney can help determine which documents are appropriate, prepare them in compliance with Florida law, and coordinate wills, trusts, deeds, beneficiary designations, and other planning tools as part of an overall estate plan. The Florida Bar specifically recommends professional legal guidance because of the potential complications involved in wills and trusts.
What happens if someone dies without a will in Florida?
A person who dies without a valid will is considered to have died intestate. Florida's intestacy laws then determine who receives the person's probate property based on the surviving family members. The court may also appoint a personal representative to administer the estate. Property does not normally pass to the State of Florida unless there are no legally recognized heirs.
How do I know whether my trust has been properly funded?
Creating the trust agreement is only part of establishing a trust-based estate plan. Assets intended to be controlled by the trust generally must be properly transferred or titled to the trust, or otherwise coordinated with it. Account statements, deeds, ownership documents, and beneficiary designations can help show how assets are titled. A trust that is not properly funded may fail to accomplish the intended probate-avoidance objectives for assets that remain outside the trust.
Estate planning does not have to be complicated. Whether you need a simple will, are considering a trust, want to update an existing plan, or need help coordinating property and beneficiary arrangements, Beckwith Legal can help you understand your options and decide what makes sense for your circumstances.
Contact our office to discuss your goals, the planning you already have in place, and the next steps for creating or updating your estate plan.
