Reviewing your Florida estate plan means re-reading your will, trust, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations to confirm they still match your wishes, your family, your assets, and current Florida law. Most people should review their plan every three to five years and after any major life event. For snowbirds and new Florida residents, a review is especially urgent because documents drafted in another state may not work the way you expect once you call Palm Beach home.
I have spent years watching well-meaning families discover, usually at the worst possible moment, that the plan they signed a decade ago no longer fits their life. The trustee they named has passed away. The “simple” out-of-state will triggers a probate they hoped to avoid. A second marriage left a surviving spouse and adult children fighting over a homestead. None of this is exotic. It is the ordinary consequence of treating an estate plan as a one-time purchase rather than a living set of instructions that should age alongside you.
Why a Florida estate plan needs periodic review
An estate plan is a snapshot. It captures your intentions, your relationships, and the tax landscape as they existed on the day you signed. Life keeps moving. The document does not. The gap between the two is where problems grow.
Florida adds its own wrinkles. Our homestead protections are among the strongest in the nation, but they also constrain how you can leave your home, particularly when a spouse or minor child is involved. Florida has no state estate tax and no state income tax, which is part of why so many retirees move here, yet that very advantage can be lost if your documents still assume you live somewhere else. And the federal estate tax exemption, currently historically high, is not permanent. Plans built around today’s numbers can become inefficient when those numbers change.
There is also the human side. The people you trusted to serve as executor (in Florida, the personal representative), trustee, health care surrogate, and agent under your power of attorney are themselves aging, moving, falling ill, or falling out of your life. A plan is only as good as the people named to carry it out.
Life events that should trigger an estate plan review
Certain moments call for a review regardless of how recently you updated your documents. If any of the following has happened since you last sat with an attorney, treat it as a signal to revisit the plan now rather than later.
- You moved to Florida or became a seasonal resident. This is the single most common reason snowbirds need a fresh look. More on this below.
- Marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse. Florida law gives a surviving spouse an elective share, generally 30% of the elective estate under Florida Statutes Chapter 732, and divorce automatically voids many provisions favoring a former spouse. Your documents should reflect reality, not contradict it.
- Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild. New descendants may need to be added, and you may want to provide for minors through a trust rather than an outright gift.
- The death or incapacity of someone you named. If your chosen personal representative, trustee, or health care surrogate can no longer serve, your backups need to be current and willing.
- A significant change in assets. Selling a business, buying Florida real estate, receiving an inheritance, or a large shift in your portfolio can all change the right strategy.
- A health diagnosis. A serious diagnosis for you or your spouse often reshapes priorities around long-term care, Medicaid planning, and incapacity documents.
- A change in the law. Tax thresholds, Medicaid rules, and Florida statutes evolve. What was optimal in 2015 may be suboptimal now.
Why moving to Florida changes everything for snowbirds
If you spend winters in Palm Beach and summers up north, you need clarity about which state is your legal domicile, because domicile drives which state taxes your estate and which state’s probate court handles your affairs. Establishing Florida domicile, through your driver’s license, voter registration, a recorded Declaration of Domicile under Florida Statutes Section 222.17, and where you actually spend your time, can shield you from a high-tax northern state’s reach. But that benefit only sticks if your estate plan is consistent with it.
I regularly see new Florida residents holding documents that quietly undermine their move. A will that says “I am a resident of New Jersey.” A revocable trust drafted under New York law. Powers of attorney that Florida banks and hospitals hesitate to honor because they do not meet Florida’s specific execution and notice requirements. Florida’s durable power of attorney statute, Chapter 709, is more demanding than many other states’ versions, and an out-of-state form can stall exactly when your family needs it to work.
Homestead is the other trap. Florida’s constitutional homestead protection limits your ability to devise your primary residence if you are survived by a spouse or minor child. A plan written for a different state’s rules can produce a result you never intended, including giving a spouse a life estate while the home passes to children, whether or not that fits your family.
How often should you review your estate plan?
Even without a triggering event, documents drift out of date simply by sitting in a drawer. Here is a practical cadence I recommend to clients.
- Every three to five years for a full review with your attorney, even if nothing dramatic has changed.
- Annually for beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and annuities pass by designation, not by your will, so a stale beneficiary form can override your entire plan. Check them once a year.
- Immediately after any major life event from the list above.
- Whenever a tax law changes in a way that affects estates, particularly if your net worth is approaching the federal exemption.
The federal estate tax exemption is scheduled to change in the future, and high-net-worth families should plan around the possibility of a lower exemption rather than assume today’s generous figure will last. Strategies such as lifetime gifting, irrevocable trusts, and certain specialized trusts can lock in advantages while the law is favorable. Because these techniques are nuanced and state-specific, this is where working with attorneys who handle planning across jurisdictions matters. Our colleagues at Morgan Legal Group, for example, help clients with sophisticated vehicles such as a for those concerned about long-term care costs, and a for individuals who need to preserve eligibility for needs-based benefits while still putting income to use. The Florida analysis differs, but the underlying logic, protecting assets and qualifying for care without leaving your family exposed, is universal.
What to actually look at during a review
A real review is more than skimming your will. When clients come in, we work methodically through the moving parts so nothing falls through the cracks.
Core documents
- Last will and testament. Does it name a Florida-eligible personal representative? Under Florida Statutes Section 733.304, a nonresident generally cannot serve unless they are a close relative, so an out-of-state friend you named may be disqualified.
- Revocable living trust. Is it funded? An unfunded trust is an empty promise. Confirm that your Florida home, accounts, and other assets are actually titled in the trust’s name to avoid probate.
- Durable power of attorney. Is it compliant with Florida Chapter 709 so banks and brokerages will honor it without a fight?
- Designation of health care surrogate and living will. Florida has its own statutory forms under Chapter 765. Out-of-state advance directives may be honored but can create friction.
Beneficiary designations and titling
Assets with named beneficiaries, IRAs, 401(k)s, life insurance, and pay-on-death accounts, bypass your will entirely. So does jointly titled property. A coordinated plan checks that these match your overall intent. A surprising number of disputes I see come not from a flawed will but from a forgotten beneficiary form naming an ex-spouse or a deceased relative.
People and contingencies
Confirm that every fiduciary you named is still alive, competent, willing, and Florida-appropriate. Make sure you have named successors. A single point of failure, one trustee with no backup, can derail an otherwise excellent plan.
If you maintain ties to more than one state, coordination matters. Our Florida estate planning team regularly works alongside out-of-state counsel to make sure documents harmonize across jurisdictions, so your northern property and your Palm Beach homestead are handled under one coherent strategy. For a refresher on the building blocks, our overview of Florida wills and our guide to Florida probate are good starting points before your review.
The cost of skipping a review
Inaction has a price, and it is usually paid by the people you love. An out-of-date plan can force assets through probate that you intended to avoid, disqualify the person you trusted to act, trigger avoidable taxes, or hand a court the job of guessing what you would have wanted. Florida’s homestead and elective-share rules can override an old will in ways your family will not see coming. The fix is almost always cheaper and easier while you are alive and well than the litigation that follows when you are not.
The good news is that a review is straightforward. Most of the time, a focused meeting and a few targeted amendments are all it takes to bring a plan current. The hard part is simply remembering to do it. If it has been more than a few years, or if you have crossed state lines to make Florida your home, that is your cue. Reach out to schedule a review and give yourself the peace of mind of knowing your plan still says what you mean.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I review my Florida estate plan?
Do a full review with your attorney every three to five years, check beneficiary designations annually, and revisit your plan immediately after any major life event such as a move to Florida, marriage, divorce, the death of a spouse, or a significant change in your assets or health.
Do I need a new estate plan when I move to Florida from another state?
Often yes. Florida has unique homestead protections, a strict durable power of attorney statute under Chapter 709, and a rule that nonresidents generally cannot serve as personal representative. Out-of-state wills, trusts, and powers of attorney may technically be valid but can create delays or unintended results, so a Florida attorney should review them.
What happens if I never update my estate plan?
An outdated plan can send assets through probate you meant to avoid, name a personal representative who is now disqualified or deceased, leave an ex-spouse on a beneficiary form, or conflict with Florida’s homestead and elective-share rules. The result is usually delay, added expense, and disputes among the people you intended to protect.
Does moving to Florida lower my estate taxes?
Florida has no state estate tax and no state income tax, which can reduce the overall tax burden compared with many northern states. To secure that benefit you must establish Florida domicile, including a Declaration of Domicile under Section 222.17, and update your estate documents so they are consistent with Florida residency. Federal estate tax still applies above the federal exemption.
Do I need to update my plan when tax laws change?
Yes, especially if your net worth is near the federal estate tax exemption. The exemption amount can change, and strategies like lifetime gifting and irrevocable trusts may let you lock in advantages while the law is favorable. Review your plan whenever a relevant tax law changes.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of estate planning in Boca Raton. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .