The Documents in a Florida Estate Plan
Last will and testament
Your will names your beneficiaries, the personal representative who’ll settle your estate, and a guardian for any minor children. Florida is strict about how a will is signed: it has to be in writing, signed at the end by you, and signed in the presence of two witnesses who also sign in front of you and each other. A notary isn’t required for the will to be valid, but adding a notarized self-proving affidavit lets the probate court accept the will without tracking down the witnesses later. Florida has also allowed electronic wills since 2020, and in some circumstances the witnesses can take part remotely through an online notary.
Revocable and irrevocable trusts
A revocable living trust holds your assets during your life, lets you stay in control, and passes those assets to your beneficiaries without probate when you die. It also keeps the details of your estate out of the public court file. In Florida, the parts of a revocable trust that take effect at death have to be signed with the same formalities as a will, so a trust signed without two witnesses may not do what it was meant to do.
An irrevocable trust gives up some control in exchange for other goals, such as protecting a beneficiary who shouldn’t receive a lump sum or planning for estate tax. A trust also lets you decide when an heir inherits, for example in stages at 25, 30 and 35 rather than all at once at 18.
Durable power of attorney
A durable power of attorney appoints someone you trust to handle your finances if you can’t. Florida requires it to be signed with two witnesses and a notary, and certain “superpowers,” such as creating or changing a trust, making gifts, or changing beneficiary designations, only count if you separately sign or initial next to each one. Without a valid power of attorney, your family may have to go to court for a guardianship just to pay your bills.
Health care surrogate designation and living will
A health care surrogate designation names the person who makes medical decisions for you when you can’t. A living will records your wishes about life-prolonging treatment at the end of life. Both documents need two adult witnesses, and at least one of them can’t be your spouse or a blood relative. Many clients sign the two together, along with a HIPAA release so doctors can talk to the people you choose.
Guardian designations
Parents can name a pre-need guardian for their minor children in a signed, witnessed declaration filed with the clerk. You can also name the person you’d want as your own guardian if you ever need one. Both documents give the court a clear starting point during a hard time.
Estate Planning and the Probate Process
Most families plan so their heirs face as little of the probate process as possible. Assets in a funded revocable trust, accounts with a named beneficiary, and property held jointly with survivorship rights pass outside probate. Anything left in your name alone goes through probate, which is handled for Orange County estates at the Orange County Courthouse in downtown Orlando.
Florida also changed its probate law in 2026. Estates worth $150,000 or less, excluding exempt property, now qualify for the shorter summary administration process, double the earlier limit. A good plan takes that into account, but it doesn’t rely on it. If a loved one has already passed away, our Orlando probate attorney can guide your family through the court process.
Homestead and the family home
Florida’s homestead rules limit who can inherit your residence if you’re survived by a spouse or a minor child. A will that leaves the house to someone else can fail, and the property can end up passing in ways you never intended. We check homestead status in every plan that includes a Florida home, and when real property is involved our Orlando real estate attorneys can coordinate deeds and titles.
Estate taxes
Florida has no state estate tax. The federal estate tax applies only to estates above the federal exemption, which is $15 million per person for 2026, so most families will never owe it. Estate tax planning still matters for larger estates, and for anyone whose estate may grow over time.
Estate Planning for Business Owners
For business owners, the company is often the largest asset in the estate and the hardest one to transfer. Succession planning answers who runs the business, who owns it, and how the other owners buy out a deceased owner’s heirs. We coordinate your estate plan with your operating agreement or shareholder agreement so the documents don’t contradict each other, and our Orlando business attorneys can update those agreements where needed.
Why Work With Legal Counsel, P.A.
Michele Diglio-Benkiran founded the firm and has practiced business and real estate law since 1999. She’s a member of The Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and the Orange County Bar Association. That background matters because most estate plans involve a home, investment property or a business, and a plan is only as good as the titles and agreements behind it.
We draft plans that are meant to be read by a probate judge, a bank officer and a grieving family, which means plain instructions, correct signatures and no loose ends. We offer a free consultation, and pay later options are available for qualifying clients.
Serving Orlando and Central Florida
We prepare estate plans for clients throughout Orange County and Central Florida from our Winter Garden, Orlando and Seminole offices, and we can meet in person, by phone or by video. If you’ve been looking for an estate planning attorney Orlando residents can meet with close to home, our Orlando office is on Shader Road. Estate planning is one part of the work our Orlando lawyers do for families and business owners across the region. Our Orlando estate planning attorneys also review plans drafted years ago or in another state, since documents signed elsewhere don’t always work the way you’d expect under Florida law.
