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A will is one of the most important documents you’ll ever sign. It determines who inherits your property, who raises your children, and who manages your affairs when you’re gone. Without one, the State of Florida makes those decisions for you.
At Zoecklein Law, we make estate planning straightforward and affordable. Our attorneys take the time to understand your family, your assets, and your goals — then we build a plan that protects the people who matter most to you.
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If you die without a will in Florida, state law dictates exactly how your property is divided — and it may not match what you would have chosen. Your spouse may not receive everything. Your children may inherit in ways you didn’t intend. A court, not your family, will decide who raises your minor children and who manages their money.
A properly drafted will gives you control over all of this. Specifically, a will allows you to:
Florida’s intestacy laws distribute your estate based on a rigid statutory formula. Your surviving spouse may have to share your estate with your children. Unmarried partners receive nothing. Stepchildren are excluded entirely. And a judge — not you — chooses who becomes guardian of your kids. The process is slower, more expensive, and often leads to family disputes that could have been avoided.
A will is the foundation of your estate plan, but it’s rarely the only document you need. At Zoecklein Law, we build complete estate plans tailored to your specific situation. Our will-based planning packages typically include:
Last Will and Testament
The core of your estate plan. We draft a legally compliant Florida will that clearly identifies your beneficiaries, names your Personal Representative, addresses guardianship for minor children, and accounts for your real property, financial accounts, and personal belongings.
Pour-Over Will
If you have a revocable trust, a pour-over will acts as a safety net — ensuring that any assets not already titled in the trust’s name are “poured over” into the trust at your death. This helps avoid unintended gaps in your estate plan.
Durable Power of Attorney
This document designates someone you trust to manage your financial and legal affairs if you become incapacitated. Without one, your family may need to petition the court for a guardianship — a costly and time-consuming process.
Healthcare Surrogate Designation
Florida law allows you to name a healthcare surrogate to make medical decisions on your behalf if you’re unable to do so. This ensures the person you choose — not a court or hospital policy — guides your care.
Living Will (Advance Directive)
A living will communicates your wishes regarding end-of-life medical treatment, including whether you want life-prolonging procedures if you are in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state. This takes an incredibly difficult decision off your family’s shoulders.
HIPAA Authorization
Federal privacy laws can prevent even your closest family members from accessing your medical information. A HIPAA authorization ensures your designated agents can communicate with your doctors and access your records when they need to.
Designation of Pre-Need Guardian
If you ever become incapacitated and a guardianship is necessary, this document lets you choose in advance who should serve as your guardian — rather than leaving that decision to the court.
Florida has specific requirements for a will to be enforceable. A will that doesn’t meet these requirements can be challenged or thrown out entirely — which is exactly why working with an experienced attorney matters. To be valid under Florida law, your will must meet the following requirements:
Legal Capacity
You must be at least 18 years old (or an emancipated minor) and of sound mind. “Sound mind” means you understand the nature and extent of your property, you know who your natural beneficiaries are, and you understand what your will does.
Written Document
Florida does not recognize oral (spoken) wills or holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills. Your will must be a written document.
Proper Execution
You must sign your will at the end of the document (or direct someone to sign on your behalf in your presence). Two witnesses must sign in your presence and in the presence of each other.
Self-Proving Affidavit
While not strictly required for validity, we always include a self-proving affidavit — a notarized statement by the witnesses confirming the will was properly executed. This allows the will to be admitted to probate without requiring the witnesses to testify in court, which saves your family significant time and expense.
Online will templates and DIY kits often fail to account for Florida-specific requirements like the two-witness rule, homestead property protections, or the elective share rights of a surviving spouse. A will that was technically “valid” in another state may not hold up in Florida probate court. The cost of fixing these mistakes after you’re gone is many times greater than having it done correctly in the first place.
A will is powerful, but it doesn’t govern everything. Certain assets pass outside of your will regardless of what it says. Understanding this is critical to ensuring your estate plan actually works the way you intend.
Beneficiary Designations
Life insurance policies, retirement accounts (401(k)s, IRAs), annuities, and payable-on-death bank accounts all pass directly to the named beneficiary — not through your will. If your beneficiary designations are outdated (for example, still listing an ex-spouse), those assets go to the wrong person no matter what your will says.
Jointly-Owned Property
If you own property as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety with your spouse, that property automatically passes to the surviving owner at your death. It does not go through probate and is not governed by your will.
Trust Assets
Any property titled in the name of a trust is distributed according to the trust’s terms, not your will. This is why coordinating your will and trust is essential if you have both.
Florida Homestead
Florida’s homestead laws impose unique restrictions on how you can leave your primary residence. If you have a surviving spouse or minor children, you cannot freely devise your homestead property to anyone you choose. We help you navigate these rules so your wishes are carried out to the fullest extent the law allows.
Our attorneys review all of your assets — not just the ones covered by your will — to make sure everything works together. This is one of the biggest advantages of working with an estate planning firm versus using an online template.
Your will remains valid until you revoke or replace it, but that doesn’t mean it should stay unchanged forever. Life changes, and your estate plan needs to keep up. We recommend reviewing your will after any of the following events:
Even without a major life event, we recommend reviewing your estate plan every three to five years to make sure it still reflects your wishes and accounts for changes in Florida law.
We’ve designed our estate planning process to be efficient and stress-free. Most clients have their complete estate plan finalized within two to three weeks.
Step 1: Free Consultation
We start with a free consultation — in person, by phone, or by video — to understand your family situation, your assets, and your goals. We’ll explain your options in plain English and recommend the plan that makes sense for you. You’ll leave knowing exactly what you need and what it will cost — no surprises.
Step 2: Document Drafting & Review
Our attorneys draft your complete estate plan. We send you the documents for review and walk you through every provision so you understand exactly what you’re signing. If anything needs adjusting, we revise it until you’re 100% comfortable.
Step 3: Execution & Safekeeping
You come to our office (or we arrange a convenient meeting) to formally execute your documents with proper witnesses and notarization. We ensure every Florida legal requirement is met so your documents hold up when it matters most.
✓ We Know What Happens When Plans Fail
As both estate planning attorneys and probate litigators, we’ve seen firsthand what happens when wills are poorly drafted, assets aren’t coordinated, or documents don’t comply with Florida law. That experience makes us better planners — we build estate plans designed to avoid the exact disputes we litigate.
✓ Flat-Fee Pricing with No Surprises
We believe estate planning should be accessible. That’s why we offer transparent, flat-fee pricing for our will-based estate planning packages. You’ll know exactly what you’re paying before we start.
✓ Responsive and Approachable
We return calls the same day, explain everything in plain language, and never rush you through the process. Estate planning is personal, and we treat it that way.
✓ Serving Clients Statewide
With offices across Florida and the ability to meet by phone or video, we make estate planning convenient no matter where you are in the state.
✓ Se Habla Español
Our team proudly serves Florida’s Spanish-speaking community with the same care and expertise.
The cost of a will varies depending on the complexity of your estate and what additional documents you need. At Zoecklein Law, we offer transparent, flat-fee estate planning packages so you know exactly what you’re paying upfront. Contact us for a free consultation and we’ll provide a quote tailored to your situation.
Florida law does not require you to hire a lawyer, but the legal requirements for a valid will in Florida are strict. The will must be written, signed by you, and witnessed by two people who sign in your presence and in each other’s presence. Errors in execution are the most common reason wills are challenged or invalidated. An attorney ensures your will is legally compliant and actually accomplishes what you intend.
If you die without a will (called dying “intestate”), Florida’s intestacy statutes determine who inherits your property. Your surviving spouse may have to share your estate with your children. Unmarried partners, stepchildren, and close friends receive nothing. A court appoints your Personal Representative and, if you have minor children, selects their guardian. The process is slower, more expensive, and often leads to family conflict.
Not entirely. Florida’s elective share law gives a surviving spouse the right to claim 30% of the “elective estate” regardless of what the will says. There are also homestead protections that prevent you from devising your primary residence away from your spouse if you have a surviving spouse or minor children. Our attorneys can explain these rules and help you plan around them where possible.
You can, but it’s risky. Florida does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) wills. Even a typed, self-prepared will can fail if the execution requirements aren’t followed precisely, or if it doesn’t account for Florida-specific rules like homestead protections, the elective share, or the pretermitted (omitted) spouse and children statutes. The cost of having an attorney draft your will is a fraction of what your family would spend fixing or litigating a defective one.
A pour-over will is a special type of will used in conjunction with a revocable living trust. It directs that any assets you own in your individual name at death (rather than in the trust’s name) be “poured over” into the trust. This ensures all of your assets are ultimately distributed according to the trust’s terms, even if you forgot to re-title an asset during your lifetime.
We recommend reviewing your will every three to five years, and immediately after any major life event such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a significant change in assets, or moving to or from Florida. Even without a triggering event, Florida law changes over time, and a periodic review ensures your documents remain current.
A will takes effect at your death and goes through probate. A trust can take effect during your lifetime and may allow your estate to avoid probate entirely. Trusts generally offer more privacy and flexibility but are more complex and expensive to set up. Many people benefit from a combination of both. Our attorneys can help you determine which approach is right for your situation. Learn more on our Trust-Based Planning page.
Yes. A will only takes effect after you die. A durable power of attorney is what allows someone you trust to handle your financial and legal affairs if you become incapacitated during your lifetime. Without one, your family may need to go through a costly guardianship proceeding to manage your affairs. We include powers of attorney in all of our estate planning packages.
Yes. You can change your will at any time by executing a codicil (a formal amendment) or by creating an entirely new will that revokes the prior one. We generally recommend drafting a new will rather than using codicils, as multiple amendments can create confusion and increase the risk of a challenge.
Nobody likes thinking about what happens after they’re gone. But the reality is that having a properly drafted estate plan is one of the most important things you can do for the people you love. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to take long.
Take the first step today. Contact Zoecklein Law for a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our Florida estate planning attorneys.
