Estate planning is not about predicting the future. It is about making decisions now, while you can, so that your wishes are followed, your family is protected, and the people and causes you care about receive what you intend for them.
Without a plan in place, Florida law makes those decisions for you. The results rarely match what you would have chosen.
We have helped individuals and families in Daytona Beach and across Volusia County put estate plans in place for more than 40 years. Our estate planning attorneys help you understand your options, build the documents that carry legal weight, and update your plan as your life changes.
Free consultations available. Call (386) 763-2092.
What Does an Estate Plan Include in Florida?
An estate plan is a set of legal documents that together address what happens to your assets, your health care, and your financial affairs, both during your lifetime and after your death.
A complete estate plan for a Volusia County resident typically includes some combination of:
- A last will and testament directing how assets are distributed at death
- One or more trusts to manage assets during your lifetime and transfer them efficiently at death
- A durable power of attorney authorizing someone to manage your finances if you become incapacitated
- A health care surrogate designation naming someone to make medical decisions on your behalf
- A living will documenting your wishes about life-sustaining treatment
- Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and financial accounts
Not every plan requires all of these. An attorney evaluates your specific circumstances and recommends the documents that fit your situation.
Call (386) 763-2092 to start the conversation.
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Do You Need a Will in Florida?
Yes, and most people in Florida do not have one. A will, formally called a last will and testament, is the foundational document of most estate plans. It tells the court, your family, and the world who gets what when you die.
Without a valid will, Florida’s intestacy laws determine who inherits your estate. These laws follow a fixed order of priority based on family relationships, and the results may differ significantly from what you would have chosen. A will also allows you to name a personal representative, the person responsible for administering your estate, and, if you have minor children, to name a guardian for them.
What Makes a Will Valid in Florida?
Florida has specific execution requirements for a will to be legally valid. Under Florida Statute Section 732.502, the will must be in writing, signed by the testator, meaning the person making the will, and witnessed by two individuals who sign in the presence of the testator and each other.
Florida does not recognize handwritten wills, called holographic wills, that are not properly witnessed, even if they clearly reflect the genuine intent of the person who wrote them. An attorney drafts the will and manages the signing so that the document meets every legal requirement.
What Is the Difference Between a Will and a Trust?
A will and a trust both direct how your assets are distributed, but they work differently and accomplish different things.
What Does a Revocable Living Trust Do?
A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement in which you transfer ownership of assets to the trust during your lifetime while retaining full control as the trustee. You can add assets, remove assets, and revoke or amend the trust at any time while you are alive and competent. When you die, the successor trustee you named distributes the assets according to the trust’s terms, without going through probate.
This is the most significant practical distinction between a will and a trust. A will passes through probate, the court-supervised process for validating the will and distributing the estate. A trust does not. For families in Volusia County who want to avoid the time, expense, and public nature of probate, a revocable living trust is a valuable planning tool.
When Is an Irrevocable Trust Useful?
An irrevocable trust is one whose terms cannot be changed after it is created without the consent of the beneficiaries. Because you give up control of the assets you place in an irrevocable trust, those assets may be protected from certain creditors and may not count toward eligibility calculations for Medicaid and other benefit programs.
Irrevocable trusts are often used for Medicaid planning, asset protection, and minimizing estate tax exposure. They require careful planning because the trade-off, giving up control, is significant. An attorney evaluates whether an irrevocable trust fits your goals before recommending one.
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What Is a Power of Attorney and Why Do You Need One?
A power of attorney is a legal document in which you, the principal, grant another person, called the agent, the authority to act on your behalf in financial and legal matters.
A durable power of attorney remains effective even if you become incapacitated, which is the scenario it is most designed to address. Without one, if you become unable to manage your own affairs due to illness, injury, or cognitive decline, your family may need to go to court to obtain a guardianship in order to manage your finances. Guardianship proceedings are time-consuming, expensive, and public.
Florida Statute Section 709.2101 governs durable powers of attorney in Florida. The document must be signed in the presence of two witnesses and a notary to be valid. An attorney drafts the document to match the scope of authority you actually intend to grant.
Call (386) 763-2092 to discuss powers of attorney and other planning documents.
What Is a Healthcare Surrogate and How Is It Different From a Living Will?
These are two different documents that together address your medical care if you cannot speak for yourself.
A designation of health care surrogate names a specific person to make medical decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so. The surrogate communicates with doctors, consents to or refuses treatment, and makes decisions in real time based on the circumstances. This document is governed by Florida Statute Section 765.202.
A living will, also called an advance directive, does not name a decision-maker. Instead, it documents your own wishes about specific end-of-life medical interventions, including whether you want life-sustaining treatment continued or withdrawn in circumstances where recovery is not expected.
Both documents serve important purposes, and most complete Florida estate plans include both. Without them, medical decisions may fall to whoever is present, in whatever order Florida’s default rules establish, without any guidance from you about what you actually want.
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What Happens If You Die Without an Estate Plan in Florida?
Florida’s intestate succession laws govern who inherits your estate when you die without a valid will. The outcome depends on your family situation at the time of death.
If you are married with no children, your spouse inherits everything. If you are married with children who are also your spouse’s children, your spouse still inherits everything. If you are married with children from a prior relationship, the estate is typically split equally between your spouse and your children, which is often not what either side expected.
If you are unmarried, your estate passes to your children in equal shares. If you have no children, it passes to your parents, then to your siblings, and through more distant relatives. If no heirs are found, the estate escheats, meaning it passes to the state of Florida.
None of these default outcomes account for long-term partners who are not legally married, stepchildren you have not legally adopted, close friends, or charitable causes. A will allows you to make those choices yourself.
How Does Probate Work in Florida and How Can You Avoid It?
Probate is the court-supervised process for validating a will, paying debts, and distributing the estate of a deceased person. In Florida, probate is administered through the circuit court in the county where the deceased lived, meaning Volusia County for most Daytona Beach residents.
What Are the Types of Probate in Florida?
Florida has two main probate procedures: formal administration for estates valued over $75,000 or with creditor claims or family disputes, and summary administration for smaller estates or those where the deceased has been dead for more than two years.
Formal administration typically takes six months to a year or more. Summary administration moves faster but has its own eligibility requirements. Probate in Florida is a matter of public record, meaning anyone can view what was in your estate and who received it.
How Can Probate Be Avoided in Daytona Beach?
Several planning strategies reduce or eliminate the need for probate. A revocable living trust keeps assets out of probate entirely because they are owned by the trust, not by the individual, at the time of death. Properly designated beneficiaries on retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and financial accounts pass those assets directly to named beneficiaries outside of probate.
Joint ownership with right of survivorship and Florida’s Lady Bird deed, a specialized property transfer tool, also allow real property to pass without going through the probate process.
An attorney maps your specific assets to the right planning tools so that your estate reaches your heirs as directly as possible.
Call (386) 763-2092 to discuss probate avoidance strategies.
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Why Daytona Beach Residents Choose Bogin, Munns & Munns for Estate Planning
We have served Volusia County and Central Florida since 1979. Our Daytona Beach estate planning attorneys know Florida law, know the Volusia County court system, and know how to build estate plans that hold up when they matter most.
We work with individuals across a wide range of situations: young families establishing their first plan, retirees updating existing documents, blended families navigating complex beneficiary questions, and business owners planning for the transition of their interests. No two plans look the same because no two lives look the same.
Free consultations are available. Our Daytona Beach office is at 1616 Concierge Blvd #200, Daytona Beach, FL 32117.
Talk to a Daytona Beach Estate Planning Lawyer at Bogin, Munns & Munns
Estate planning decisions matter more than most people realize until they are no longer the ones making them. The right documents, prepared correctly, protect what you have built and the people you leave behind.
We offer free consultations with no obligation.
Call (386) 763-2092 or contact us online.
1616 Concierge Blvd #200, Daytona Beach, FL 32117 | (386) 763-2092
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