The Complete Florida Estate Planning Document Checklist: What Every Attorney Needs

Most clients walk into your office with no idea what documents they actually need. They've heard of wills and maybe trusts, but the complete picture of a Florida estate plan? That's why they hired you.

The challenge for attorneys isn't knowing what documents to prepare. It's keeping track of all the moving pieces across multiple clients, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks, and efficiently producing a complete, cohesive estate plan without spending hours on document preparation.

This comprehensive checklist covers every document you might need for a Florida estate planning engagement, organized by category. Use it as your intake reference, your quality control checklist, and your roadmap for client conversations.

The Core Estate Planning Documents

Every Florida estate plan starts with these foundational documents. Depending on your client's situation, some are mandatory while others are strongly recommended.

Last Will and Testament

The cornerstone of any estate plan. Under Florida Statutes Section 732.502, a valid will must be:

• In writing
• Signed by the testator (or by someone else in the testator's presence and at their direction)
• Signed in the presence of two attesting witnesses
• Witnessed by two people who sign in the presence of the testator and each other

Florida-specific note: Self-proving affidavits (F.S. 732.503) are not required but strongly recommended to avoid witness testimony at probate. The affidavit must be signed by the testator and witnesses before a notary.

Revocable Living Trust

Not every client needs a trust, but for many Florida residents, it's the most effective way to avoid probate. Consider a revocable living trust when:

• Client owns real property in multiple states
• Estate value exceeds probate thresholds
• Client wants to maintain privacy (trusts don't become public record)
• Client has minor children or beneficiaries who need asset management
• Client is concerned about incapacity planning

Important: A trust is only effective if properly funded. Always include a funding checklist and follow-up schedule for retitling assets.

Durable Power of Attorney

Florida's Power of Attorney Act (Chapter 709) governs these documents. Key requirements:

• Must be signed by the principal in the presence of two witnesses
• Must be notarized
• Specific powers must be enumerated (no blanket "all powers" language)
• Must include specific language for certain powers (real estate, gifts, etc.)

Practice tip: Florida financial institutions are notorious for rejecting older POAs. Consider including language addressing F.S. 709.2120 (third-party acceptance) and provide clients with multiple original executed copies.

Healthcare Surrogate Designation

Under Florida Statutes Chapter 765, healthcare surrogate designations allow clients to appoint someone to make medical decisions if they become incapacitated. Requirements:

• Must be signed by the principal in the presence of two witnesses
• At least one witness cannot be the spouse or blood relative
• Notarization is recommended but not required

Always designate both a primary and alternate surrogate. HIPAA authorization should be included or prepared as a separate document.

Living Will (Advance Directive)

Florida's Life-Prolonging Procedures Act (F.S. 765.301-.309) governs living wills. This document expresses the client's wishes regarding end-of-life care when:

• The patient has a terminal condition, or
• The patient is in an end-stage condition, or
• The patient is in a persistent vegetative state

Same witnessing requirements as healthcare surrogate designation. Many attorneys prepare these as a combined document.

HIPAA Authorization

While Florida's healthcare surrogate statute includes some medical records access, a separate HIPAA authorization provides broader access to protected health information. Essential for:

• Family members who need to coordinate care
• Agents under power of attorney
• Successor trustees managing trust affairs during incapacity

Additional Documents by Situation

Beyond the core documents, certain client situations require specialized planning documents.

Pour-Over Will

When a client has a revocable living trust, the pour-over will serves as a safety net. It directs any assets not already in the trust to "pour over" into the trust at death. This ensures the trust's distribution scheme controls all assets, even those inadvertently left outside the trust.

Tangible Personal Property Memorandum

Florida Statutes Section 732.515 allows a separate written statement disposing of tangible personal property, as long as it's referenced in the will. This lets clients update specific bequests (jewelry, furniture, collectibles) without executing a new will or codicil.

Enhanced Life Estate Deed (Lady Bird Deed)

Florida recognizes enhanced life estate deeds, commonly called "Lady Bird deeds." These allow property to pass to remaindermen at death while the life tenant retains full control during life, including the right to sell, mortgage, or revoke the remainder interest. Benefits:

• Avoids probate for real property
• Maintains homestead protection
• Preserves Medicaid eligibility (not a transfer for look-back purposes)
• Allows stepped-up basis at death

Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements

For clients entering marriage with significant assets, prior marriages, or children from previous relationships, marital agreements clarify property rights and can waive elective share rights under F.S. 732.201-.2155.

Business Succession Documents

Business owners need additional planning:

• Buy-sell agreements
• Operating agreement amendments for LLC interests
• Shareholder agreements
• Business continuation instructions for fiduciaries

Special Needs Trust

For beneficiaries receiving means-tested government benefits (SSI, Medicaid), a special needs trust allows inheritance without disqualifying them from benefits. Florida follows federal guidelines for these trusts, with specific requirements for first-party vs. third-party special needs trusts.

The Client Intake Process

Comprehensive intake is the foundation of a complete estate plan. Here's what you need to gather:

Family Information

• Marital status and spouse information
• Children (names, ages, addresses, from which marriage)
• Grandchildren
• Parents (if potentially beneficiaries or involved in care)
• Prior marriages and divorce decree provisions
• Dependents with special needs

Asset Information

• Real property (addresses, how titled, approximate values)
• Bank and investment accounts
• Retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, pensions)
• Life insurance policies
• Business interests
• Vehicles, boats, other registered property
• Valuable personal property

Agent and Fiduciary Selections

• Personal representative (and alternates)
• Trustee (and successors)
• Power of attorney agent (and alternates)
• Healthcare surrogate (and alternates)
• Guardian nominations for minor children

Florida-Specific Considerations

Homestead: Florida's homestead laws affect both creditor protection and descent. Key questions:

• Is the property the client's primary residence?
• Does the client have a surviving spouse or minor children?
• How should homestead property pass at death?

Remember: Under Florida law, a married person cannot devise homestead property away from a surviving spouse without the spouse's written consent. This catches many clients (and some attorneys) by surprise.

Common Mistakes Attorneys Make

Even experienced estate planning attorneys occasionally make these errors:

Witness Requirement Failures

Florida requires two witnesses for wills, powers of attorney, and healthcare documents. The witnesses must sign in the presence of the principal and each other. Self-proving affidavits require notarization in addition to witnessing. Miss any step, and the document may be invalid or require additional probate procedures.

Outdated Beneficiary Designations

Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary designation, not by will. If your client's estate plan assumes these assets will flow to the trust or be distributed differently than the existing beneficiary designations provide, you have a problem. Always review and update beneficiary designations as part of every estate planning engagement.

Not Reviewing Existing Documents

When a client comes in for an "update," request copies of all existing documents. Sometimes clients have outdated powers of attorney still floating around that could be used by the wrong people, or prior wills that could create confusion.

Inconsistent Information Across Documents

The trustee in the trust should match the personal representative in the pour-over will. Successor agents should be consistent across documents. Beneficiary provisions should align. When you're manually preparing each document, inconsistencies creep in.

How Document Automation Helps

If you're preparing estate plans regularly, document automation transforms your practice. Here's how:

Single data entry: Enter client information once. It flows to every document automatically. The spouse's name in the will matches the spouse's name in the trust matches the spouse's name in the POA. No typos, no inconsistencies.

Smart dropdowns: Instead of typing relationship descriptions, county names, or statutory references, select from pre-configured options. The system inserts the correct language every time.

Package generation: Click once, generate all documents. A complete estate plan package (Last Will, Trust, POA, Healthcare Surrogate, Living Will, HIPAA Authorization) in minutes instead of hours.

Built-in compliance: Templates that include current Florida statutory requirements and witness/notary blocks. When Florida updates its requirements, the templates update.

In MakeLegalDocs, we've built estate planning packages specifically for Florida practitioners. See how it handles estate planning document packages.

Your Estate Planning Document Checklist

Use this quick reference for every estate planning engagement:

Conclusion

A complete Florida estate plan requires more than just a will. Healthcare directives, powers of attorney, and situational documents like trusts and deeds work together to protect your clients during incapacity and ensure their wishes are carried out at death.

The key is having a systematic approach: comprehensive intake, consistent document preparation, and thorough follow-up. Whether you use a paper checklist or document automation software, the goal is the same: nothing falls through the cracks, and every client leaves with a complete, cohesive estate plan.

If you're looking to streamline your estate planning document workflow, MakeLegalDocs is built specifically for Florida attorneys. Enter client information once, generate complete document packages in minutes, and eliminate the inconsistencies that come with manual document preparation.