A will is a document that directs who receives your property after you die, but it must pass through the Florida probate court to take effect. A revocable living trust is an arrangement you create during your lifetime to hold and manage your assets, and property titled in that trust generally passes to your loved ones without probate. For most South Florida families, the real question is not which document is “better” but which combination of tools fits your assets, your children’s ages, and how much you want to spare your family the cost and delay of court.
I’ve sat across the table from a lot of first-time planners — newlyweds, parents of a brand-new baby, couples who just closed on their first home in Broward or Miami-Dade. The same fear comes up again and again: “If something happens to us, what happens to the kids and the house?” Wills and trusts are the two main answers, and they work very differently under Florida law. Here’s how to tell them apart and choose.
What a Florida will actually does
A will is governed by Florida’s Probate Code, Chapter 732 of the Florida Statutes. It lets you name who inherits your property, name a personal representative (Florida’s term for an executor), and — critically for young families — nominate a guardian for your minor children. That last point is the single biggest reason a parent of small kids should not put off a will. If you die without one, a Florida judge decides who raises your children, working only from the statute and whatever the court learns about your family.
To be valid in Florida, a will must be signed by you at the end and witnessed by two people who sign in your presence (section 732.502). Get the formalities wrong and the whole document can fail. That’s not a place to cut corners with an online form.
Here’s the part people miss: a will does not avoid probate. It is, in a sense, your ticket into probate. The will sits dormant until you die; then someone files it with the circuit court, and the court supervises the transfer of your assets. That process has real costs.
How Florida probate works — and why it matters
Florida offers two main probate paths under the Probate Code:
- Summary administration — a streamlined process available when the probate estate (minus exempt property) is worth $75,000 or less, or when the person has been deceased for more than two years (section 735.201).
- Formal administration — the full, court-supervised process for larger estates, requiring a personal representative, notice to creditors, an inventory, and a final accounting.
Formal administration in Florida commonly takes six months to a year or more, and attorney’s fees are tied by statute to the value of the estate. It’s a public proceeding — anyone can read the file. For a young family, the worst part is usually the timing: assets can be frozen in court while a surviving spouse is trying to pay a mortgage and raise children. Probate is survivable, but it is rarely fun, and it is almost never fast.
What a Florida revocable living trust does
A revocable living trust is governed by the Florida Trust Code, Chapter 736 of the Florida Statutes. You create the trust while you’re alive, name yourself as trustee, and transfer assets into it — meaning you retitle your bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and often your home into the name of the trust. Because you keep control as trustee and can amend or revoke the trust anytime, it changes nothing about your day-to-day finances. You still buy, sell, and spend exactly as before.
The magic happens at two moments. First, if you become incapacitated, your named successor trustee can step in and manage trust assets immediately — no guardianship proceeding, no court. Second, when you die, your successor trustee distributes the trust assets according to your instructions, again without probate. The trust is private; there is no public court file listing your assets and beneficiaries.
The “funding” step that everyone forgets
A trust only avoids probate for the assets you actually put into it. This is called funding the trust, and it is where do-it-yourself plans fall apart. I’ve reviewed beautifully drafted trusts that controlled nothing because the couple never retitled a single account. An empty trust is just expensive paper. Funding is not glamorous, but it’s the whole point — and it’s a big reason to have a Florida attorney walk the assets through with you rather than relying on a template.
Florida-specific wrinkles young families need to know
Several features of Florida law change the trust-versus-will math in ways that surprise people moving here from other states.
Homestead protection and your house
Your Florida homestead enjoys powerful protections under the Florida Constitution, including creditor protection and strict limits on how it can be devised when you have a spouse or minor child. These rules apply whether your home passes through a will, a trust, or otherwise. You generally cannot simply leave the house to whomever you want if you’re survived by a spouse or minor child. Putting homestead into a revocable trust is common and often sensible, but it must be drafted carefully so it doesn’t run afoul of the constitutional limits or accidentally weaken your homestead creditor protection. This is precisely the kind of detail a Florida estate planning attorney is trained to catch.
The elective share protects a surviving spouse
Florida gives a surviving spouse the right to claim an elective share equal to 30% of the elective estate (section 732.201 and following). Importantly, that elective estate reaches assets held in your revocable trust too — you cannot use a trust to disinherit a spouse. For most young couples planning together this is a non-issue, but it matters in second marriages and blended families, and it’s why “just put it in a trust” is not a magic shield.
Minor children can’t inherit directly
A minor cannot legally receive a significant inheritance outright in Florida. If a will leaves money to a young child with no trust in place, the court may impose a guardianship of the property — supervised, costly, and ending at age 18, when your child receives whatever’s left in one lump sum. A trust solves this cleanly: you can hold a child’s inheritance until they reach an age you choose (say, 25 or 30, or in staggered distributions) and name someone you trust to manage it. For parents of young kids, this is often the deciding factor.
Side-by-side: how they compare
- Probate: A will goes through probate; a properly funded revocable trust avoids it for the assets it holds.
- Privacy: Wills become part of the public court record. Trusts stay private.
- Incapacity: A will does nothing if you’re alive but incapacitated. A trust lets a successor trustee manage things without a court-appointed guardian.
- Guardian for kids: Only a will nominates a guardian for your minor children — a trust cannot. This is why young families almost always need both.
- Cost and effort now: A will is cheaper and simpler to set up. A trust costs more up front and requires funding, but saves time and money for your family later.
- Cost later: Probate fees and delays fall on a will-based estate; a trust-based plan largely sidesteps them.
So which fits your family?
For a young couple with modest assets, no real estate yet, and straightforward wishes, a well-drafted will — paired with beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts, plus a durable power of attorney and health care directives — may be entirely enough. Those beneficiary designations, by the way, pass outside probate on their own, which is why naming and updating them is some of the cheapest estate planning you’ll ever do.
A revocable living trust starts to earn its keep when you own a home, when you have minor children who would inherit, when you value privacy, or when you want a smooth handoff if you become incapacitated. Many South Florida families I work with end up with a “pour-over will” plus a funded revocable trust — the will names a guardian for the kids and acts as a safety net, sweeping any stray assets into the trust, while the trust does the heavy lifting of avoiding probate and protecting the children’s inheritance.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, and anyone who quotes you a flat rule without looking at your assets is guessing. Estate planning also reaches beyond these two documents. Families thinking about long-term care, for example, often explore specialized vehicles such as a to shield assets from future nursing-home costs, or a for a loved one with disabilities — tools that work very differently from a basic revocable trust and that vary by state. To see how a full estate plan fits together for a Florida household, our team’s overview of is a good starting point.
The best move for a first-time planner is rarely to pick a document off a menu. It’s to sit down with someone who can map your house, your accounts, your kids, and your worries onto the right combination of tools. If you want to dig deeper into the basics first, our guides on wills and how Florida probate works are written for people starting from zero. When you’re ready to talk specifics, reach out and we’ll walk through it together.
The bottom line
A will tells the court who gets what and who raises your children; a revocable living trust keeps your family out of court in the first place and protects them if you’re incapacitated. For young Florida families, the choice usually isn’t either-or — it’s building the right blend, funding it properly, and keeping it current as your life changes. Do that, and you’ve handed your family something far more valuable than a stack of documents: a plan that actually works when they need it.
This article is general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Estate planning depends on your specific facts; consult a licensed Florida attorney about your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need both a will and a trust in Florida?
Often, yes. Only a will can nominate a guardian for your minor children, so parents of young kids almost always need one. A revocable living trust avoids probate and manages assets if you become incapacitated. Many Florida families use a ‘pour-over will’ alongside a funded revocable trust so each document handles what it does best.
Does a revocable living trust avoid probate in Florida?
It avoids probate only for the assets actually titled in the trust’s name. This step, called funding, is essential — an unfunded trust controls nothing and those assets may still go through probate. Florida trusts are governed by Chapter 736 of the Florida Statutes.
How much does an estate have to be worth to require probate in Florida?
Florida offers a streamlined summary administration when the probate estate (minus exempt property) is $75,000 or less, or when the person has been deceased more than two years (section 735.201). Larger estates generally require formal administration, which is more time-consuming and costly.
Can I use a trust to leave my Florida home to anyone I want?
Not always. Florida’s constitutional homestead rules limit how you can devise your home if you’re survived by a spouse or minor child, and those limits apply even when the home is held in a trust. Homestead planning should be handled carefully with a Florida attorney.
Can a trust keep my child from inheriting a large sum at 18?
Yes. A minor cannot receive a significant inheritance outright in Florida, and a will alone may trigger a court-supervised property guardianship that ends at age 18. A trust lets you hold a child’s inheritance until an age you choose and name someone to manage it in the meantime.
