Updating Your Estate Plan After Divorce, Marriage, or a Move to Florida

Updating your estate plan after divorce, marriage, or a move to Florida means reviewing and rewriting the documents that control your money, your medical decisions, and your children’s care so they match the life you actually live now. The three big triggers are a change in who you’re married to and a change in which state’s law governs your documents. If any of those three has happened to you in the last year, your old plan is probably out of date in ways that can quietly cause real harm.

I’ve sat across the table from too many young couples who assumed a will signed in another state, or a beneficiary form filled out before a divorce, would simply “carry over.” It usually does carry over — just not the way they intended. Below is how I walk first-time planners and young families through each of these life changes, what Florida law actually says, and what to fix first.

Why life changes break an estate plan

An estate plan is a snapshot of your wishes on the day you sign it. Marriage, divorce, and relocation each move the picture out from under that snapshot. Sometimes the law adjusts automatically and sometimes it doesn’t — and the gap between what you assume and what the statute does is where families get hurt.

Three categories of documents are affected almost every time:

• Your will or revocable living trust — who inherits, and who manages the estate.
• Your fiduciary appointments — personal representative (Florida’s term for executor), trustee, agent under a power of attorney, and health care surrogate.
• Your non-probate beneficiary designations — life insurance, 401(k)s, IRAs, payable-on-death bank accounts, and transfer-on-death brokerage accounts. These pass outside your will, so updating the will alone never fixes them.

That last point is the one people miss most. You can rewrite a beautiful new will, and if your ex-spouse is still named on your 401(k), the plan administrator pays your ex.

Updating your estate plan after divorce in Florida

Divorce is the change with the sharpest teeth, because the people you most want to remove are often woven through every document.

What Florida law revokes automatically

Florida gives you a partial safety net. Under Florida Statutes § 732.507(2), any provision of a will that affects your spouse is treated as void if your marriage ends in divorce or annulment — the will is read as if your former spouse died at the time of the dissolution. A parallel rule in § 736.1105 applies to revocable trusts. And § 732.703 automatically voids the designation of a former spouse as beneficiary on many assets, including life insurance and certain retirement and payable-on-death accounts, once a Florida court enters the dissolution judgment.

So far, so reassuring. But there are real limits, and I never let a client lean on the automatic rules alone:

• ERISA-governed plans win. Federal law controls most employer 401(k)s and pensions, and the U.S. Supreme Court (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff; Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont) has held that the plan must pay the named beneficiary regardless of a state revocation statute. If your ex is on the form, file a new one.
• The revocation is silent on who takes their place. Voiding your ex doesn’t name a successor. If your will left everything to a spouse who is now treated as predeceased and you named no alternate, your assets may fall into intestacy and pass to people you’d never have chosen.
• Powers of attorney and health care surrogates aren’t fully covered. You almost certainly don’t want your former spouse holding your durable power of attorney or making your medical decisions. Revoke and re-sign these deliberately.

What to do first after a divorce

1. Revoke your old durable power of attorney and health care surrogate, and sign new ones naming someone you trust today.
2. Re-file every beneficiary designation — life insurance, IRA, 401(k), HSA, POD/TOD accounts — with current names.
3. Sign a new will or amend your trust to name fresh personal representatives, trustees, and contingent beneficiaries.
4. If you have minor children, reconsider your guardianship nomination and how funds are held for them. A trust with a neutral trustee often beats handing money to a co-parent’s household.

For families with a special-needs child or an aging parent who relies on means-tested benefits, divorce is also the moment to revisit how inheritances are structured so a sudden lump sum doesn’t disqualify someone from coverage. Specialized vehicles like a can preserve benefits while still providing support — the rules vary by state, so coordinate with counsel where the beneficiary lives.

Updating your estate plan after marriage in Florida

New marriages are happier territory, but Florida has unusually strong spousal protections that can surprise newlyweds — and especially blended families.

Florida’s spousal rights you can’t ignore

Even if your old will leaves nothing to your new spouse, Florida won’t let you fully disinherit them by accident or on purpose:

• The pretermitted spouse share. Under § 732.301, if you marry after signing your will and don’t provide for your new spouse, they’re generally entitled to an intestate share — unless the will contemplated the marriage or a valid prenuptial agreement waives it.
• The elective share. Under §§ 732.201–732.2155, a surviving spouse may claim 30% of the “elective estate,” which sweeps in many non-probate assets, not just what passes under the will.
• Homestead protections. Florida’s constitution and § 732.401 sharply restrict how you can leave the family home. If you’re survived by a spouse and minor children, you generally cannot devise the homestead freely — the spouse typically takes a life estate or a one-half interest. This trips up nearly every blended family I meet.

What to update after you marry

1. Add your spouse (or deliberately address them through a valid prenup) in a new will or trust so the result is intentional, not the statutory default.
2. Revisit beneficiary designations — many people forget to add a new spouse to life insurance and retirement accounts.
3. Update your power of attorney and health care surrogate if you want your spouse to serve.
4. For blended families, plan the homestead carefully so you don’t unintentionally cut out either your spouse or your children from a prior relationship.

If a major asset is the family home, the way title is held and how you plan around it matters enormously. Strategies such as can keep a residence in the family while protecting a surviving spouse — though Florida’s homestead rules add their own wrinkles, so this is one to plan with an attorney rather than from a template.

Updating your estate plan after moving to Florida

This is the change clients least expect to matter, and it’s the one I see go wrong most often. A move doesn’t invalidate your out-of-state documents — but it can quietly make them awkward, partially unenforceable, or just wrong for how Florida does things.

Is your out-of-state will still valid here?

Generally, yes. Under § 732.502(2), Florida recognizes a will validly executed under the law of the state where it was signed, with one important exception: Florida does not honor out-of-state holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) or nuncupative (oral) wills, even if they were valid where written. If your old will was handwritten without witnesses, treat it as void in Florida.

“Valid” and “ideal” are different things, though. Here’s what a move usually breaks even when the will technically holds up:

• Out-of-state personal representatives face restrictions. Under § 733.304, a non-resident can serve as your personal representative only if they’re closely related to you (a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or certain other relatives). The trusted out-of-state friend you named may be legally disqualified to serve in Florida.
• Self-proving affidavits and witness rules differ. A will that isn’t “self-proved” under Florida’s format (§ 732.503) can require tracking down witnesses years later. Re-executing in Florida avoids that.
• Powers of attorney are a real pain point. Florida’s Power of Attorney Act (Chapter 709) abolished “springing” powers for documents signed in Florida and imposes specific signing and initialing requirements. Banks and title companies here routinely balk at out-of-state POAs. New residents should sign fresh Florida-compliant documents.
• Health care documents should match Florida forms. Hospitals respond fastest to a Florida health care surrogate designation and living will under Chapter 765.
• Homestead and creditor protection change. Florida’s homestead and asset-protection rules are among the most generous in the country, and a plan built for another state often leaves those advantages on the table.

Your new-resident checklist

1. Have a Florida attorney review your existing will or trust — keep what works, re-sign what doesn’t.
2. Replace your out-of-state power of attorney with a Florida durable power of attorney under Chapter 709.
3. Sign a Florida health care surrogate designation and living will.
4. Confirm your personal representative still qualifies under § 733.304.
5. Re-title your Florida home and update any trust funding so it captures homestead protection.
6. Update your address on every beneficiary form and estate document.

If you want a deeper look at how the local process works once a plan is in place, our overview of Florida probate walks through what your family would actually face, and our wills page covers the building blocks. You can also explore the broader Morgan Legal Florida for the full menu of options.

Common mistakes young families make

After years of probate and planning work, the same avoidable errors keep showing up:

• Updating the will but not the beneficiary forms. The forms win. Always.
• Assuming the divorce statute did all the work. It doesn’t touch ERISA plans or name your replacements.
• Naming a minor child directly as a life-insurance beneficiary. That forces a court guardianship of the proceeds — use a trust instead.
• Leaving an out-of-state friend as personal representative after moving to Florida. They may be disqualified.
• Ignoring homestead in a blended family. The constitution overrides your good intentions.
• Doing nothing because the plan “feels recent.” Recent to your memory and current to your life are not the same thing.

When to call a Florida estate planning attorney

You don’t need a lawyer for every birthday and address change. But after any of the three big triggers — a divorce finalized, a wedding, or a permanent move to Florida — a one-hour review is the cheapest insurance you’ll ever buy. The cost of fixing a plan in advance is trivial next to the cost of litigating one after a death, when the person who could have explained their intentions is gone.

If you’ve recently been through one of these changes, start a review now while the details are fresh. You can reach out to our team to walk through your documents and make sure your plan matches your life today — not the life you had two states and one chapter ago.

This article is general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Statutes change and every family’s situation is different; consult a licensed Florida attorney about your specific circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does divorce automatically remove my ex-spouse from my Florida will and accounts?

Partly. Florida Statutes 732.507 and 732.703 treat your former spouse as if they predeceased you for most will provisions and many beneficiary designations after a divorce judgment. But the protection does not reach ERISA-governed plans like most 401(k)s and pensions, where federal law requires the plan to pay whoever is named on the form. It also does not name a replacement. You should re-file beneficiary forms and sign new documents rather than relying on the statute alone.

Is my out-of-state will valid after I move to Florida?

Usually yes. Under Florida Statutes 732.502(2), Florida honors a will validly executed under another state’s law, with one major exception: it does not recognize handwritten unwitnessed (holographic) or oral (nuncupative) wills. Even a valid will may still need updating, because out-of-state personal representatives can be disqualified under 733.304 and out-of-state powers of attorney are often rejected by Florida banks.

What happens to my estate plan if I get married but don't update my will?

Florida protects new spouses even when your will ignores them. The pretermitted spouse rule (732.301) generally gives a spouse you married after signing your will an intestate share, and the elective share (732.201 and following) lets a surviving spouse claim 30% of the elective estate. Homestead rules under 732.401 further limit how you can leave the family home. To control the outcome, update your documents or use a valid prenuptial agreement.

Do I need a new power of attorney when I move to Florida?

Almost always, yes. Florida’s Power of Attorney Act (Chapter 709) has specific signing and initialing requirements and abolished springing powers for documents signed in Florida. Out-of-state powers of attorney are frequently challenged or rejected by Florida banks and title companies, so new residents should sign a fresh Florida-compliant durable power of attorney along with a Florida health care surrogate designation.

How soon after a divorce, marriage, or move should I review my estate plan?

As soon as the change is final. A short review within the first few weeks lets you fix the urgent items first: powers of attorney, health care surrogates, and beneficiary designations, which take effect immediately and are not always covered by automatic statutory rules. Waiting risks an outdated document controlling a medical or financial decision before you ever get to it.