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Do I need a Will in Florida?

By David M. Goldman

A Florida Will provides instructions on how to distribute your assets upon your death. Many people believe that if they do not have a Florida Will their assets will be taken by the state. This is not true. Florida has a default will for all individuals built into the the Florida Statutes. If you die without a will, your assets will be distributed to your spouse and children, and then your parents, siblings, nieces and nephews as proscribed by Florida Law. For more information on this request our Florida Probate Handbook for free. If you want to be able to specify who will receive your assets and not depend on the state's view, you must have a Florida Will.

There are some issues that are not discussed in the statutes. Who will take care of my children? What will happen with my body? Only a Florida Will will prevent the State of Florida from making these decisions. If you have minor children you should have a will to determine who will be the guardian of the children in the event of your death.

There are many times when its a good idea to update your will which include if you purchase or sell real property, if your marital status changes, if your financial condition changes significantly, and if you have children or grandchildren you would like to recognize in the event of your death.

Today we find that online and software services have scared many people about the price of using a lawyer to prepare a Florida Will. They state that you could spend thousands of dollars to prepare a will with an attorney and that theirs is just as good. While its possible that you could prepare a Florida Will that does exactly what you want, the problem is that you only die once, so you do not know what the effects of your desires will be. By talking with a lawyer who have prepared many wills and dealt with the effects of them you get the benefit of experience that you will never obtain. Most wills that are prepared by an attorney are very reasonable when you consider the potential for problems that can arise when you write your own will. For illustrative purposes, we typically charge $200 to prepare a will and discuss your options and the potential risks for the choices you will make.

If you would like to discuss preparing a Florida Will you should contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer

Full post as published by Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog on September 29, 2009 (boomark / email).