Spousal Rights and the Elective Share: A Miami Checklist
A practical Miami checklist on Florida’s elective share, homestead, and the spousal rights that can override what your will actually says.
August 21, 2025
A practical Miami checklist on Florida’s elective share, homestead, and the spousal rights that can override what your will actually says.
How snowbirds and dual-state residents should structure estate plans across Florida and a northern state to avoid double taxation, probate, and spousal disputes.
Avoid the most common Florida estate planning mistakes—elective share, homestead, beneficiary, and spousal traps—with guidance from a Miami estate attorney.
A practical Miami, FL checklist of estate planning mistakes to avoid: homestead errors, stale beneficiaries, unfunded trusts, and Florida-specific traps.
Marriage, divorce, or a new baby in Miami? Florida law may change your plan automatically. A checklist for what to update and why it matters.
A Miami checklist of life events and Florida-law changes that should trigger an estate plan review, so your documents never go stale.
How charitable giving and trusts work in a Florida estate plan, including CRTs, CLTs, and how charitable gifts interact with a spouse’s elective share.
What happens if you die without a will in Florida? A Miami checklist on intestacy, who inherits, homestead, and the probate process that follows.
How to plan for digital assets and online accounts in your Florida estate plan under Chapter 740, and what surviving spouses should know.
How special needs trusts protect a disabled beneficiary’s Medicaid and SSI in Florida — types, funding, trustee duties, and elective-share pitfalls.
A step-by-step Miami, FL checklist for funding a revocable living trust: retitling real estate, accounts, and beneficiary forms under Florida law (Ch. 736).
How Florida spendthrift trusts and staggered distributions protect an inheritance from creditors, lawsuits, and a young or financially reckless heir.
A Miami estate planning attorney explains the core documents every Florida adult needs, including how the 30% elective share protects a surviving spouse.
How Medicaid asset protection planning works in Florida: the 5-year lookback, ICP limits, irrevocable trusts, and spousal rules. Miami estate planning guidance.
A Miami checklist on ILITs: how an irrevocable life insurance trust works under Florida law, who needs one, and the tradeoffs to weigh.
Do Miami residents really need a will? A practical Florida checklist on when a will matters, what it cannot do, and when a trust may be better.
In Florida, beneficiary designations on life insurance, IRAs and accounts override your will. Learn how this affects surviving spouses and elective share.
A Miami checklist comparing DIY estate forms with attorney-drafted plans, and the Florida-law traps that sink do-it-yourself documents.
How joint ownership and survivorship rights can derail a Florida estate plan, override your will, and trigger elective-share and creditor problems.
A Miami estate attorney explains Florida incapacity planning: durable powers of attorney, health care surrogates, and how to avoid guardianship.
How Florida business owners plan their estates and structure succession to protect spouses, partners, and the company. Buy-sell, trusts, and elective share.
Single in Miami? Florida’s intestacy rules may not match your wishes. A practical checklist of the documents and choices every unmarried adult needs.
A Florida attorney’s guide to blended-family estate planning: elective share, homestead, QTIP trusts, and protecting both your spouse and children.
How Florida second-marriage estate plans and prenuptial agreements coordinate elective share, homestead, and children from a prior marriage.
Unmarried in Miami? Florida law gives partners no automatic rights. A practical checklist to protect each other through wills, deeds, and key documents.
How Florida’s 30% elective share protects a surviving spouse, what counts in the estate, and how Miami couples plan around or for it.
A Miami estate attorney explains when and why to review your Florida estate plan, with key triggers, the elective share, and surviving-spouse pitfalls.
Split time between Miami and up north? A snowbird checklist for establishing Florida residency, coordinating documents, and protecting your homestead.
A step-by-step Florida estate planning checklist for Miami residents: wills, durable POA, homestead, trusts, and beneficiary designations done right.
How to fund a revocable trust correctly in Florida: retitling assets, beneficiary coordination, homestead, and elective-share traps to avoid probate.
