An estate plan is a snapshot of your life at the moment you signed it. When life changes, Miami families often assume their documents update themselves. Sometimes Florida law does step in, and sometimes it does not, which is exactly why review is essential. Here is a checklist for the three biggest life events.
After You Marry
Marriage creates rights your old plan may not reflect. Under Florida’s elective share statute (Section 732.2065 and following), a surviving spouse is entitled to 30 percent of the elective estate, regardless of what your will says. If you marry after signing a will that leaves out your new spouse, Florida’s pretermitted spouse rule may give them an intestate share anyway. Homestead rules (Article X, Section 4) also restrict how you can leave your Miami home once you have a spouse.
- Revise your will to intentionally provide for, or address, your new spouse.
- Update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance.
- Re-examine how your homestead is titled and who you want to inherit it.
- Consider whether a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement should be reflected in your plan.
After You Divorce
Florida tries to protect you here, but only partway. By statute, a divorce voids provisions in your will that benefit your former spouse, treating them as if they predeceased you. The same rule applies to many beneficiary designations and to your ex’s authority under a power of attorney or health care surrogate designation. Do not rely on these automatic rules alone, because gaps remain and some out-of-state or older designations may slip through.
- Sign a new will and revoke the old one cleanly.
- Update your power of attorney and health care surrogate so your ex no longer holds authority.
- Change beneficiaries on every account, including any your decree did not address.
- Re-title jointly held Miami property according to your divorce settlement.
After a New Child Arrives
A new child, by birth or adoption, is the most overlooked update. Florida’s pretermitted child rule may give a child born after your will an intestate share, but that statutory default rarely matches what parents actually want. More urgently, a will is where Florida parents name a guardian for minor children. Without that nomination, a Miami-Dade court decides who raises your child.
- Name a guardian for your minor children in your will.
- Add the new child as a beneficiary, and decide how assets are shared among children.
- Consider a revocable trust under Chapter 736 so a minor does not receive a lump sum at 18.
- Update beneficiary designations and name a trust, not a minor, as beneficiary where appropriate.
Make Review a Habit
Beyond these milestones, revisit your plan every few years and after any major change, such as a move, a new business, or the death of someone named in your documents. Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax, so updates here are about control, guardianship, and making sure the right people inherit, not state tax.
Talk to a Florida Attorney
Life changes can quietly rewrite, or fail to rewrite, your estate plan. Because Florida’s elective share, pretermitted heir, and revocation-on-divorce rules are nuanced, consider having a licensed Florida estate planning attorney review your documents after any major life event in Miami-Dade County.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of Florida estate planning. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles Medicaid asset protection trusts.
