Estate Planning for Florida Veterans and Their Families
By Erik Newton, attorney. Admitted in Florida and Illinois.
Estate planning for a Florida veteran combines Florida’s rules for wills, trusts and powers of attorney with federal rules for VA benefits, military life insurance and military retired pay. Several of those federal payments follow an order of payment set by federal law (38 U.S.C. 1970(a) and 5121(a), as of October 2026). Florida adds property tax exemptions for disabled veterans that can carry over to a surviving spouse (s. 196.081(3), Fla. Stat., as of October 2026).
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Federal benefits that follow their own rules
- SGLI and VGLI. Servicemembers’ and Veterans’ Group Life Insurance is paid first to the beneficiary the insured designated by a writing received before death by the uniformed service or the program’s administrative office. If there is none, it goes to the widow or widower, then the children and descendants of deceased children by representation, then the parents, then the executor or administrator of the estate, then other next of kin under the law of the insured’s domicile (38 U.S.C. 1970(a), as of October 2026).
- Survivor Benefit Plan. The Survivor Benefit Plan annuity is paid to the person’s beneficiaries under the Plan, starting with the eligible surviving spouse or former spouse (10 U.S.C. 1450(a)).
- VA benefits unpaid at death. Periodic VA benefits that were due and unpaid when a veteran dies, based on existing ratings or decisions or on evidence in VA’s file at the date of death, go to the veteran’s spouse, or if none, to the children in equal shares, or if none, to dependent parents (38 U.S.C. 5121(a)(2)). In other cases, only enough may be paid to reimburse whoever bore the expense of last sickness and burial (38 U.S.C. 5121(a)(6)). Applications for accrued benefits must be filed within one year after the date of death (38 U.S.C. 5121(c)).
- Protection from creditors. VA benefit payments are exempt from the claims of creditors and from attachment, levy or seizure, before or after receipt, except for claims of the United States under VA law and federal tax levies (38 U.S.C. 5301(a)(1) and (d)). Florida law says the same of VA and Social Security payments to a disabled veteran or the veteran’s surviving spouse or dependents, except as federal law provides (s. 744.626).
For that reason, families commonly review insurance designations and Survivor Benefit Plan elections alongside the will or trust.
Florida property tax benefits and the surviving spouse
- Total and permanent disability. A Florida homestead owned and used by a veteran honorably discharged with a service-connected total and permanent disability, with a federal or VA letter certifying it, is exempt from taxation if the veteran is a permanent resident of Florida on January 1 of the tax year, or was on January 1 of the year the veteran died (s. 196.081(1)(a), as of October 2026). If the veteran dies first and the spouse holds legal or beneficial title to the homestead and permanently resides there, the exemption carries over to the spouse until the spouse remarries or sells or otherwise disposes of the property (s. 196.081(3)).
- Combat-related disability, age 65 or older. A qualifying veteran receives a homestead tax discount equal to the percentage of permanent, service-connected disability (s. 196.082(1) and (2)). It carries over to a surviving spouse on the same title and residence conditions (s. 196.082(3)).
- Disability of 10 percent or more. A qualifying disabled ex-servicemember receives a $5,000 property exemption, and so does the unremarried surviving spouse (s. 196.24(1)).
Both carryovers depend on the spouse holding legal or beneficial title, so the way the home passes at death, including through a trust, is part of the plan.
Military wills and powers of attorney in Florida
Federal law lets the armed forces provide legal assistance, subject to the availability of legal staff, to groups that include active-duty members, members and former members entitled to retired or retainer pay, and their dependents (10 U.S.C. 1044(a), as of October 2026). Florida treats a will executed as a military testamentary instrument under 10 U.S.C. 1044d, by a person eligible for military legal assistance, as valid (s. 732.502(3)). A military power of attorney executed under 10 U.S.C. 1044b is valid in Florida, and a deployment-contingent power of attorney may be signed in advance and takes effect on deployment (s. 709.2106(4)).
When a veteran can no longer manage VA benefits
VA appoints a fiduciary for a beneficiary whom VA rates unable to manage VA benefits, or whom a court has found unable to manage financial affairs (38 CFR 13.100(a), as of October 2026). VA considers, in order, the beneficiary’s own stated preference if the beneficiary can state one, then the spouse, then relatives, and lists a court-appointed guardian eighth (38 CFR 13.100(e)). An agent under a Florida durable power of attorney is not named on that list.
Florida’s Veterans’ Guardianship Law applies to veterans and others entitled to VA benefits (s. 744.602(2)), and it governs the appointment when VA requires a guardian before paying benefits (s. 744.613(1)). For everything outside VA benefits, the Florida documents still do the work: a durable power of attorney (see the Durable Power of Attorney guide) and a Declaration of Preneed Guardian, which names the person the declarant wants as guardian (s. 744.3045(1)).
VA pension: net worth and a 36-month look-back
VA denies or discontinues pension when net worth, which is assets plus annual income, exceeds the limit. The limit was $123,600 on October 18, 2018, rises with Social Security cost-of-living increases, and VA publishes the current figure on its website (38 CFR 3.274(a) and (b), as of October 2026). A veteran’s assets include the spouse’s assets (38 CFR 3.274(c)(1)), and the primary residence is excluded (38 CFR 3.275(b)(1)).
VA reviews asset transfers made in the 36 months before a pension claim (38 CFR 3.276(a)(7) and (b)). A transfer to a trust counts as a transfer for less than fair market value unless the claimant shows the ability to liquidate the entire balance for the claimant’s own benefit, in which case the asset counts toward net worth (38 CFR 3.276(a)(5)(ii)). A covered transfer can bring a penalty period of up to 5 years without pension (38 CFR 3.276(e)). One exception covers a trust for a child VA has rated incapable of self-support, when no distribution can benefit the veteran or spouse (38 CFR 3.276(d)).
Help with VA claims
Only individuals VA has accredited may assist claimants in the preparation, presentation and prosecution of VA benefit claims as an agent or attorney (38 CFR 14.629(b)(1), as of October 2026). Florida’s Department of Veterans’ Affairs assists veterans, their spouses and dependents in preparing claims, without charge (s. 292.05(1)). Counties may employ county veteran service officers (s. 292.11(1)), whose services are also without charge (s. 292.13). Plan Ahead does not prepare or present VA benefit claims.
Frequently asked questions
Does the VA do wills for veterans?
VA’s Office of General Counsel lists pro bono legal clinics that outside legal service providers hold in VA facilities, and states that VA does not endorse those providers (va.gov, as of October 2026). Wills prepared through the military come from legal assistance programs that each service’s Judge Advocate General, or in the Marine Corps the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant, establishes and supervises (10 U.S.C. 1044(b), as of October 2026). Eligibility follows the groups in 10 U.S.C. 1044(a), such as active-duty members, members and former members entitled to retired or retainer pay, and their dependents.
Who receives SGLI or VGLI if no beneficiary was named?
The widow or widower, then the children and descendants of deceased children by representation, then the parents, then the executor or administrator, then other next of kin under the law of the insured’s domicile (38 U.S.C. 1970(a), as of October 2026).
Does a disabled veteran’s Florida property tax exemption pass to the surviving spouse?
The total and permanent disability exemption carries over while the spouse holds legal or beneficial title, lives there permanently and does not remarry; after a sale, the spouse may transfer an exemption up to the most recent amount to a new primary residence (s. 196.081(3), as of October 2026).
Can a trust affect eligibility for VA pension?
Yes. Transfers to a trust in the 36 months before a pension claim can be treated as transfers for less than fair market value and lead to a penalty period (38 CFR 3.276(a)(5)(ii) and (e), as of October 2026).
Next step
Plan Ahead prepares Last Wills and Testaments, Revocable Living Trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney, Advance Health Care Directives, Living Wills and Declarations of Preneed Guardian for Florida families, including veterans’ families. Planning meetings are by Zoom; signings take place in person, at the client’s home or at our Lake Worth Beach office, with two witnesses and a notary provided by the firm. Schedule a Peace of Mind Planning Session, or see the other Florida planning documents on the Florida page.
Related reading
- Declaration of Preneed Guardian in Florida
- Durable Power of Attorney in Florida
- Revocable Living Trust in Florida: How It Works Under Florida Law
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading it.
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