Florida Last Will and Testament: How a Valid Will Works
By Erik Newton, attorney. Admitted in Florida and Illinois.
A Florida last will and testament is a written document in which a person, the testator, disposes of property at death, and it can name a personal representative and a guardian for minor children (s. 731.201(40), Florida Statutes, as of October 2026). Florida requires the will to be signed at the end and witnessed by two people who sign in the presence of the testator and of each other (s. 732.502(1)). Without a valid will, Florida’s intestacy statutes decide who inherits the estate.
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Who can make a will in Florida
Any person of sound mind who is 18 or older, or an emancipated minor, may make a will (s. 732.501, as of October 2026). No particular form of words is needed if the will is signed with the formalities the law requires (s. 732.502(4)).
How a Florida will is signed
Every Florida will must be in writing (s. 732.502, as of October 2026). The testator signs at the end, or another person signs the testator’s name at the end in the testator’s presence and at the testator’s direction (s. 732.502(1)(a)). The testator signs, or acknowledges the signature, in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, and the witnesses sign in the presence of the testator and of each other (s. 732.502(1)(b) and (c)). Any person competent to be a witness may act as one, and a will is not invalid because a witness is also a beneficiary (s. 732.504). A codicil, an amendment to a will, needs the same formalities (s. 732.502(5)). Florida also allows electronic wills, and the witnesses may be present by audio-video technology under an online notary’s supervision, with added safeguards (ss. 732.522(2) and 117.285).
A will can also be made self-proved: the testator acknowledges it and the witnesses give affidavits before an officer authorized to administer oaths, such as a notary, in substantially the statutory form (s. 732.503(1)). A self-proved will may be admitted to probate without further proof (s. 733.201(1)).
What a Florida will can do
- Leave property to the people and charities the testator chooses.
- Name a personal representative, the Florida term for what has been known as an executor (s. 731.201(28), as of October 2026).
- Name a guardian for minor children; when the child is a beneficiary of the will, the court must consider that choice (s. 744.312(3)(c)).
- Refer to a separate list of tangible personal property, such as jewelry or family photographs. The list must be signed by the testator and describe the items and recipients with reasonable certainty; it can be written or changed after the will is signed, the most recent list controls in a conflict, and it does not reach property used in a trade or business (s. 732.515).
- Leave property to the trustee of an existing trust, a pour-over will, even though the trust can be amended or revoked (s. 732.513(1) and (2)(a)).
Choosing a personal representative
When there is a will, the court gives first preference to the personal representative, or successor, the will nominates (s. 733.301(1)(a), as of October 2026). A person qualifies if sui juris and a Florida resident at the time of the death (s. 733.302). Someone not domiciled in Florida can serve only through a family tie the statute lists: an adopted child or adoptive parent, a lineal relative such as a child or grandchild, a spouse, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece, a lineal relative of one of those, or the spouse of a qualifying person (s. 733.304). A friend who lives in another state does not qualify.
A person is not qualified if convicted of a felony, or of abuse, neglect or exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult, if mentally or physically unable to do the job, or if under 18 (s. 733.303(1)). When the named person is not qualified, letters go by the statute’s order of preference (s. 733.303(2)), which is why wills commonly name a successor.
What happens without a will in Florida
Without a will, Florida’s intestacy statutes decide who inherits:
- The surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate if the decedent left no descendants, or if all the decedent’s descendants are also the spouse’s and the spouse has no other descendants (s. 732.102(1) and (2), as of October 2026).
- The spouse receives one-half if the decedent left descendants and one of them is not the spouse’s, or the spouse has a descendant who is not the decedent’s (s. 732.102(3) and (4)).
- The rest goes to the decedent’s descendants; if none, to the parents; then to brothers and sisters and their descendants; then to more distant relatives in the statute’s order (s. 732.103).
So “my spouse inherits everything” is often not true in a blended family. The court also picks the personal representative by statute, starting with the surviving spouse and then the person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs (s. 733.301(1)(b)). With no guardian named and no surviving parent to act as natural guardian, a court may appoint a guardian for a minor child on petition (ss. 744.301(1) and 744.3021(1)).
A will and probate
A will does not avoid probate. Until it is admitted to probate, a will is ineffective to prove title to, or the right to possession of, the testator’s property (s. 733.103(1), as of October 2026). After a death, the person holding the original will must deposit it with the clerk of the court within 10 days after receiving information that the testator is dead (s. 732.901(1)), so families commonly keep the original where a trusted person can find it.
Limits a Florida will cannot override
- Homestead. If the owner is survived by a spouse or minor child, the homestead is not subject to devise, except to the spouse when there is no minor child (Art. X, s. 4(c), Fla. Const., as of October 2026; s. 732.4015(1)).
- The elective share. The surviving spouse of a person who dies domiciled in Florida has the right to an elective share of 30 percent of the elective estate (ss. 732.201 and 732.2065). Spouses can waive it, and other spousal rights, before or after marriage in a written agreement signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, and a waiver signed after marriage also requires each spouse to make a fair disclosure of his or her estate (s. 732.702(1) and (2)).
- Later marriage, children and divorce. Marriage, birth or adoption after the will does not revoke it, but an omitted spouse or child may take a share (ss. 732.507(1), 732.301 and 732.302). Divorce voids provisions for the former spouse unless an exception applies (s. 732.507(2)).
- No-contest clauses. A provision penalizing anyone for contesting the will is unenforceable (s. 732.517).
- Undue influence. A will procured by fraud, duress, mistake or undue influence is void (s. 732.5165).
Changing or revoking a Florida will
A later will or codicil revokes an earlier will to the extent they are inconsistent, and a later writing signed with will formalities can revoke it outright (s. 732.505, as of October 2026). A paper will is also revoked when the testator, or someone in the testator’s presence and at the testator’s direction, burns, tears, cancels, defaces, obliterates or destroys it intending to revoke it (s. 732.506). Revoking a later will does not revive the earlier one (s. 732.508(1)).
Frequently asked questions
Does a will need to be notarized in Florida?
No. The signing rules in s. 732.502 (as of October 2026) call for two attesting witnesses, not a notary. For a paper will, a notary or other officer takes part only to make the will self-proved (s. 732.503(1)), which lets it be admitted to probate without further proof (s. 733.201(1)).
Is a handwritten will valid in Florida?
Only if it is signed and witnessed like any other Florida will. A will in the testator’s handwriting that is executed under s. 732.502(1) is not considered a holographic will (s. 732.502(2), as of October 2026), and the rule recognizing wills made by nonresidents excludes holographic wills (s. 732.502(2)).
Is a will from another state valid in Florida?
A will executed by someone who was not a Florida resident at the time is valid in Florida if it was valid where it was signed, unless it is a holographic or oral will (s. 732.502(2), as of October 2026).
Next step
Plan Ahead prepares the Last Will and Testament, on its own or as part of a trust-based plan. 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
- Will vs. Trust in Florida: How They Differ Under Florida Law
- Protecting Minor Children in a Florida Estate Plan
- The Signing Ceremony: How a Florida Estate Plan Is Signed
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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