Estate Planning for Single Parents in Florida: Guardians and Money
By Erik Newton, attorney. Admitted in Florida and Illinois.
For a single parent in Florida, an estate plan answers two separate questions: who would raise the child, and who would manage the money the child receives. Florida law answers the first question differently depending on whether the other parent is living and is a natural guardian (s. 744.301(1), as of October 2026). The second question is where a plan does most of its work, because a child has the rights of an adult at 18, and money left to a minor without a plan can require a court-supervised guardianship (ss. 743.07(1) and 744.301(2)).
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When the other parent is living
Florida law makes parents jointly the natural guardians of their children, unless their parental rights have been terminated (s. 744.301(1), as of October 2026). The same subsection sets the rules single parents ask about:
- If one parent dies, the surviving parent remains the sole natural guardian, even after remarrying.
- After a divorce, natural guardianship belongs to the parent granted sole parental responsibility; with shared parental responsibility, both parents remain natural guardians.
- For a child born to parents who were not married, the mother and a father who has established paternity under s. 742.011 or s. 742.10 are the natural guardians. If paternity has not been established, the mother is the natural guardian.
A guardian named in a plan therefore matters most when no parent can serve. Florida’s preneed declaration for a minor, for example, names a guardian to serve if the child’s last surviving parent dies or becomes incapacitated (s. 744.3046(1)).
Naming a guardian for the child
Florida law gives three ways to name the person who would step in (as of October 2026):
- Preneed guardian declaration for a minor. Both parents, if living, or the surviving parent, may name a preneed guardian of the person, of the property, or both, and an alternate (s. 744.3046(1)). The declaration is signed before at least two attesting witnesses present at the same time, gives each child’s full name, date of birth and Social Security number, if any, and must be filed with the clerk of court (s. 744.3046(2) and (3)). It creates a rebuttable presumption that the named guardian is entitled to serve, and the court is not bound to appoint a person found unqualified (s. 744.3046(4)).
- Standby guardian. The child’s natural guardians can petition the court now to appoint a standby guardian, with notice of the hearing to both parents unless they waive it in writing or the court waives it for good cause; the standby guardian takes on the duties immediately when the last surviving natural guardian dies or is adjudicated incapacitated and must petition for confirmation within 20 days (s. 744.304(1), (3) and (4)).
- A guardian named in a will. The court must consider any person designated as guardian in a will in which the child is a beneficiary (s. 744.312(3)(c)).
If the person named is qualified, the court appoints a standby or preneed guardian “unless the court determines that appointing such person is contrary to the best interests of the ward” (s. 744.312(1)). The court also considers the preference of a child who is 14 or older (s. 744.312(3)(b)).
Residence matters. A Florida resident who is sui juris and 18 or older qualifies, unless disqualified, for example by a felony conviction (s. 744.309(1)(a) and (3)). A nonresident qualifies only if related to the child in the ways the statute lists, which include a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt, or is the spouse of a person otherwise qualified under the statute (s. 744.309(2)). A close family friend who lives in another state is not on that list.
Money left to a child
At 18, a person in Florida has the rights and obligations of an adult (s. 743.07(1), as of October 2026). Until then, how the money is managed depends on how it is left.
- Up to $15,000, through the natural guardian. A natural guardian may collect and manage property a child receives from an estate, a trust, a life insurance policy or annuity, or a benefit plan, without court appointment, authority or bond, if the amounts received in the aggregate do not exceed $15,000 (s. 744.301(2)). The natural guardian may not, without a court order, use the child’s property for the guardian’s own benefit or to meet the guardian’s own support obligation to the child (s. 744.301(4)). For a single parent, that natural guardian may be the child’s other parent.
- A court-appointed guardian of the property. On petition, the court can appoint a guardian for a minor without an incapacity hearing (ss. 744.3021(1) and 744.342). A guardian of the property must file an annual accounting with the court (s. 744.3678(1)), and the guardianship ends when the ward becomes sui juris, that is, legally an adult (s. 744.521).
- A custodian under the Florida Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. A will, trust, deed or beneficiary designation can nominate a custodian for a minor (s. 710.104(1)). The custodian may spend custodial property for the child’s benefit without a court order (s. 710.116(1)). Property transferred by gift, or under a will or trust that authorizes the transfer, goes to the child at 21, or at 25 if the transferor sets up the custodianship that way; for a lifetime gift set to 25, the child may still demand the property at 21 unless the transferor limited that right as s. 710.123(3) allows. Property transferred under s. 710.107 or s. 710.108, by a fiduciary without that authority or by someone holding property for the child, goes to the child at 18 (s. 710.123(1) and (2)).
- A trust for the child. A Florida trustee must administer the trust in good faith and in accordance with its terms and purposes (s. 736.0801), and the settlor’s intent as expressed in the trust’s terms controls the legal effect of its dispositions (s. 736.1101(1)). A trust can therefore set its own ages and purposes, such as education or a first home, and name a trustee other than the other parent.
Life insurance and retirement accounts pass under their beneficiary designations. Naming the child directly brings the $15,000 natural guardian limit into play (s. 744.301(2)(d) and (e)); the alternatives are naming the child’s trust or nominating a custodian in the designation (s. 710.104(1)).
Health care decisions for the child
A natural guardian, legal custodian or legal guardian of the person of a minor may designate a competent adult as the child’s health care surrogate, in a document signed before two subscribing adult witnesses; the surrogate cannot be one of the witnesses (s. 765.2035(1) and (2), as of October 2026). Unless it states an end date, the designation stays in effect until revoked (s. 765.2035(6)). The suggested form in s. 765.2038 has the surrogate act when the parent is not able or reasonably available to consent to treatment, which suits a single parent who travels or works long shifts.
The parent’s own documents
If the parent becomes incapacitated rather than dies, a durable power of attorney lets a chosen agent handle the parent’s finances; it is signed by the principal and two subscribing witnesses and acknowledged before a notary (s. 709.2105(2), as of October 2026; see the Durable Power of Attorney guide). A health care surrogate designation names who makes the parent’s own medical decisions and is signed before two subscribing adult witnesses (s. 765.202(1)).
Frequently asked questions
Who gets custody of a child if a single parent dies in Florida?
If one parent dies, the surviving parent remains the sole natural guardian (s. 744.301(1), as of October 2026). If no parent can serve, the court appoints a guardian, and it must appoint a qualified preneed or standby guardian unless that appointment is contrary to the child’s best interests (s. 744.312(1)).
At what age does a child receive an inheritance in Florida?
It depends on how the money is left (as of October 2026). A guardianship ends at adulthood, 18 (ss. 743.07(1) and 744.521). A custodianship ends at 21, or 25 if the transferor chose it, for gifts and for transfers a will or trust authorizes, though a child whose lifetime gift was set to 25 may still demand it at 21 unless the transferor limited that right (s. 710.123(1)(a), (2) and (3)); it ends at 18 for transfers under s. 710.107 or s. 710.108 (s. 710.123(1)(b)). A trust follows its own terms (s. 736.1101(1)).
Does naming a guardian in a will override the other parent?
A preneed declaration for a minor applies when the last surviving parent dies or becomes incapacitated (s. 744.3046(1), as of October 2026), and a guardian named in a will under which the child is a beneficiary is someone the court must consider (s. 744.312(3)(c)). Neither section gives a named guardian priority over a living parent who is the child’s natural guardian under s. 744.301(1).
Next step
Plan Ahead prepares Florida wills, revocable living trusts, durable powers of attorney, advance health care directives and Declarations of Preneed Guardian, including the declaration and the health care surrogate designation for a minor. Planning meetings are by Zoom, and 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 Florida page.
Related reading
- Protecting Minor Children in a Florida Estate Plan
- Declaration of Preneed Guardian 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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