Estate planning in Florida
Florida estate plans with attorney Erik Newton: planning by video, signing at the Lake Worth Beach office or at home.
Plan Ahead in Florida
Lake Worth Beach office
631 Lucerne Ave., Ste. 22
Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460
(561) 464-4529
Office details
By video
Meet your attorney by video from anywhere in Florida.
Florida estate planning guides
Florida law, in plain words: a guide for each part of a plan.
- More Florida services All services
- Wills
- Florida homestead planning
- Preneed guardian declarations
- Probate administration
- Asset protection planning
- Special needs trusts
- Gun trusts
- Business succession planning
What makes Florida different
Homestead
Florida law limits leaving a homestead by will or trust when the owner is survived by a spouse or minor child.
Lady bird deeds
A lady bird deed lets a Florida owner keep the home and the power to sell it, and is designed to pass it outside probate.
Probate
Florida calls an executor a personal representative, and a person not domiciled in Florida can qualify only as one of the relatives Florida law lists.
Signing
Florida requires a will signed at the end before at least two witnesses, who sign in the presence of the signer and each other.
Your Florida attorney
Your plan is designed with the attorney below, from the first session to the signing.
Erik Newton
Attorney
- Admitted in Florida and Illinois
- Meets clients at the Lake Worth Beach office
- Or by video, anywhere in Florida
How it works
From the first conversation to a signed plan, and a review every year.
Complimentary Peace of Mind Planning Session
Start with a short conversation about your family and what you want your plan to do. Ask by form, by phone or by video. Plans are flat-fee, set out in the engagement agreement after the complimentary session.
Get started
Planning meetings
By video (Zoom). Your attorney designs the plan with you and drafts the documents.
See the services
Signings
In person, at the office or at your home. The firm provides the two witnesses and the notary.
Meet Erik Newton
Afterwards
Plans include an annual 30-minute plan review at no charge; changes are billed at then-current rates.
Florida offices
Florida
Lake Worth Beach
- 631 Lucerne Ave., Ste. 22
Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460 - (561) 464-4529
- Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- In person at this office or at home for signings, or by video (Zoom) for planning meetings
- Erik Newton, Attorney
Counties we serve in Florida
Plan by video from anywhere in Florida; sign at the office or at home.
Watch the Florida estate planning webinar
A recorded presentation on estate planning in Florida. Enter your name and email address to watch it.
Start with a Peace of Mind Planning Session
The session is complimentary. Tell us how to reach you and we will set a time.
Your session is with
Erik Newton
Attorney
Admitted in Florida and Illinois
Or call (561) 464-4529
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Questions about estate planning in Florida
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough in Florida?
That is a planning judgment for each family. In Florida, a will cannot be used to prove title to property until it is admitted to probate, while a revocable trust controls the property titled to its trustee or made payable to it. Either way, if the owner leaves a spouse or minor child, Florida’s homestead rules limit how a will or trust can leave the home.
What is a lady bird deed?
A lady bird deed, also called an enhanced life estate deed, is a deed in which a Florida owner keeps the right to live in the property for life, keeps the power to sell or mortgage it, and names who receives it at death. It is designed so the property passes under the deed itself rather than through a will and probate. For a Florida homestead, a surviving spouse or minor child can limit who receives the home.
Can I meet by video instead of at the office?
Yes. Planning meetings are held by video (Zoom). The signing is in person, at the office or at your home, with the two witnesses and the notary provided by the firm.
What happens at the first session?
The complimentary Peace of Mind Planning Session takes about an hour. We talk through your family and what you want your plan to do, explain the process and the flat fee, and you decide whether to go ahead.