Updating Your Estate Plan After Divorce, Marriage, or a Move to Florida

Updating your estate plan after divorce, marriage, or a move to Florida means revisiting your will, trust, beneficiary designations, and powers of attorney so they reflect your current family and the laws of your current state. Each of these three life events changes who inherits, who can act for you, and whether your documents are even valid where you live. The good news: in most cases a focused review and a few targeted updates are enough, but skipping that review is one of the most common and costly mistakes young families make.

I’ve sat across the table from too many people who assumed their old paperwork would “just work.” It usually doesn’t, or it works in a way they never intended. Below is how to think about each triggering event, what Florida law actually does to your documents, and the order in which to tackle the updates.

Why these three events matter more than any others

Most estate plans are written as a snapshot of one moment in your life. You name the people you trust, the people you love, and the people you want to provide for. Divorce, marriage, and relocation each scramble that snapshot in a different way.

• Marriage adds a person with significant legal rights to your estate, sometimes rights that override what your will says.
• Divorce removes a person who is probably still named throughout your documents and on accounts you’ve forgotten about.
• A move to Florida changes the legal rules that govern everything: spousal protections, homestead, witnessing requirements, and how your documents must be executed to hold up.

If you’re a first-time planner who just hit one of these milestones, this is precisely the moment to put a plan in place rather than patch an old one. And if you already have documents from another state, don’t assume they transfer cleanly. They often don’t.

Updating your estate plan after marriage

When you marry, Florida law steps in to protect your new spouse whether or not your documents mention them. Two provisions matter most.

The pretermitted spouse rule

Under Florida Statutes section 732.301, if you made your will before the marriage and didn’t provide for your new spouse (or show that the omission was intentional, or provide for them outside the will), that spouse is entitled to an intestate share, as if you had died without a will. In plain terms: an old will drafted while you were single can be partially rewritten by operation of law the moment you marry. That’s not always a bad outcome, but it’s rarely the outcome people planned.

The elective share

Florida also gives a surviving spouse the right to claim an elective share of 30% of the elective estate under sections 732.201–732.2155. This right exists even if your will leaves the spouse nothing, and the elective estate reaches well beyond your probate assets to include certain trusts, jointly held property, and payable-on-death accounts. You cannot fully disinherit a spouse in Florida without a valid marital agreement, so if you’re entering a second marriage or a blended family, this needs deliberate planning.

For newly married couples building a plan for the first time, the practical to-do list is short but important:

1. Create or update your wills (and a revocable living trust if appropriate) to name each other and any children.
2. Update beneficiary designations on life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, and bank accounts. These pass outside your will and control regardless of what your will says.
3. Execute new durable powers of attorney and health care designations naming your spouse, if that’s your wish.
4. If you’re blending families, consider a trust to balance providing for your spouse with protecting children from a prior relationship.

Couples who own a home together should pay special attention to how title is held and how it interacts with Florida’s homestead protections. A revocable trust or a properly structured deed can keep the home out of probate, and tools like illustrate the kind of layered planning that experienced firms use when a primary residence is the family’s largest asset.

Updating your estate plan after divorce

Divorce is the event people most often think is “handled” automatically, and they’re partly right, which is exactly what makes it dangerous.

What Florida revokes for you

Florida Statutes section 732.507(2) automatically voids any provision of your will that benefits a former spouse upon divorce or annulment, treating that ex-spouse as if they had predeceased you. Section 732.703 extends similar treatment to many non-probate assets, life insurance, annuities, and certain payable-on-death and retirement designations, so that the ex-spouse is removed by default after the marriage is dissolved.

What Florida does not fix

Here’s the trap. These statutes have real limits, and relying on them is risky:

• Federal law can override state law. Employer-sponsored retirement plans governed by ERISA (most 401(k)s and pensions) follow the beneficiary form on file, not the Florida statute. If your ex is still named on a 401(k), they may well receive it.
• Gaps appear when your ex was your only named beneficiary. Removing them by law can leave a provision with no taker, sending assets through intestacy or to people you’d never have chosen.
• Fiduciary roles need rethinking. Your ex may still be named as your personal representative, trustee, health care surrogate, or attorney-in-fact. Some of those revoke on divorce; you should not gamble on which.
• Guardianship of minor children deserves a fresh, intentional decision after a divorce reshapes your family.

My standard advice after a divorce is to treat every document and every account as if it still names your ex until you’ve personally confirmed otherwise. Rewrite the will or trust, re-execute your powers of attorney and health care directives, and submit fresh beneficiary forms in writing to every financial institution. Don’t trust your memory about which accounts list whom.

Updating your estate plan after a move to Florida

Moving here from New York, New Jersey, or anywhere else doesn’t automatically invalidate your out-of-state documents, but it can leave you with a plan that’s awkward, partially unenforceable, or simply mismatched to Florida law.

Wills and execution formalities

Florida generally honors a will validly executed under another state’s law, but Florida does not recognize holographic (handwritten, unwitnessed) or nuncupative (oral) wills, even if your prior state did. Florida also has strict execution requirements under section 732.502, including two witnesses, and it allows self-proved wills (section 732.503) that streamline probate. A will that wasn’t self-proved elsewhere can mean extra steps and cost for your family. Re-executing in Florida is usually cheaper than the friction of proving an out-of-state will later.

Powers of attorney and health care documents

This is where out-of-state clients get tripped up most. Florida’s Power of Attorney Act (Chapter 709) is demanding: durable powers of attorney must meet specific Florida execution standards, and Florida does not recognize “springing” powers that activate only upon incapacity. Banks and title companies here scrutinize POAs closely and often reject documents that don’t read the way Florida expects. Your health care surrogate designation, living will, and HIPAA authorization should likewise be redone on Florida forms so hospitals and physicians accept them without hesitation.

Homestead, trusts, and the things that make Florida unique

Florida’s homestead protections are among the strongest in the country, shielding your primary residence from most creditors, but they also restrict how you can leave the home if you have a spouse or minor child. Devise your homestead incorrectly and the gift can be void, with the property passing under fixed statutory rules instead. A revocable living trust from your old state generally remains valid here, but it should be reviewed so its funding, real estate provisions, and homestead language line up with Florida law.

One more point for transplants: Florida has no state estate tax or inheritance tax, which is part of why so many families move here. That doesn’t eliminate federal estate tax exposure for larger estates, and it doesn’t mean planning is optional, but it does change the calculus, especially for retirees and those carrying assets or beneficiaries in higher-tax states.

The documents to revisit, in order

Whichever event brought you here, work through this checklist with an attorney:

1. Last will and testament — re-execute under Florida formalities; make it self-proved.
2. Revocable living trust — review funding and homestead language; restate if it predates your move or life change.
3. Beneficiary designations — life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities, payable-on-death accounts. These override your will, period.
4. Durable power of attorney — redo on a compliant Florida form.
5. Health care surrogate, living will, and HIPAA release — Florida forms your providers will accept.
6. Guardian nominations for minor children — revisit after any family change.

Specialized strategies sometimes belong in the mix too. Families planning around a loved one with a disability or around Medicaid eligibility, for example, may benefit from instruments like a , which lets a person preserve needs-based benefits while still using their income. The specifics differ from state to state, but the principle, matching the tool to the family’s real situation, is universal. For Florida-specific guidance, our can map your existing documents to local law.

When to get help, and how we work with first-time planners

You don’t need a complicated estate to need an updated one. If you’ve just married, just divorced, or just unpacked the moving boxes in Palm Beach County, that’s the moment to act, before the next emergency makes the gaps in your plan everyone else’s problem. We routinely help young Boca Raton families build a first plan from scratch and help newcomers translate out-of-state documents into ones that work here.

You can start by reviewing our overview of Florida wills and how the Florida probate process affects what your family will face, then reach out for a consultation to put the pieces in place.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Estate planning is fact-specific, and the right strategy depends on your assets, family, and goals. Consult a licensed Florida attorney about your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does getting divorced in Florida automatically remove my ex-spouse from my will?

Largely yes. Florida Statutes section 732.507(2) voids will provisions favoring a former spouse after divorce, treating them as if they predeceased you, and section 732.703 removes them from many non-probate assets. But ERISA-governed retirement plans like 401(k)s follow the beneficiary form on file regardless of state law, and removing your ex can leave gaps. You should still rewrite your documents and re-submit every beneficiary form.

Do I need to redo my will and power of attorney after moving to Florida?

Your out-of-state will is usually still valid, but Florida won’t accept handwritten or oral wills and prefers self-proved wills for easier probate. Powers of attorney are the bigger issue: Florida’s Chapter 709 has strict requirements and rejects springing POAs, so banks here often refuse out-of-state forms. Re-executing your will, POA, and health care documents on Florida forms is strongly recommended.

What happens to my old will if I get married in Florida?

Under Florida’s pretermitted spouse statute (section 732.301), a will made before your marriage that doesn’t provide for your new spouse can give that spouse an intestate share by law. Your spouse also has an elective share of 30% of the elective estate. Update your will and beneficiary designations after marriage so your plan reflects your actual wishes rather than the statutory defaults.

Can I fully disinherit my spouse in Florida?

Generally no, not without a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Florida’s elective share entitles a surviving spouse to 30% of the elective estate, which reaches beyond probate assets into certain trusts, joint property, and payable-on-death accounts. If you want to limit a spouse’s inheritance, you need a properly executed marital agreement and careful planning with an attorney.

Why update beneficiary designations if I'm already updating my will?

Because beneficiary designations override your will. Assets like life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities, and payable-on-death accounts pass directly to the named beneficiary no matter what your will says. After a marriage, divorce, or move, an outdated form can send money to the wrong person, so updating these designations is just as important as rewriting your will.