What Are the Benefits of a Living Trust in Florida

Planning for the future is one of the best ways to protect your family and your wealth. A living trust is a common estate planning tool in Florida. This type of trust helps the family skip probate and remain private.

According to the Caring.com Wills & Estate Planning Survey of 2025, just 24% of Americans have a will, and only 13% have created a living trust. It is worrying that over 50% of Americans do not have any form of documents related to estate planning. 

Usually, the probate process is going to consist of endless paperwork, hefty legal fees, and unwarranted stress for the people left behind. According to a Jacksonville trust attorney, the probate process can be problematic for your beneficiaries if they do not have the funds to maintain their inherited property. 

Proactive estate planning allows you to anticipate both your and your beneficiaries’ future needs. Being actively involved in estate planning is one of the smartest ways to secure your family’s future for years to come.

Let’s examine the main advantages of having a living trust in Florida, compare it to the standard will, and show how you should decide on the best course of action for your estate planning needs.

How a Living Trust Works Under Florida Law

The living trust, or revocable trust, is a legal instrument provided for in Chapter 736 of the Florida Statutes. 

The assets are placed in the trust. The person who creates the trust retains complete control over it, making changes to its terms as needed by placing or removing assets and changing the trust’s beneficiaries.

Unlike most states, Florida laws stipulate that the provisions of the living trust that distribute the assets after death must be signed in the presence of two witnesses and a notary.

After your death, the successor trustee you designated will manage the distribution of the trust assets to your beneficiaries.

The Real Cost of Skipping a Living Trust in Florida

The probate process in Florida usually lasts from six months to two years, and it may cost between three percent and seven percent of the total worth of the estate, which covers attorney fees, personal representative fees, court fees, and additional charges. 

According to Florida statutes, attorney fees are calculated on three percent of the worth of the first $1 million of an estate. This calculation means that attorney fees for an estate valued at $500,000 may amount to only around $15,000.

A properly funded living trust helps avoid all probate costs for assets held in the trust. But there should be some properties transferred to the trust for it to work as intended.

Privacy: Why Probate Records Are a Genuine Concern

Probate in Florida is a public process. The public court record includes the petition, the inventory of assets, the names and street addresses of beneficiaries, and the distribution schedule. Anyone can search this information. 

Unlike probate, a living trust is a private document and no Florida court ever lodges or files it.

The practical implications of this arrangement go beyond what most people assume. Attorneys and unscrupulous financial predators have relied on probate records to find heirs who have recently lost a loved one. 

Families managing an estate distribution are already exposed, and the fact that asset amounts and contact details can be seen publicly adds another layer of danger, which a living trust prevents completely. 

What your estate includes and who ends up receiving it stays between you and your beneficiaries.

Incapacity Planning: The Benefit That Is Rarely Discussed

The greatest strength of a living trust is its provision for incapacity. In a living trust, a successor trustee will be drafted so that there is someone managing the finances should you become incapacitated unexpectedly.

If the draft of the living trust is well written, it will also indicate when the successor trustee is expected to start acting.

This specific clause helps avoid any difficulties with the transition and keeps the whole affair from becoming public. 

Failure to have a living trust forces your family to go through guardianship proceedings at the Florida courts.

Out-of-State Property and the Ancillary Probate Problem

A living trust will be beneficial to the Florida citizens who have real estate properties outside their state. A living trust can prevent ancillary probate, which requires estates to go through another probate process in every state where they own real estate. 

A living trust guarantees that the properties of all the different states will remain in one legal document. A single legal file bypasses the need for the successor trustee to file several probate processes for distribution.

What a Living Trust Cannot Do

Bear in mind that a living trust in Florida does not serve as a substitute for a will. 

As part of an estate plan that uses a trust, there is a document known as the “pour-over will” that transfers property not in the trust upon death into the trust through a limited probate process.

The pour-over will accomplish the one task that a trust cannot do: appointing a guardian for any minors.

A living trust does not protect the grantor’s assets from creditors during their lifetime either. As part of a revocable trust’s nature, the grantor has total control over it. This feature makes the assets within the trust accessible.

Frequently Asked Questions

What assets should be included in a Florida living trust?

Properties, bank accounts, securities accounts, and business interests should be included in a living trust. Living trusts are used when managing an individual’s personal assets that are not beneficiary-designated under the will.

Does a living trust save estate taxes in Florida?

Not really. There is no estate tax in Florida. The main benefit of a living trust is that it does not lower federal estate tax, though it avoids probate.

What happens if I forget to put an asset in the trust?

Assets not placed in the living trust will go through probate. You can use a pour-over will to put them into the trust.

Can I serve as my own trustee in Florida?

Yes. The majority of people act as trustees of themselves while alive and designate another trustee of the trust when incapable of handling affairs or deceased.

How does a living trust handle homestead property in Florida?

As a general rule, a Florida homestead can legally be placed in a revocable living trust, which allows it to maintain its homestead, tax, and creditor advantages.

Planning Now Rather Than Later

The advantage of creating a living trust in Florida is quite concrete and can be quantified in several ways. The cost of avoiding probate is that money will go to the beneficiaries rather than being eaten away by probate costs. 

Protection from privacy issues may completely remove estate material from public documents. Incapacity planning can prevent a situation where court intervention becomes necessary.

Having properties in several states, you avoid multistate probate procedures thanks to a properly funded trust.

The consumer guide provided by The Florida Bar regarding revocable trusts, along with the text of Florida Chapter 736 prepared by the Florida Legislature, provides a starting point for researching Florida trust law. 

What the trust will accomplish depends greatly on its creation and funding.