Florida Living Trusts
— Avoid Probate, Protect Your Family

Section 1

What Is a Revocable Living Trust?

A Revocable Living Trust — sometimes called an inter vivos trust or simply a "living trust" — is a legal arrangement you create during your lifetime in which you transfer ownership of your assets to a trust that you control. You are simultaneously the Grantor (the person who creates the trust), the Trustee (the person who manages it), and the primary Beneficiary (the person who benefits from it) during your lifetime.

Because you are the trustee, you retain complete control of every asset in the trust for as long as you live. You can buy and sell property, move money in and out, change the beneficiaries, or revoke the entire trust at any time without anyone's consent. Nothing changes in how you use or enjoy your assets.

When you die — or if you become incapacitated — a Successor Trustee (someone you named in the trust document) immediately takes over management and distribution of your assets according to your written instructions. No court is involved. No judge needs to approve anything. Your beneficiaries receive their inheritance directly and privately.

Section 2

How a Living Trust Bypasses Florida Probate

When you die owning assets in your own name — a house titled "John Smith," a bank account held by "Mary Jones" — those assets are frozen until Florida's probate process determines who gets them and pays any outstanding debts. Probate is the legal mechanism that transfer title from a deceased person to their heirs.

A Living Trust bypasses probate entirely because the assets are not titled in your personal name when you die — they are titled in the name of the trust. There is no personal estate to probate. The trust document itself is the instrument that directs the distribution of assets, and the Successor Trustee carries it out privately and immediately.

The Probate Transfer Comparison

• ✕ Without a Living Trust (Probate required): Your estate is filed with the probate court. A personal representative is appointed. Creditors are notified and given time to file claims. Assets are inventoried and appraised. After court approval, assets are distributed. Total timeline: typically 6 to 18 months for a Florida formal administration. Costs: 3%–8% of the gross estate value in attorney and court fees.
• ✓ With a Living Trust (No probate): Your Successor Trustee presents the death certificate and the trust document to financial institutions and the county recorder. Assets are retitled and distributed to your named beneficiaries. Total timeline: typically 2 to 8 weeks. Costs: minimal — only the Successor Trustee's time and any retitling fees.

Section 3

Why Probate in Florida Is Especially Worth Avoiding

Florida's probate rules are among the most costly and time-consuming in the United States. There are several reasons why Florida residents have particularly strong incentives to use a Living Trust:

• 1 Florida's statutory attorney fees are high. Florida law sets a schedule of "presumptively reasonable" attorney fees for probate administration — 3% of the first $1 million of the estate, 2.5% on the next $1 million, and declining percentages above that. On a $500,000 estate, the "presumptively reasonable" attorney fee alone is $15,000 — before court costs, personal representative fees, and other expenses.
• 2 Probate is public in Florida. All probate filings — the inventory of your assets, the list of your debts, and the distribution to your heirs — become public court records accessible to anyone. A Living Trust is entirely private.
• 3 Florida has no state estate tax, but the federal estate tax applies to estates over the federal exemption ($13.99 million per person in 2026). An A/B Living Trust can help married couples maximize this exemption, as explained below.
• 4 Florida is a popular second-home and retirement state. Many Florida residents also own property in other states, which would require a separate "ancillary probate" proceeding in each state. A Living Trust, properly funded, eliminates ancillary probate in all states simultaneously.
• 5 Incapacity planning. If you become incapacitated, your Successor Trustee can immediately manage your trust assets without going to court to establish a guardianship or conservatorship — a separate, expensive legal proceeding in Florida that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Section 4

The Standard Revocable Living Trust for a Married Couple

A standard joint Living Trust for a married couple — sometimes called a "joint revocable trust" or "married couple's trust" — is a single trust document that holds the assets of both spouses together. Both spouses are co-grantors, co-trustees, and co-beneficiaries. Either spouse can act as trustee independently. When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse continues as sole trustee and primary beneficiary, with full access to and control of all trust assets. When the surviving spouse dies, the assets pass to the couple's named beneficiaries.

How It Works — Step by Step

• 1Husband and wife create a single joint Living Trust and transfer all major assets into it — the home, investment accounts, bank accounts, business interests, etc.
• 2Both spouses serve as co-trustees. Either can manage trust assets independently. Daily life is unchanged — the couple uses their assets exactly as before.
• 3When the first spouse dies, all trust assets pass seamlessly to the surviving spouse as sole trustee and beneficiary. No probate. No delay. The surviving spouse maintains complete control.
• 4When the surviving spouse dies, the trust distributes assets to the named final beneficiaries — typically the couple's children or other heirs — without probate.

Section 5

The A/B Living Trust for a Married Couple

An A/B Living Trust — also called a "Bypass Trust," a "Credit Shelter Trust," or a "Marital/Family Trust" — is a more sophisticated arrangement designed for married couples whose combined estate may be large enough to be subject to federal estate tax, or whose estate planning goals include protecting assets for children from a prior marriage while still providing for the surviving spouse.

An A/B Trust is actually one trust document that automatically splits into two separate trusts when the first spouse dies:

Trust A — The Marital Trust (Survivor's Trust)

Trust A holds the surviving spouse's share of the estate — typically one-half the community or marital property. The surviving spouse retains complete ownership of and control over Trust A assets for the rest of their life. Trust A assets are included in the surviving spouse's taxable estate when they die.

Trust B — The Bypass Trust (Family Trust / Credit Shelter Trust)

Trust B is funded with the deceased spouse's share of the estate — typically up to the federal estate tax exemption amount. Trust B is irrevocable when the first spouse dies. The surviving spouse may receive income from Trust B and, in some structures, principal for health, education, maintenance, and support needs. However, Trust B assets are not included in the surviving spouse's taxable estate when they die — they "bypass" the estate tax. Trust B assets pass directly to the couple's named beneficiaries (often children) when the surviving spouse dies.

A/B Trusts and Blended Families

An A/B Trust is also widely used by couples in second marriages — or any couple with children from prior relationships — who want to ensure their own children ultimately inherit their share of the estate, while still providing generously for the surviving spouse during their lifetime. Without an A/B Trust, a surviving second spouse has no legal obligation to leave anything to their deceased spouse's children from a prior marriage. Trust B guarantees that the deceased spouse's assets are preserved for their chosen beneficiaries.

Section 6

Side-by-Side: Standard Living Trust vs. A/B Living Trust

Section 7

Which Trust Is Right for Your Situation?

Choose a Standard Joint Living Trust if:

• ✓Your combined estate is unlikely to exceed $13.99 million per spouse (the 2026 federal estate tax exemption) — meaning almost all Florida families
• ✓This is your only marriage and all children are children of this marriage
• ✓You fully trust your surviving spouse to distribute assets fairly to your children
• ✓Your primary goals are probate avoidance, privacy, and incapacity planning
• ✓You want the simplest, most flexible structure for your surviving spouse

Choose an A/B Living Trust if:

• →Your combined estate exceeds $10 million or may grow to the federal estate tax threshold
• →You are in a second marriage and have children from a prior relationship you want to ensure inherit your share
• →You want to guarantee that specific assets pass to specific people regardless of what the surviving spouse does
• →You are concerned that the federal estate tax exemption may decrease in future legislation and want to lock in planning now
• →Your estate plan involves a family business, significant real estate holdings, or complex financial assets

Section 8

What Else Should Your Estate Plan Include?

A Living Trust does not stand alone. A complete Florida estate plan typically includes several coordinated documents:

• 1Pour-Over Will — a backup will that "pours" any assets you forgot to transfer into the trust into the trust at your death. Without it, assets left outside the trust go through probate.
• 2Assignment of Personal Property — a document transferring personal property (furniture, jewelry, vehicles) into the trust, since many of these cannot be retitled with a deed.
• 3Durable Power of Attorney — authorizes someone to act for you on financial matters outside the trust (taxes, government agencies, matters the trustee cannot handle) if you are incapacitated.
• 4Florida Advance Directive / Health Care Surrogate — designates someone to make medical decisions for you and expresses your wishes about end-of-life care.
• 5Funding the Trust — the most critical and most commonly overlooked step. A Living Trust only avoids probate for assets that are actually titled in the name of the trust. Real estate must be retitled by deed; bank and brokerage accounts must name the trust as owner or beneficiary. An unfunded trust is an expensive piece of paper.