Trust vs. Will in Florida: Which One Do You Actually Need?

A Florida will controls probate assets; a funded revocable living trust can keep those same assets out of probate. Most arguments about “will vs. trust” are really arguments about whether you will fund the trust and keep it funded. An unfunded trust is an expensive will with extra paperwork.

What a Will Does

A last will and testament names who inherits probate assets, who serves as personal representative, and often who serves as guardian of minor children. It does not avoid Florida probate. It is the instruction set the probate court follows. Assets with living beneficiaries, joint survivorship owners, or trust title skip the will entirely, which is why “my will leaves everything to my daughter” fails when the IRA still names an ex-spouse.

Florida wills have formal execution rules. Get those wrong and you may have no will at all. For the probate path itself, start with formal vs. summary administration.

What a Revocable Living Trust Does

You create a trust, name yourself (usually) as trustee while living, and retitle assets into the trust. During life you keep control and can amend or revoke. At death, the successor trustee distributes under the trust without a probate of the funded assets, subject to Florida trustee duties and notices. See the trust administration silo for what happens after death, and trustee duties for the statutory job description.

Incapacity planning is the other half: a funded trust plus a durable power of attorney is how many Florida clients stay out of guardianship court for property management. The trust does not replace medical directives.

The Funding Problem

Title is destiny. A trust that never receives the house, the brokerage account, and the LLC interest does not avoid probate of those assets. New accounts opened later in individual name fall back into probate. Funding is maintenance, not a closing ceremony.

A will remains useful even with a trust: as a pour-over for stray assets, and for nominations a trust cannot handle cleanly (for example, guardian nominations for minors).

Homestead Changes the Comparison

Florida homestead has constitutional devise limits when a spouse or minor child survives (Art. X, §4, Fla. Const.; §732.4015, Fla. Stat.). Putting the house in a revocable trust does not let you ignore those limits. Deeding homestead into a trust, or using a Lady Bird deed, has to be designed against the homestead rules, not copied from another state’s form. Details live on Florida homestead in probate.

When a Will (Plus Titling) Is Enough

Modest assets, clean beneficiary designations, and no privacy concern about probate
No minor children and no second-marriage complexity
Willingness to accept probate delay and cost on whatever remains in sole name

When a Trust Usually Earns Its Keep

Multiple real-estate parcels or out-of-state property coordination (and desire to limit ancillary exposure)
Privacy preference
Blended family distributions that need staged control; see blended-family planning
Desire to simplify for a successor who should not learn probate procedure under grief deadlines

The Lady Bird Middle Path for One House

If the only Florida real estate is a homestead or condo and the rest of the estate is already nonprobate, an enhanced life estate (Lady Bird) deed can clear the house without a full trust. It still is not a plan for IRAs, businesses, or the elective share.

Spouse Rights Still Apply

Neither a will nor a revocable trust is a magic wand against the Florida elective share. Revocable-trust assets generally sit inside the elective estate under §732.2035, Fla. Stat. Plan the spouse’s share on purpose.

Common Questions

Is a trust only for the wealthy? No. It is for people who will fund it and whose asset mix makes probate avoidance worth the setup and maintenance.

Can I write my own will? Florida allows self-prepared wills that meet execution formalities. Typing it is the easy part; the failures come from homestead, beneficiaries, and titles that contradict the document. See the firm’s FAQ on DIY wills if you are tempted.

Do I still need probate if I have a trust? Often a small pour-over probate remains for untitled assets. Sometimes you need both trust administration and probate together, covered in trust and probate together.

Reviewed by David A. Shulman, Florida Bar Board Certified in Wills, Trusts and Estates. Last updated July 2026.