Florida made several important updates in the last few years that affect wills, trusts, homestead planning, and Medicaid long-term care eligibility. Below is a plain-language summary of the most important changes and what they may mean for your planning.

 

I. Planning Trends for 2025

A. Homestead Trusts & Lady Bird Deeds

More Floridians are using:

  • Enhanced Life Estate Deeds (Lady Bird deeds),

  • Irrevocable Grantor Homestead Trusts,
    to avoid probate, protect the home, and coordinate long-term-care planning.

B. Blended-Family Protections

Families with children from prior marriages are turning to:

  • Protective marital trusts,

  • Clear life-estate vs. remainder arrangements,

  • Elective-share waivers, and

  • Detailed instructions for what happens to the home after the first spouse dies.

C. Trusts for Disabled or Vulnerable Beneficiaries

More clients are asking for:

  • Special Needs Trusts,

  • Trusts with addiction-related or behavioral conditions,

  • Spendthrift protections,

  • “Automatic” conversion to a Special Needs Trust if a beneficiary becomes disabled later.

D. Coordination of Non-Probate Assets

Updating beneficiary designations on:

  • Retirement accounts,

  • Life insurance,

  • Pay-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts,
    is more important than ever because these often control where the majority of wealth actually goes.

 

II. Florida Estate & Trust Law Changes

A. Community-Property Rules for Couples Moving to Florida (HB 923 – Effective 2024)

Florida updated the rules for couples who previously lived in a community-property state (such as California, Texas, or Arizona).
The new law clarifies:

  • How property acquired in a community-property state is treated when one spouse dies in Florida.

  • How to preserve community-property benefits (such as a double step-up in basis) if the couple wants them.

  • A new two-year window for resolving title disputes relating to community-property assets.

What this means for you:
If you ever lived in a community-property state, you may need to review your current titling, wills, or trusts to ensure your property passes the way you intend.

B. New Fiduciary Income & Principal Act (FIPA) – Effective January 1, 2025

Florida completely replaced its old trust accounting law with a modern version called FIPA.

This new law affects how trustees:

  • Allocate money between “income” and “principal,”

  • Balance the interests of lifetime beneficiaries and remainder beneficiaries, and

  • Report trust activity to beneficiaries.

What this means for you:
If you have a trust (revocable or irrevocable), your document might need updated accounting or trustee-power language so it works properly under the new rules.

C. New Rules for Charitable Trusts (HB 1173 – Effective 2025)

Florida changed who has authority to enforce the terms of a charitable trust.

  • The Florida Attorney General now has primary enforcement authority.

  • Private parties generally cannot sue over the administration of a charitable trust unless they meet very specific legal requirements.

What this means:
If you have charitable provisions in your trust or are considering establishing a charitable trust, these changes affect how those provisions are supervised and enforced.

 

Call Florida estate planning attorney John Clarke at (305)467-5560 to assist you in updating or creating your estate plan!