Winter 2025: Florida Estate Planning Update

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

These tools help 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
• 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

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
• 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.

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Call Florida estate planning attorney contact John Clarke at (954) 556-8952 to assist you in updating or creating your estate plan!