Do I Need a Florida Will If I Already Have One From Another State?

Florida may recognize the will you already signed

Florida Statutes section 732.502 provides that a written will executed by a nonresident may be valid in Florida if it was valid under the law of the state or country where it was signed. That rule does not generally extend to an unwitnessed holographic will or an oral will.

This means a conventional will prepared and properly witnessed in another state may continue to work after a move. It does not mean every provision will operate in Florida exactly as expected, or that the document will be as easy to prove and administer here as a Florida-planned document.

Why have a Florida lawyer review it?

The Florida Bar recommends that people who move to Florida have an existing will reviewed. The review is not simply about replacing the state name on the first page. It is a chance to compare the document with Florida rules, your current family, your property, and the people you named to act.

• Execution and self-proof: a properly self-proved will can generally be admitted to probate without locating a witness to provide additional proof.
• Personal representative: Florida limits when a person who lives outside Florida may serve. A longtime friend or professional named in another state may not qualify here.
• Florida homestead: the Florida Constitution and statutes can restrict how a homestead may pass when an owner is survived by a spouse or minor child.
• Changed circumstances: marriage, divorce, births, deaths, disability, new property, or changed relationships may make old instructions incomplete or outdated.
• Coordination: beneficiary designations, jointly owned property, trusts, and business interests may pass outside the will and should be reviewed as part of the same plan.

What if I live in two states?

Owning a Florida home or spending several months here does not by itself answer where you are domiciled. Domicile generally concerns the place you intend to make your permanent home, and it can affect where an estate is primarily administered and which rules apply to particular issues.

Seasonal residents should avoid treating the question as a day-count shortcut. Your homes, tax filings, voter registration, driver license, declarations in legal documents, business and family connections, and other conduct may point in different directions. Advice may be needed in both states when the facts are mixed.

A focused review does not always mean starting over

After review, counsel may conclude that the existing will remains suitable, recommend a codicil, or recommend a new Florida will and coordinated documents. The right answer depends on the instrument and the client—not on a blanket rule that every new Florida resident must immediately discard an earlier plan.

Bring the complete signed will, all amendments, trust documents, recent deeds, beneficiary designations, and a current list of assets and decision-makers. Do not mark up, unstaple, or write on an original will before receiving advice.