Revocable living trusts in Florida: what they do, how to sign and fund one, and what happens after

Our estate planning page introduces revocable trusts and how they fit with wills and powers of attorney. This guide goes into the mechanics.

Florida is stricter than many states. If you live in Florida when you sign, the "testamentary aspects" of the trust, meaning the provisions that dispose of property at or after your death, are invalid unless you sign with the formalities required for a will (Fla. Stat. 736.0403(2)(b)). That means you sign at the end, in front of at least two witnesses, and the witnesses sign in your presence and in each other's (Fla. Stat. 732.502). Most lawyers also have the trust notarized, since a notarized signature is needed for recording and is useful for banks.

A trust signed with only a notary, which may be fine elsewhere, can leave the death provisions open to challenge in Florida. If you moved here with a trust from another state, have it reviewed.

Unless the document says it's irrevocable, a Florida trust is revocable. You can amend or revoke it using the method it describes (Fla. Stat. 736.0602). Your agent under a power of attorney can do so only as allowed by Fla. Stat. 709.2202: that power must be specifically initialed, and amendment by an agent is allowed only if the trust itself expressly permits it.

A trust controls only what it owns or what names it as beneficiary. "Funding" means moving property into it.

The home. You sign and record a new deed to yourself as trustee. Florida law gives a trustee named in a recorded deed the powers stated in it, and people who buy from the trustee don't need to look behind the deed (Fla. Stat. 689.073). The homestead tax exemption is available to a person with "beneficial title in equity" (Fla. Stat. 196.031); confirm with your property appraiser after recording. Federal law generally bars a lender from calling a mortgage due when you transfer a home to a living trust in which you remain a beneficiary (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(8)). Some people use a Lady Bird deed for the home instead.

One caution. If you're married or have a minor child, Florida's homestead restrictions may still apply to a home in a revocable trust, because you keep the power to take it back (Fla. Stat. 732.4017). Your spouse may need to sign the deed.

Bank and brokerage accounts. You retitle them in the trustee's name, or name the trust as payable-on-death or transfer-on-death beneficiary. Ask each institution what it needs; many want a certification of trust rather than the whole document.

Retirement accounts and life insurance. IRAs and 401(k)s generally can't be retitled during life without cashing out. Instead, you update the beneficiary form. Whether to name the trust, a person, or both has income tax effects, so it's worth discussing with your lawyer and CPA.

Out-of-state real estate. Deeding it to the trust can avoid a second probate where the property is located.

More: How to fund a revocable trust in Florida

A pour-over will leaves anything outside the trust to the trustee. Florida allows a will to leave property to the trustee of a trust that exists when the will is signed or is signed at the same time (Fla. Stat. 732.513). It's a safety net, not a substitute for funding. Property passing under the pour-over will generally still goes through probate first. Our guide to Florida probate explains what that involves.

When you die, the trust becomes irrevocable and your successor trustee takes over. A typical sequence:

Gather the trust documents, death certificates, and a list of trust property. File a notice of trust with the court in the county where you lived, listing your name, date of death, the trust's title and date, and the trustee's name and address (Fla. Stat. 736.05055). Within 60 days, notify the qualified beneficiaries that the trust exists, who created it, that they can request a copy, and their right to accountings (Fla. Stat. 736.0813). Get a tax ID number for the trust. The trustee and any personal representative may elect to treat the trust as part of the estate for income tax (26 U.S.C. 645). Pay expenses and valid claims. If a probate estate exists and is short, the personal representative can require the trustee to pay estate expenses and claims (Fla. Stat. 736.05053). In general, claims against a decedent are barred two years after death (Fla. Stat. 733.710); a probate case with a creditor notice may shorten that window. Keep records and provide trust accountings (Fla. Stat. 736.08135), then distribute under the trust's terms.

Throughout, the trustee must act solely in the beneficiaries' interests and avoid self-dealing (Fla. Stat. 736.0802). A trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation unless the trust says otherwise (Fla. Stat. 736.0708). A beneficiary generally has six months to challenge a matter adequately disclosed in a trust disclosure document once the required notice is given (Fla. Stat. 736.1008). Our after-a-death guide covers the first weeks more broadly.

Assume a widower in Boynton Beach signs a trust in 2026, deeds his condo to himself as trustee and retitles his brokerage account. He forgets a $40,000 certificate of deposit in his own name. At his death, his daughter, as successor trustee, can sell the condo and manage the account without a court case. The certificate of deposit, though, goes through probate under his pour-over will, likely by summary administration, before it reaches the trust. One trip to the bank would have avoided that.