Updating Your Estate Plan After Divorce, Marriage, or a Move to Florida

Updating your estate plan after a divorce, marriage, or a move to Florida means reviewing and revising your will, trust, beneficiary designations, and powers of attorney so they reflect your current family, your current wishes, and Florida law. A major life change can quietly invalidate parts of an older plan, redirect money to the wrong people, or trigger default rules you never intended. The fix is usually straightforward: a focused review with a Florida estate planning attorney, followed by new signed documents that replace the outdated ones.

I’ve sat across the table from a lot of young couples and newly single parents who assumed their paperwork “still worked.” Sometimes it does. Often it doesn’t, and the gaps don’t surface until probate, when it’s too late and far more expensive to fix. Here is what actually changes after each of these three events, and what to do about it.

Why life changes break an estate plan

An estate plan is a snapshot. It captures who you trusted, who depended on you, and what you owned on the day you signed it. Divorce, marriage, and relocation each move at least one of those variables, and frequently all three. The documents themselves don’t update automatically, even when the law tries to help.

Three things tend to go wrong:

• The wrong people are still named. An ex-spouse as executor, a former in-law as trustee, an old partner as health care surrogate.
• Beneficiary designations override your will. Life insurance, 401(k)s, IRAs, and payable-on-death accounts pass by contract, not by your will. They ignore your trust entirely unless you coordinate them.
• State law fills the gaps differently than you expect. Florida’s intestacy and spousal-rights rules are not the same as New York’s, New Jersey’s, or anywhere else you came from.

If you’re newly married, recently divorced, or you’ve just unpacked the moving boxes in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach, treat your old documents as drafts until a lawyer confirms they still do what you want.

Updating your estate plan after divorce

Florida is unusual in how aggressively it protects you from your ex. Under Florida Statutes § 732.507(2), any provision in your will that benefits your former spouse is treated as void the moment the divorce is final, as if your ex died before you. A parallel rule, § 732.703, voids ex-spouse designations on many assets that pass outside the will, including certain life insurance, annuities, and retirement accounts governed by Florida law.

That sounds like a safety net, and it is. But don’t lean on it.

Why the automatic rules aren’t enough

The statutory voiding has real limits. It does not reach plans governed by federal ERISA law, which controls most employer-sponsored 401(k)s and pensions. The U.S. Supreme Court made this clear in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff and again in Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont: the plan pays whoever is named on the beneficiary form, divorce or not. If your ex is still listed on your workplace 401(k), your ex may well collect it.

The voiding also can’t redraft your plan for you. If your will named your spouse as the primary beneficiary and your sister as the backup, voiding the spouse may shift everything to your sister, who you may not have wanted in that role. And the statute does nothing about who’s in charge: your nominated personal representative, your trustee, your agent under a power of attorney. Those need affirmative changes.

Your divorce checklist

1. Sign a new will or amend your existing one to remove your ex and name new beneficiaries and a new personal representative.
2. Revoke and replace any revocable living trust provisions naming your former spouse as trustee or beneficiary.
3. Execute a new durable power of attorney and a new health care surrogate designation. Most people name a spouse; after divorce, that designation needs to go.
4. Update every beneficiary form: life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities, and payable-on-death bank accounts. Do this directly with each institution.
5. If you have minor children, name a guardian, and consider a trust so a young child’s inheritance is managed by an adult you choose rather than handed over outright at 18.
6. Read your divorce decree. Many settlements require you to keep life insurance in place for the children or the ex. Cancelling it can be a breach.

One caution specific to younger clients: don’t update beneficiary forms while a divorce is still pending. Florida’s automatic temporary relief and standing orders in many circuits restrict changing beneficiaries mid-case. Coordinate timing with your family lawyer.

Updating your estate plan after marriage

Marriage is the happier prompt, and the easier one to ignore. New spouses tend to assume the other will “just inherit everything.” In Florida, that’s only partly true, and the default rules can produce results neither of you wants.

Florida gives a spouse rights you can’t fully disinherit

Florida law grants a surviving spouse several protections that override an outdated will:

• Elective share. Under Florida Statutes § 732.201 and following, a surviving spouse may claim 30% of the deceased spouse’s elective estate, regardless of what the will says. You cannot quietly write your spouse out.
• Pretermitted spouse. If you made your will before the marriage and never updated it, § 732.301 generally gives your new spouse an intestate share, as though you had no will, unless the will contemplated the marriage or a valid prenuptial agreement controls.
• Homestead protections. Florida’s constitutional homestead rules sharply limit how you can leave your primary residence if you’re married or have minor children. You cannot simply devise the house to someone else.

So even if you do nothing, your new spouse is not powerless. The problem is that the defaults are blunt instruments. They don’t account for children from a prior relationship, assets you want kept separate, or a blended family where balance matters.

What to actually do after the wedding

For first-time planners, this is the moment to build a real foundation rather than patch an old one:

1. Execute a will (or a revocable living trust) that names your spouse intentionally, with the share and structure you actually want.
2. Add or update beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance. Note that naming a spouse on an IRA carries special spousal-rollover tax advantages.
3. Sign new powers of attorney and a health care surrogate naming your spouse, so your partner can act for you in a medical or financial emergency.
4. If either of you has children from a prior relationship, talk to a lawyer about a trust that provides for your spouse during life while preserving an inheritance for your kids. The “everything to my spouse” default frequently disinherits children in blended families.
5. Consider a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement if you want to alter Florida’s spousal rights by agreement. These must meet specific disclosure and execution standards to hold up.

For couples weighing how to title a home or pass it efficiently, strategies like a retained life estate can matter. Our colleagues’ overview of explains the concept well, though Florida’s homestead rules add their own layer, so confirm the local treatment before acting.

Updating your estate plan after moving to Florida

This is the change people most often overlook. You signed a perfectly good will in New York or New Jersey, you move to Florida, and you assume it travels with you. Legally, a will valid where it was signed is generally recognized in Florida. But “recognized” and “ideal” are different things.

What Florida does differently

Florida has rules that can complicate an out-of-state plan:

• Out-of-state personal representatives. Florida restricts who can serve as your personal representative. Under § 733.304, a nonresident generally must be a close relative (spouse, child, sibling, or other defined family) to qualify. If your New York will names a friend or a former neighbor who still lives up north, that person may be disqualified, and your estate could end up administered by someone the court appoints.
• Self-proving affidavits. Florida’s witness and notarization requirements under § 732.503 let a will be “self-proving,” which avoids tracking down witnesses years later. An out-of-state will may not meet Florida’s exact format, slowing probate.
• Homestead. Florida’s homestead protections are among the strongest in the country and don’t exist in most other states. They affect creditor protection, property taxes, and how you may leave your home.
• No state estate or inheritance tax. Good news. Florida imposes neither, which is often why people move here. But your old plan may contain tax-driven trust structures designed for a state that does tax estates, machinery you may no longer need.

Your relocation checklist

1. Have a Florida attorney review your existing will and trust for personal-representative eligibility and execution formalities.
2. Re-sign documents to Florida standards, including a proper self-proving affidavit.
3. Replace your out-of-state durable power of attorney. Florida’s power-of-attorney statute (Chapter 709) has specific requirements, and banks here often reject forms that don’t conform.
4. Update your health care surrogate and living will to Florida statutory language so local hospitals honor them without friction.
5. File for the homestead exemption on your Florida residence and confirm how homestead affects your devise of the home.
6. Re-title or re-fund any revocable trust to match your new Florida assets.

The documents worth revisiting after any major change

Whatever prompted the review, the same core set deserves a fresh look. I tell clients to think of it as a five-part system:

• Will — who gets what, who’s in charge, who guards your kids.
• Revocable living trust — for privacy and to avoid probate, if appropriate to your assets.
• Durable power of attorney — who manages your finances if you can’t.
• Health care surrogate and living will — who makes medical decisions and what care you want.
• Beneficiary designations — the contract-based assets that quietly control a large share of most estates.

For families with special circumstances, the right tool isn’t always the obvious one. A relative receiving needs-based benefits, for example, can be protected through specialized planning such as a , a vehicle that preserves eligibility for public benefits while still providing support. Florida has its own analogues, so the principle travels even when the statute doesn’t.

You can read more about building a plan from scratch on our wills overview, or learn how administration works on our Florida probate page. If you want a comprehensive look at the full service, the team’s practice page lays out the options.

How soon should you act?

Sooner than feels urgent. The risk window opens the day the change happens, not the day you “get around to it.” A divorce finalizes, a 401(k) form still names an ex, and an accident a week later sends the money to the wrong person. There’s no automatic do-over. The documents are inexpensive to fix while you’re healthy and have capacity; they’re impossible to fix afterward.

If you’ve had one of these three life events in the past year, that’s your signal. A short consultation will tell you whether your plan needs a light touch-up or a full rebuild. Either way, you’ll know, rather than hope. Reach out through our contact page to start the review.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Florida statutes change and individual situations vary. Consult a licensed Florida attorney about your specific circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does divorce automatically remove my ex-spouse from my Florida will?

Mostly, yes. Florida Statutes § 732.507(2) treats provisions favoring a former spouse as void after divorce, as if the ex predeceased you, and § 732.703 voids many non-probate designations. But these rules don’t cover ERISA-governed 401(k)s and pensions, and they can’t choose new beneficiaries or fiduciaries for you. You should still sign updated documents.

Is my out-of-state will valid after I move to Florida?

Generally a will validly executed in another state is recognized in Florida. However, it may not be self-proving under Florida’s formalities, and your named personal representative may be disqualified if they’re a nonresident who isn’t a close relative under § 733.304. A Florida review and re-signing avoids probate delays.

Can I disinherit my new spouse in Florida?

Not entirely. Florida’s elective share (§ 732.201 and following) lets a surviving spouse claim 30% of the elective estate regardless of the will, and homestead rules limit leaving your home away from a spouse or minor children. You can alter these rights only through a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.

What happens to my retirement account if I forget to update the beneficiary?

Retirement accounts pass by beneficiary designation, not by your will. For ERISA-governed plans like most 401(k)s, the plan pays whoever is named on the form even after divorce. Always update these forms directly with each institution after a marriage, divorce, or move.

How quickly should I update my estate plan after a major life change?

Right away. The gap between the life event and your update is when mistakes pay out, such as an ex collecting on an unchanged beneficiary form. Updating documents is inexpensive while you have capacity and impossible to fix after death or incapacity, so don’t wait.