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

After a divorce, a remarriage, or a move to Florida, you generally need to update your estate plan because each of these events changes who has legal rights to your property and whether your existing documents still do what you intended. Florida law automatically rewrites parts of your plan in some situations and ignores your wishes in others, so a will or trust drafted in another state or before a major life change can quietly fail at the worst possible time. The practical rule is simple: when your marriage, your family, or your home state changes, your estate plan deserves a review within a few months — not “someday.”

I have sat across the table from too many surviving spouses and adult children who discovered, after a death, that the documents in the drawer no longer matched real life. An ex-spouse still named on a beneficiary form. A trust that never got funded after a cross-country move. A second husband who assumed the Florida house was “theirs” and learned otherwise in probate court. None of it was malicious. It was just paperwork that fell behind a life that kept moving.

Why life changes break an estate plan

An estate plan is a snapshot. It reflects who you loved, what you owned, and which state’s law governed you on the day you signed. Divorce, marriage, and relocation each shift one or more of those variables. When they shift far enough, the plan stops describing reality.

This matters more in blended families and second marriages than almost anywhere else. When you remarry, you are usually balancing two loyalties at once: a new spouse and children from a prior relationship. The default rules — the ones that apply when your documents are silent or stale — rarely split things the way a thoughtful person would. They tend to favor the current spouse, sometimes at the direct expense of your kids.

Updating your estate plan after divorce

Florida gives you a partial safety net after divorce, but it is narrower than most people assume, and it never covers everything.

What Florida revokes automatically

Under Florida Statutes § 732.507(2), when a marriage is dissolved or annulled, any provision of your will that benefits your former spouse is treated as if the ex-spouse died at the time of the divorce. The same idea applies to revocable trusts under § 736.1105, and to most non-probate beneficiary designations — life insurance, payable-on-death accounts, retirement plans where state law controls — under § 732.703. In plain terms, Florida tries to read the ex-spouse out of the plan so your divorce does not accidentally hand them an inheritance.

That sounds reassuring. The problem is the gaps.

What divorce does not fix on its own

• Federal beneficiary designations. ERISA-governed 401(k)s and pensions follow federal law, which generally pays the named beneficiary regardless of a Florida divorce. If your ex is still on the form, your ex may still collect. Update these directly with the plan administrator.
• Out-of-state documents and assets. Section 732.703 applies to Florida governing law. A deed, account, or policy controlled by another state’s rules may not be touched at all.
• Your former in-laws and chosen fiduciaries. The statute removes the ex-spouse, but the alternate executor, trustee, or guardian you named — often the ex’s sibling or parent — usually survives the divorce and stays in line to serve.
• Powers of attorney and health-care directives. If your ex-spouse is your agent under a durable power of attorney or health-care surrogate, do not assume divorce cleanly ends that authority. Sign new documents naming someone you trust today.

Divorce also frees you to do things you could not do while married. Florida’s rules give a spouse strong protections; once that spouse is gone, you can finally direct assets to your children, a new partner, or a trust without those constraints. That is an opportunity, not just a cleanup chore.

Updating your estate plan after marriage or remarriage

Marriage is the event people most often neglect, because it feels like good news rather than a legal trigger. But the day you remarry, Florida grants your new spouse a set of rights that can override the plan you made for your children.

The pretermitted spouse rule

If you signed your will before the marriage and never updated it, your new spouse may qualify as a “pretermitted spouse” under § 732.301. Unless your will provided for the spouse, a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement waived the right, or the will shows the omission was intentional, the omitted spouse can claim an intestate share — potentially a large slice of your estate — right off the top, ahead of the children you named.

The elective share

Even a will that does mention your spouse cannot fully disinherit them. Under Florida’s elective share statutes (§§ 732.201–732.2155), a surviving spouse may elect to take 30% of the elective estate. The elective estate is broad: it reaches well beyond the probate estate to include revocable trust assets, certain joint accounts, payable-on-death accounts, and some transfers made within a year of death. You cannot quietly route around it with beneficiary forms. For blended families, this is the single most important number to plan around — because that 30% comes out before the kids see anything.

Florida homestead and the surviving spouse

Then there is the house. Florida’s homestead protection, set out in Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution and the descent rules in § 732.401, restricts how you can leave your primary residence when you are married or have minor children. If you are survived by a spouse and by descendants, you cannot simply will the homestead to your children. By default the spouse receives a life estate, with the remainder to your descendants — or the spouse may elect a one-half tenancy in common instead.

I cannot count the number of second marriages where the plan was “the kids get the Florida home.” Without the right deed structure or a valid spousal waiver, that plan collapses. The new spouse gets to live there, the children wait, and everyone ends up angry. Homestead is where good intentions go to die in probate, and it deserves its own conversation early. (See our overview of Florida probate for how these disputes actually unfold.)

Tools that protect both a new spouse and your children

This is solvable. Experienced planners use a handful of reliable structures:

1. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that waives the elective share, homestead rights, and pretermitted-spouse claims — the cleanest foundation for a blended estate.
2. A marital trust or QTIP trust that supports your spouse for life, then passes what remains to your children rather than to the spouse’s side of the family.
3. Properly titled and funded revocable trusts, paired with updated beneficiary designations, so assets land where you intend instead of defaulting into the elective estate.
4. A clear, current will — if you don’t have one, start with the basics on our wills page and then build outward.

Updating your estate plan after a move to Florida

Snowbirds, retirees, and remote workers arrive in South Florida every week with binders of New York, New Jersey, or Illinois estate documents. The good news: a will validly executed in another state is generally honored here under § 732.502(2). The catch: “valid” is not the same as “optimized,” and a few provisions can actively backfire.

What to revisit once you establish Florida residency

• Out-of-state self-proving affidavits and witness formalities. Florida has specific execution requirements. A trust or will that worked elsewhere should be re-examined so it is unquestionably enforceable here.
• Homestead planning. Your new primary residence is now Florida homestead, with the constitutional descent and creditor protections — and restrictions — described above. Northern deeds and titling habits often clash with Florida homestead law.
• No state estate or inheritance tax. Florida imposes neither, which is part of why people move here. Plans drafted around a former state’s death tax may now contain unnecessary, costly complexity worth unwinding.
• Powers of attorney. Florida’s durable power of attorney statute (Chapter 709) is demanding; many out-of-state POAs are honored grudgingly or not at all by Florida banks. Re-execute under Florida law.
• Naming Florida fiduciaries. Florida limits who may serve as a personal representative. An out-of-state friend who is not a relative generally cannot serve under § 733.304. Confirm your executor still qualifies.

If you still hold real property up north — a co-op, a family lake house, a brownstone — coordinate both states. Out-of-state real estate can trigger a separate ancillary probate. Strategies like trusts and life estate deeds matter here; Morgan Legal’s New York team handles exactly these , and pairs them with proper drafting so the northern property and the Florida plan don’t contradict each other.

A practical review checklist

After any of these three events, walk through the following. If you cannot answer “yes” to each, it is time to update:

• Does my will or trust name the people I would choose today — not the people I would have chosen five years and one marriage ago?
• Have I personally checked every beneficiary designation — life insurance, IRA, 401(k), POD/TOD accounts — rather than assuming the law fixed them?
• Is my Florida homestead titled and directed in a way that survives the homestead descent rules?
• If I have remarried, have my spouse and I addressed the elective share and pretermitted-spouse rules on purpose, in writing?
• Are my power of attorney and health-care surrogate current, Florida-compliant, and naming someone I still trust?
• If I moved here, has a Florida attorney confirmed my documents and fiduciaries actually work under Florida law?

Estate planning is not a one-time event. It is a living document set that should age alongside your family. Divorce, marriage, and a move to Florida are the three loudest signals that the snapshot is out of date — especially in a blended family, where the gap between “what I assumed” and “what the law does” is widest.

If you have been through any of these changes, the next step is a focused review. Contact our South Florida estate planning team to make sure your plan still says what you mean — before someone else has to guess.

Frequently asked questions

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

Largely, yes. Under Florida Statutes § 732.507(2), gifts to a former spouse in your will are voided as if the ex-spouse predeceased you, and § 732.703 reaches many beneficiary designations governed by Florida law. But federal ERISA accounts (like most 401(k)s) and out-of-state assets are not covered, so you should still update those forms directly.

If I remarry, can I leave everything to my children instead of my new spouse?

Not without planning. Florida’s elective share lets a surviving spouse claim 30% of the elective estate (§§ 732.201–732.2155), and homestead and pretermitted-spouse rules add more protections. To direct assets to children from a prior marriage, you typically need a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, a marital or QTIP trust, or both.

I just moved to Florida from another state. Is my old will still valid?

Usually it remains valid under § 732.502(2) if it was properly executed where you signed it. However, Florida homestead law, fiduciary eligibility rules (§ 733.304), and the state’s strict power-of-attorney requirements (Chapter 709) often make an out-of-state plan work poorly here. A Florida review is strongly recommended.

How soon after one of these life events should I update my plan?

Aim for a review within a few months. Divorce, marriage, and relocation each change who has legal rights to your property, and the longer stale documents sit, the greater the risk that an unintended person inherits or that your wishes are blocked entirely.

What does Florida homestead mean for my house in a second marriage?

If you are survived by a spouse and descendants, you generally cannot will your homestead freely to your children. The Florida Constitution (Art. X, § 4) and § 732.401 give the surviving spouse a life estate (or an election to take a one-half tenancy in common). Proper deed structuring or a spousal waiver is usually required to achieve a different result.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Largely, yes. Under Florida Statutes § 732.507(2), gifts to a former spouse in your will are voided as if the ex-spouse predeceased you, and § 732.703 reaches many beneficiary designations governed by Florida law. But federal ERISA accounts (like most 401(k)s) and out-of-state assets are not covered, so you should still update those forms directly.

If I remarry, can I leave everything to my children instead of my new spouse?

Not without planning. Florida’s elective share lets a surviving spouse claim 30% of the elective estate (§§ 732.201–732.2155), and homestead and pretermitted-spouse rules add more protections. To direct assets to children from a prior marriage, you typically need a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, a marital or QTIP trust, or both.

I just moved to Florida from another state. Is my old will still valid?

Usually it remains valid under § 732.502(2) if it was properly executed where you signed it. However, Florida homestead law, fiduciary eligibility rules (§ 733.304), and the state’s strict power-of-attorney requirements (Chapter 709) often make an out-of-state plan work poorly here. A Florida review is strongly recommended.

How soon after one of these life events should I update my plan?

Aim for a review within a few months. Divorce, marriage, and relocation each change who has legal rights to your property, and the longer stale documents sit, the greater the risk that an unintended person inherits or that your wishes are blocked entirely.

What does Florida homestead mean for my house in a second marriage?

If you are survived by a spouse and descendants, you generally cannot will your homestead freely to your children. The Florida Constitution (Art. X, § 4) and § 732.401 give the surviving spouse a life estate (or an election to take a one-half tenancy in common). Proper deed structuring or a spousal waiver is usually required to achieve a different result.