Last Will and Testament

A will directs who receives your assets and names a personal representative to manage your estate. In Florida, a will must be signed at the end by you and witnessed by two people, all signing in each other’s presence, under Fla. Stat. §732.502. The trade-off: a will only takes effect at death and must pass through probate. For many Palm Beach estates that means formal administration in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, though smaller estates may qualify for summary administration.

Revocable Living Trust

Compared to a will, a revocable living trust (governed by Florida’s Trust Code, Ch. 736) can avoid probate entirely for the assets you transfer into it. You stay in control during your lifetime and can amend or revoke it freely. Trusts are especially popular among Palm Beach residents who own out-of-state property or want privacy, since probate is a public record and a trust is not. The catch: a trust only works if you actually fund it by retitling assets.

Durable Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney under Florida’s Chapter 709 lets someone manage your finances if you become incapacitated. Florida’s statute is demanding: powers must be specifically enumerated, and certain “superpowers” require your separate initials. A generic form downloaded online often fails to grant the authority your agent will actually need, which is a common Palm Beach pitfall.

Health Care Surrogate and Living Will

These two documents work as a pair. A designation of health care surrogate (Fla. Stat. §765.202) names who makes medical decisions for you. A living will (§765.302) states your wishes about end-of-life care. Comparing them, the surrogate appoints a person while the living will sets the instructions, and most plans need both so your chosen decision-maker has clear guidance.

Will-Centered vs. Trust-Centered: Choosing Your Foundation

The biggest decision is whether to build around a will or a trust. A will-centered plan costs less up front and is simpler, but your estate goes through probate. A trust-centered plan costs more initially and requires funding work, but it sidesteps probate, eases management during incapacity, and keeps matters private. For a young Palm Beach professional with modest assets, a will plus powers of attorney may be plenty; for a homeowner with significant equity or blended family concerns, the trust route often pays off.

What Florida Does Not Require You to Worry About

Good news for everyone: Florida has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Your planning can focus on control, probate avoidance, and protecting your family rather than state death taxes.

Two documents worth adding for Palm Beach homeowners are a beneficiary designation review and, in some cases, a Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed to pass real property outside probate. This article is educational only. Florida’s signing formalities and power-of-attorney rules are unforgiving when done wrong, so consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney before finalizing your documents.

Marriage: Your Spouse Gains Rights Automatically

Once you marry in Florida, your new spouse acquires legal protections whether or not you update your will. Under Florida’s elective share law (Fla. Stat. §732.2065 and following), a surviving spouse can claim 30% of the elective estate even if your documents leave them out. A spouse omitted from a will signed before the marriage may also take an intestate share as a “pretermitted spouse” under §732.301.

Florida homestead rules (Article X, §4 of the state constitution) add another layer for Palm Beach homeowners: you generally cannot freely devise your homestead away from a surviving spouse or minor children. Comparing a simple will update against a revocable trust is worth doing here, because trust planning can coordinate homestead protections with the rest of your estate.

Divorce: Some Provisions Are Voided, Others Are Not

Florida automatically revokes gifts to a former spouse in your will after divorce under §732.507, and §732.703 voids most beneficiary designations naming a former spouse on assets like life insurance and retirement accounts. That sounds protective, but the law has gaps. If you want your ex to remain a beneficiary, or you want to redirect those assets to your children, you must affirmatively update the documents.

Equally important: divorce does not revoke a former spouse’s authority under a durable power of attorney (Ch. 709) or a health care surrogate designation by itself in every situation. Comparing the certainty of signing fresh documents against relying on automatic revocation, fresh documents win every time.

A New Child: Guardianship Is the Priority

For new parents in Palm Beach County, naming a guardian for a minor child is the single most valuable update. Florida courts decide guardianship if you do not, and they will not know your preferences without a written nomination, typically made in your will under §744. A child born after a will is signed may also qualify as a “pretermitted child” under §732.302 and take a share, which can disrupt your intended distribution.

Will Update vs. Trust Update: Which Path?

When comparing your options after a life change, a will amendment (called a codicil) is simple but still requires the same two-witness, notarized formalities as the original will under §732.502. A revocable trust amendment keeps assets out of probate and lets you set staggered distributions for young children, which many Palm Beach families prefer when minors are involved. For straightforward changes, updating beneficiary forms and a codicil may be enough; for blended families or sizable estates, refreshing a trust is often the better fit.

A Practical Timeline

Aim to review your plan within 90 days of a marriage, divorce, or birth. Florida has no state estate or inheritance tax, so updates are driven by family and control concerns rather than state death taxes, which keeps the process focused.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Florida’s homestead, elective share, and revocation rules interact in ways that depend on your specific situation. Before relying on automatic statutory protections or making changes yourself, consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney serving the Palm Beach area.

Establishing Florida Domicile

Domicile is your one true legal home, and it drives which state taxes your estate and which probate court controls. Snowbirds who summer up north but want Florida’s advantages should take concrete steps: file a Florida declaration of domicile, register to vote and get a Florida driver’s license, and claim the homestead exemption on a Palm Beach residence. Claiming Florida homestead (Art. X, §4) signals intent and unlocks creditor and tax protections. The risk of ambiguity is real: a former home state may try to claim you as a resident for tax purposes if your ties there remain strong.

Option One: A Florida Will Alone

A will valid under Florida law (§732.502) directs your estate, but for a dual-state owner it has a major drawback. Real estate is governed by the law of the state where it sits. If you keep a house up north, your Florida will cannot avoid a separate, second probate, called ancillary administration, in that other state. That means two court processes, two sets of fees, and two timelines. A will is necessary but rarely sufficient for snowbirds.

Option Two: A Revocable Living Trust (The Snowbird Favorite)

A revocable trust (Chapter 736) is the standard solution for multi-state owners. By titling both your Palm Beach home and your out-of-state property in one trust, you avoid probate in both jurisdictions entirely. The successor trustee administers everything under the trust’s terms regardless of where each asset sits, eliminating ancillary administration. For snowbirds, this single move often justifies the entire plan, sparing heirs a duplicate court process in a state far from Florida.

Option Three: Deeds and Titling for Out-of-State Property

If a full trust is not in place, targeted deed strategies can help. Florida recognizes the Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed to pass your Palm Beach home automatically at death while keeping control during life. Some states offer transfer-on-death deeds for the northern property. These avoid probate asset by asset, but they require coordination, because a patchwork of deeds across states is easy to get wrong and may conflict with your will.

Incapacity Across State Lines

A durable power of attorney (Chapter 709) and a health care surrogate designation should be drafted to be recognized in both states you live in. Medical and financial institutions in different states sometimes balk at out-of-state forms, so dual-state residents benefit from documents prepared with both jurisdictions in mind.

Choosing Your Strategy

For most Palm Beach snowbirds, the winning combination is clear Florida domicile, a revocable trust holding property in every state you own real estate, and incapacity documents valid in both. A will and Lady Bird deed can supplement the plan but will not, on their own, spare your family a second probate up north.

This is general information, not legal advice. Domicile and multi-state probate are technical and easy to mishandle, so consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney, coordinating with counsel in your other state when needed.

Why Probate Is a Threat to a Business

If your ownership interest passes through a Florida will, it sits in probate (Chapters 731–735) while a personal representative is appointed. Formal administration can take months. During that gap, who signs contracts, makes payroll, or accesses accounts? For an active Palm Beach company, that delay can be fatal. The planning tools below exist largely to eliminate that gap.

Option One: A Buy-Sell Agreement

If you have partners or co-owners, a buy-sell agreement is the foundation. It sets, in advance, who can buy your interest, at what price or valuation formula, and how it is funded, often with life insurance. On death, the agreement triggers automatically: surviving owners buy out your share, and your family receives cash instead of an interest they cannot run. This prevents your spouse from becoming an unwanted business partner and gives co-owners certainty. It does not, however, help a solo owner.

Option Two: A Revocable Trust Holding the Business Interest

Placing your LLC membership interest or stock into a revocable trust (Chapter 736) lets your successor trustee take control immediately on death or incapacity, with no probate of that interest. For a solo Palm Beach owner, this is often the single most important move: the trustee you chose can keep operations running while the estate is settled. Coordinate this with your company’s governing documents so the transfer to the trust is permitted.

Option Three: Operating Agreement and Governance Provisions

Your LLC operating agreement or shareholder agreement is itself an estate planning document. It can name a successor manager, restrict transfers, and specify what happens to a deceased member’s interest. Strong governance provisions work alongside a trust or buy-sell, not instead of them. Many Palm Beach businesses fail to update these documents after ownership changes, leaving conflicting instructions.

Incapacity, Not Just Death

A durable power of attorney (Chapter 709) is essential and often overlooked. If you are hospitalized, who pays vendors and signs loan documents? A general POA may not be enough for business acts; the document should expressly authorize business operation, and your trust should empower the trustee for trust-held interests. Without these, a court guardianship may be the only path, freezing the company in the meantime.

Coordinating Personal and Business Plans

Florida homestead protection (Art. X, §4) shields your residence but not your business assets, so the two need separate strategies. Your personal will and trust should mesh with the buy-sell and operating agreement so nothing contradicts. A common Palm Beach pitfall: a will leaves the business to the children while the operating agreement requires a sale to partners. The documents must agree.

Choosing Your Mix

A solo owner typically leans on a revocable trust plus a robust durable POA and updated operating agreement. A multi-owner company adds a funded buy-sell agreement as the centerpiece. Most established Palm Beach businesses need all of these working together.

This is general information, not legal advice. Business succession and Florida probate intersect in technical ways, so consult a licensed Florida attorney to align your business and personal plans.

Mistake 1: Having a Plan vs. Having a Funded Plan

Signing a revocable trust feels like the finish line, but an unfunded trust controls nothing. If your Palm Beach home, bank accounts, and investment accounts are still titled in your individual name, they pass through probate despite the trust. The fix is funding, retitling assets into the trust and updating beneficiary designations. A trust on the shelf is worse than the simple will you skipped, because you paid for protection you never activated.

Mistake 2: DIY Forms vs. Florida-Compliant Documents

Generic online forms rarely satisfy Florida’s specific requirements. Wills demand two witnesses signing in everyone’s presence under Fla. Stat. §732.502, and Florida’s durable power of attorney statute (Ch. 709) requires powers to be specifically listed, with certain authorities separately initialed. Comparing the small cost of a properly drafted document against a probate fight over an invalid one, the DIY savings rarely hold up.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Homestead Rules

Palm Beach homeowners often try to leave the family home freely in a will, not realizing Florida’s constitutional homestead protections (Article X, §4) restrict how you can devise a homestead when you have a spouse or minor children. An improper devise can be voided, sending the property somewhere you never intended. Coordinating homestead with a Lady Bird deed or trust planning avoids the surprise.

Mistake 4: Forgetting the Elective Share

Disinheriting a spouse on paper does not work in Florida. Under the elective share statute (§732.2065 and following), a surviving spouse can claim 30% of the elective estate. Couples who skip a marital agreement and assume a will alone settles the matter are often surprised. The alternative is to plan around the elective share intentionally rather than collide with it.

Mistake 5: Stale Beneficiary Designations

Life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death accounts pass by beneficiary form, not by your will. After a Palm Beach divorce, §732.703 voids most designations to a former spouse, but relying on that automatic rule instead of updating forms creates uncertainty. Reviewing designations every few years is the simple safeguard.

Mistake 6: Choosing the Wrong Probate Path

Families sometimes assume every estate needs full formal administration. Florida also offers summary administration for estates under the statutory threshold or where the decedent has been dead more than two years (Ch. 735). Comparing the two, summary administration is faster and cheaper when an estate qualifies, so failing to consider it wastes time and money.

The Through-Line

Each mistake shares a root cause: treating estate planning as a document instead of a system that must be maintained. Note that Florida imposes no state estate or inheritance tax, so these errors are about control and family harmony, not tax traps.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Florida’s homestead, elective share, and power-of-attorney rules are technical and easy to get wrong. Before signing or relying on existing documents, consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney serving Palm Beach.

The Default: Your Partner Gets Nothing

If you die without a plan, Florida intestacy (§732.101 and following) sends your estate to blood relatives, parents, siblings, or their descendants, not to your partner. A surviving partner could even be asked to leave a shared home titled solely in the deceased’s name. This is the single biggest risk unmarried Palm Beach couples face, and it is entirely avoidable.

Option One: Reciprocal Wills

The most basic fix is a pair of wills (§732.502) in which each partner leaves assets to the other and names the other as personal representative. Wills are straightforward and let you direct assets to someone the law would otherwise ignore. The limitation is probate: a will must be administered in Palm Beach County court, which is public and can be slow, and a will does not help with incapacity.

Option Two: A Revocable Living Trust

A revocable trust (Chapter 736) is often the strongest tool for unmarried couples. You can hold shared property in the trust, name your partner as successor trustee and beneficiary, and provide for a smooth transfer with no probate and no public record. Because you lack the automatic rights spouses enjoy, the trust manufactures those protections privately and on your terms, including provisions for the surviving partner to stay in the home before assets eventually pass to children or other heirs.

Option Three: Titling, Deeds, and Beneficiary Designations

How you hold property matters enormously. Joint tenancy with right of survivorship lets a co-owned Palm Beach home pass directly to the surviving partner outside probate. A Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed can pass real estate to a partner automatically at death while you keep full control during life. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and pay-on-death accounts go to whoever is named, so listing your partner as beneficiary is one of the simplest protections available. Keep these current, because they override your will.

Florida Homestead: A Special Caution

Florida homestead rules (Art. X, §4) protect spouses and certain heirs, but an unmarried partner is neither. If you have minor children, restrictions may even prevent leaving the home to your partner outright. This makes deliberate planning, often through a trust or carefully structured deed, essential for couples who want the survivor to keep the residence.

Incapacity Documents Are Non-Negotiable

Without a durable power of attorney (Chapter 709) and a health care surrogate designation, your partner may have no legal authority to make financial or medical decisions for you, and could be excluded by family members. Naming your partner in these documents ensures the person closest to you can act in a crisis.

Building the Right Combination

Most unmarried Palm Beach couples need a layered plan: a revocable trust or properly titled property to transfer assets without probate, beneficiary designations naming each other, and durable powers of attorney plus health care surrogate forms for incapacity. Reciprocal wills can anchor the plan but should not stand alone.

This is general information, not legal advice. Because Florida gives unmarried partners no automatic rights, consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney to make sure your partner is protected exactly as you intend.

Step 1: Inventory What You Own and How It Is Titled

List your home, accounts, vehicles, business interests, and life insurance. For each, note how it is titled and whether it already names a beneficiary. Titling decides almost everything—jointly held property and accounts with valid beneficiary designations pass outside probate no matter what your will says.

Step 2: Choose Your Core Route

A will-based plan is simplest and cheapest to set up, but assets passing under the will go through Florida probate—either summary administration (for smaller or older estates) or formal administration under the Probate Code. A trust-based plan using a revocable living trust under Chapter 736 costs more upfront and requires you to retitle assets into the trust, but it generally keeps those assets out of probate and provides for incapacity. A beneficiary-designation plan relies on payable-on-death accounts and named beneficiaries to move assets directly; it is cheap but fragile, because one outdated designation can derail the whole plan. Most solid plans combine all three.

Step 3: Address the Homestead

Your Palm Beach residence is likely protected homestead under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution. Homestead carries powerful creditor protection but also strict rules on how it can pass—especially if you have a spouse or minor children. A Lady Bird deed (an enhanced life estate deed) lets you keep full control and homestead benefits during life while passing the property automatically at death, avoiding probate without giving up control. Confirm your homestead strategy fits your family situation rather than assuming the deed alone solves it.

Step 4: Plan for Incapacity, Not Just Death

Every route needs a durable power of attorney under Chapter 709, a designation of health care surrogate, and a living will. Without these, your family may need a guardianship proceeding in Palm Beach County—slow, public, and expensive. A revocable trust also helps here, because a successor trustee can manage trust assets if you become unable to.

Step 5: Reconcile Beneficiaries Across Everything

Pull every beneficiary designation and check it against your will or trust. A retirement account still naming an ex-spouse overrides whatever your will says. This reconciliation is where the beneficiary-designation route quietly fails for people who never update their forms.

Step 6: Mind the Elective Share

If you are married, Florida’s elective share (§732.2065 and following) generally entitles a surviving spouse to 30% of the elective estate, which reaches well beyond probate assets. You cannot fully disinherit a spouse without a valid waiver. Build this into the plan rather than discovering it later.

Step 7: Store, Share, and Revisit

Keep originals secure and tell your personal representative or trustee where they are. Revisit after any move, marriage, divorce, birth, or major purchase—and confirm everything still reflects Florida law if you relocated here from another state.

Talk to a Florida Attorney

This checklist points you in the right direction, but homestead, the elective share, and probate choices turn on details. A Florida estate planning attorney serving Palm Beach can tailor the route to your assets and family. This is general information, not legal advice—consult a licensed Florida attorney before acting.

The Will-Centered Plan

The most affordable option is typically a will-centered plan: a last will and testament plus the supporting documents most adults need, including a durable power of attorney (Fla. Stat. Ch. 709), a health care surrogate designation, and a living will. This is the lower-cost end of the spectrum. The trade-off is on the back end, because assets passing under a will go through probate, which carries its own court and administration costs later.

The Trust-Centered Plan

A revocable living trust plan (governed by Florida’s Trust Code, Ch. 736) costs more up front than a will because it involves more drafting and the work of funding the trust. Compared to a will, though, it can reduce or eliminate probate costs down the road and keeps your affairs private. For Palm Beach residents with significant home equity, multiple properties, or blended families, the higher initial investment often makes sense.

What Actually Drives the Price

Within either path, several factors increase cost: the number and type of assets, owning out-of-state real estate, business interests, blended-family or special-needs planning, and the level of trust funding assistance you want. A straightforward plan for a single homeowner sits at the lower end; a multi-property, blended-family trust sits higher. Comparing flat-fee versus hourly billing also matters, since many estate planning attorneys offer flat fees for defined document packages, which makes budgeting easier.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

The most expensive plan is often no plan at all. Without documents, your estate passes by Florida’s intestacy statutes (Ch. 732), a court appoints decision-makers, and your family may face a full formal probate administration in Palm Beach County. Comparing a modest planning fee today against the time, court costs, and potential family conflict of an unplanned estate, planning is almost always the cheaper choice.

Probate Costs Are Part of the Picture

When comparing options, remember that probate has its own expenses, including court filing fees and personal representative and attorney compensation under Florida law. Florida does offer summary administration for qualifying smaller estates (Ch. 735), which is less costly than formal administration. This is why a slightly higher cost for a funded trust can pay off, by reducing what your estate spends later.

A Florida Bright Spot

Here is welcome news: Florida has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. Palm Beach families do not pay state death taxes, so planning dollars go toward control, probate avoidance, and family protection rather than tax mitigation, unless a very large estate triggers federal concerns.

This article is general information, not a fee quote or legal advice. Costs depend on your specific assets and goals. To get an accurate estimate and the right plan for your situation, consult a licensed Florida estate planning attorney serving the Palm Beach area.

The Baseline Requirements Under §732.502

For any will to be valid in Florida, the testator must be at least 18 and of sound mind, the document must be in writing, the testator must sign at the end (or direct someone to sign in their presence), and two witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and of each other. These rules are unforgiving: a will that misses a single witness or signature placement can be thrown out entirely, sending the estate into intestacy.

Option 1: The Handwritten (Holographic) Will

People often assume a will in their own handwriting is automatically valid. In Florida it is not. A handwritten will is recognized only if it meets the same signing and two-witness requirements as any other will. A note scrawled and signed alone—valid in some states—fails here. Florida also does not recognize nuncupative (oral) wills. So the handwritten route offers no shortcut; it simply adds the risk of ambiguous language with none of the formality benefits.

Option 2: The DIY Form or Online Will

Fill-in-the-blank forms can satisfy §732.502 if executed correctly, and they are inexpensive. The danger is execution and fit. Witnesses signed in the wrong room, a beneficiary used as a witness, or boilerplate that ignores Florida homestead and the elective share can quietly defeat the document. Florida does allow a self-proving affidavit—a notarized statement by the testator and witnesses—that lets the will be admitted without tracking witnesses down years later. Many DIY wills skip this, guaranteeing extra delay in Palm Beach County probate.

Option 3: The Attorney-Drafted Will

An attorney-drafted will costs more but is built around Florida’s specific traps: protected homestead under Article X, Section 4, which limits how a residence can be left when there is a spouse or minor children; the spousal elective share under §732.2065, which a will alone cannot override; and proper appointment of a personal representative who qualifies under Florida law. The execution is supervised, witnesses are correct, and the self-proving affidavit is included by default. For most Palm Beach residents with a home and family, this route removes the very failures that send DIY wills into litigation.

Don’t Forget the Homestead and Spouse

Whatever route you choose, two Florida realities override casual drafting. Your homestead cannot always be freely devised, and a surviving spouse generally cannot be disinherited beyond the elective share without a valid waiver. A will that ignores these does not fail to exist—it fails to do what you intended.

Keep It Findable and Current

Florida probate uses the original signed will; a photocopy raises a presumption that you destroyed it. Store the original safely and tell your personal representative where it is. Revisit after marriage, divorce, a new child, or a move to Florida from another state, since out-of-state wills, though often honored, may not address Florida’s homestead and elective-share rules.

Which Route Fits

A handwritten will offers no advantage and real risk. A DIY form can work for a very simple estate executed carefully, with the self-proving affidavit included. An attorney-drafted will is the safest route for anyone with a home, a spouse, minor children, or blended-family concerns—which describes most of Palm Beach.

Talk to a Florida Attorney

A will is only as good as its execution and its fit with Florida law. A Florida estate planning attorney serving Palm Beach can ensure your will satisfies §732.502 and respects homestead and the elective share. This is general information, not legal advice—consult a licensed Florida attorney before acting.

Option 1: A Simple Gift in Your Will

The easiest path is to leave your pet—and a sum of money—to a trusted person in your will. The problem is that Florida law treats animals as property. Once you hand a friend both the dog and a check, nothing legally compels them to spend that money on the dog rather than on a vacation. There is no enforcement mechanism. For a low-stakes situation with a deeply trusted caregiver, this may be enough. For a parrot that may outlive you by decades or a horse boarded in Wellington, it usually is not.

Option 2: A Florida Statutory Pet Trust

Florida Statute §736.0408 authorizes trusts created specifically to care for an animal alive during the settlor’s lifetime. This is the strongest option. The trust can name a caregiver, a separate trustee who controls the money, and a person empowered to enforce the terms in court. Funds must be spent on the animal as you direct—diet, veterinary care, grooming, boarding. The trust ends when the last covered animal dies, and you decide where any leftover funds go.

Because the money sits in a trust rather than passing outright, the caregiver cannot simply pocket it. A Palm Beach court can compel proper care or remove a caregiver who fails. For owners of long-lived or high-maintenance animals, that enforceability is the whole point.

Option 3: A Provision Inside Your Revocable Living Trust

If you already maintain a revocable trust under Chapter 736—common among Palm Beach residents who want to avoid probate—you can fold a pet-care provision directly into it rather than creating a stand-alone instrument. The advantage is consolidation: one document, one trustee, one set of administration costs. The trade-off is that pet care becomes one duty among many, so it helps to name a specific caregiver and a dedicated fund within the trust so the animal does not get lost in the larger estate.

How Much to Fund

Courts may reduce a pet-trust amount they find unreasonably large relative to the animal’s needs. Be realistic: estimate annual costs, multiply by the animal’s likely remaining lifespan, and add a cushion for emergencies. Document your reasoning. A modest, well-justified figure is far less likely to draw a challenge from other beneficiaries.

Choosing the People

The best structure separates roles. The caregiver provides daily love and shelter; the trustee holds the purse and writes the checks; an enforcer can step in if either falters. Naming successors for each role matters, because the whole arrangement should last as long as your animal does.

Which Option Fits You

A will gift suits a short-lived pet and an unshakably trusted friend. A statutory pet trust suits anyone who wants real enforcement, exotic or long-lived animals, or substantial funding. A provision within an existing revocable trust suits owners who already have one and prefer simplicity. Many Palm Beach owners combine approaches—naming a caregiver in the will while funding a §736.0408 trust for the money.

Talk to a Florida Attorney

Pet-care provisions are easy to draft poorly and hard to fix after the fact. A Florida estate planning attorney familiar with Palm Beach can match the right structure to your animal, your caregiver, and your budget. This article is general information, not legal advice—consult a licensed Florida attorney before acting.