Florida Online Wills: A Florida Probate Lawyer’s Guide

Are online wills legal in Florida?

Searchers phrase this many ways: “is an online will legal in Florida,” “is online will legal,” “are wills online legal,” “can you do a will online and it be legal,” or just “will online legal.” The answer is the same for all of them. A legal online will in Florida is simply a legal will in Florida that happened to be drafted on a website; legal online wills are not a separate category with their own rules, and neither are legal wills online in any other state.

Florida generally allows any person who is at least 18 years old, or an emancipated minor, and of sound mind to make a will (§ 732.501). The will must then meet the execution requirements of § 732.502. Those rules apply whether the first draft came from a lawyer, from software or from the person making the will. Section 732.502(4) adds that no particular form of words is necessary if the will is executed with the required formalities, which is why a plainly written template can be valid and an elegantly drafted document can fail.

You can make a will online from a questionnaire, create a will online with a subscription service or write a will online from scratch and print it; Florida treats all three the same way. People searching for “internet wills” or asking “do online wills hold up in court?” are usually asking three different questions at once: Is the document a will at all? Was it executed correctly? Can my family prove it after I die? This guide takes them in that order.

Two kinds of “online will”: prepared online, or signed electronically

“Online will” can mean a document prepared online for printing and signing, or a will executed electronically. Can you do a will online in Florida? The sections below explain both routes. The searches “online will Florida,” “online wills Florida” and “online wills for Florida” can refer to either. An online template becomes a paper will after it is printed and executed under § 732.502. An attorney consulted by video can also prepare a paper will for the same signing. Neither document becomes an electronic will because someone emailed it, scanned it or stored it in the cloud.

A Florida electronic will, sometimes called a digital will or e-will, is executed with an electronic signature under § 732.522. Electronic signing and remote witnessing are distinct steps. Section 732.522(1) lets an electronic signature satisfy any requirement that an instrument be signed; subsection (2) sets the conditions under which presence requirements can be satisfied through audio-video communication technology. An electronic will can therefore be signed with two witnesses in the room, or with witnesses appearing remotely inside an online-notarization session. Do not assume every electronic will has remote witnesses.

These are the legal routes to evaluate, not a promise that every provider offers every arrangement. Before buying a service, ask which row describes what you are buying.

Can I write my own will without a lawyer in Florida?

Yes. How to do a will in Florida without a lawyer, and how to do a will online, come to the same steps: answer the questionnaire or write the document, print it, and sign it before two witnesses who sign in your presence and each other’s. Florida does not require a lawyer to prepare a will, and a will you write yourself, or generate from a template, is valid if it is executed with the formalities in § 732.502 and you had capacity when you signed it. What a template cannot do is tell you whether its provisions fit your family and property. Homestead, a spouse’s elective share, a blended family, a minor beneficiary, a beneficiary who receives needs-based benefits, a business or property in another state are the situations in which a form tends to produce a valid will with the wrong result. The signing problem and the content problem are different, and a DIY will can fail on either.

Other states and the Uniform Electronic Wills Act

A paper will must satisfy the execution and recognition rules of the state whose law applies; two witnesses alone do not establish that every state will recognize it. Electronic wills are not recognized everywhere either: some states have adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, some, like Florida, enacted their own electronic-will statutes, and others have no electronic-will law. Florida’s statute, often called the Florida Electronic Wills Act, is §§ 732.521–732.526, enacted by chapter 2019-71 and effective July 1, 2020; it is not the uniform act. Which states allow electronic wills changes from year to year, so a general “do online wills work in every state?” has no stable answer, and an electronic will depends on the state. A Florida resident who signs electronically under a Florida ceremony should also know that § 732.522(4) treats the instrument as executed in Florida only if it states the maker’s intent and understanding that it is being executed in, and under the laws of, Florida. Whether another state or country will honor a Florida electronic will is a separate question that depends on that jurisdiction’s law.

A will executed outside Florida by a nonresident is valid in Florida if it was valid where executed, except a holographic or nuncupative will (§ 732.502(2)). Someone who moves to Florida with an out-of-state will should have it reviewed rather than assume it must be redone, or assume it needs nothing.

Florida will requirements at a glance

Summaries only. The statutes contain conditions and exceptions not repeated here.

What does a printed Florida will require?

A common failure with a template is not the words but the ceremony. Do not sign alone and then collect witness signatures later, send separate copies to two friends, or have a witness sign without seeing you sign or hear you acknowledge your signature. If a document has already been signed without witnesses, the fix is the testator’s acknowledgment of that signature before two witnesses, who must then sign in the presence of the testator and of each other (§ 732.502(1)(b)2.a, (1)(c)). It is not a repair improvised from memory. The statute is short, and courts apply it as written; the Florida will signing requirements, witness requirements and execution requirements are all in that one subsection.

Witnesses: who qualifies and where to find them

Who can witness a will in Florida? Any person competent to be a witness may witness a will, and an interested witness, such as a beneficiary, does not by itself invalidate the will or a provision of it (§ 732.504). Even so, two independent adult witnesses avoid unnecessary questions later about pressure or capacity. A notary’s involvement does not eliminate the need for two witnesses. Notarizing your signature is not attestation; whether the notary will also sign as one of the two witnesses is a question to settle before the signing, not after.

People ask where to find witnesses. Ask the attorney’s office whether it supplies witnesses for the signing. Some banks and shipping-store notaries will notarize a self-proving affidavit, but they do not necessarily supply two witnesses, and policies vary, so ask first. Online will platforms that offer remote witnessing supply witnesses only inside the electronic-will route described below. Florida’s will statutes do not set a witness fee; witnesses are ordinarily volunteers, and the attesting witness is the person a court may later ask to confirm the signing if the will is not self-proved.

Handwritten, spoken and video wills

Handwriting is not the decisive issue. A document in the testator’s own handwriting that is executed with the § 732.502 formalities is a valid will and is not considered holographic (§ 732.502(2)). What Florida does not recognize is an unwitnessed handwritten (holographic) will or an oral (nuncupative) will, even one made by a nonresident where such wills are valid. Can you handwrite a will and have it notarized? Notarizing a handwritten will does not replace the two witnesses; a handwritten, notarized but unwitnessed document is still an unwitnessed will. A voice recording, an informal note or a video of someone describing their wishes is evidence of intent at most; it is not a substitute for a signed and witnessed will, and a “video will” will not be admitted as a will. A separate rule applies to a signed list of personal belongings that a valid will refers to.

Does a Florida will have to be notarized?

Three questions get run together in the phrase “notarized will.” Was the will properly executed? Was a notarial act properly performed? Does the will satisfy the conditions for self-proof? Answering one does not answer the others. A paper will notarized without two witnesses is not valid. A properly executed paper will can be valid without notarization, but it is not self-proved. A paper will with two witnesses and the § 732.503 affidavit sworn before an officer authorized to administer oaths is both valid and self-proved, which is the usual goal.

The self-proving affidavit is a sworn statement by the testator and the witnesses, in substantially the statutory form, made before the officer at the time of signing or at any later date. It helps establish execution in probate; it does not replace the testator’s signature or the witnesses’ participation, and it does not immunize the will from a challenge based on capacity or undue influence.

How do I notarize a will online in Florida?

Florida has allowed remote online notarization (RON) since 2020, and an electronic will can be signed, witnessed and made self-proved entirely online. A paper will signed in a room ordinarily has its self-proving affidavit taken by a notary present at the signing, but a self-proving affidavit may itself be executed as an electronic record by online notarization (§ 732.503(1); § 732.522). The paper will itself is still executed conventionally, with two witnesses. Either way, the notary’s role is to take the acknowledgment and the witnesses’ oaths for self-proof and, for an electronic will with remote witnesses, to supervise and record the witnessing under § 117.285. The two witnesses are still required.

Who can notarize a will in Florida? Any Florida notary public, or another officer authorized to administer oaths, can take the self-proving acknowledgment and affidavits. An online notarization must be performed by a Florida online notary public who has registered with the Department of State and uses a RON service provider that has filed a self-certification with the Department of State and meets Florida’s requirements; an ordinary Florida notary who has not registered cannot perform an online notarization (§§ 117.225, 117.209(1)). The notary cannot have a financial interest in, or be a party to, the underlying transaction (§ 117.107(12)). Florida law caps the fee for an online notarial act at $25; the RON platform’s own charges are separate and are not capped by that section (§ 117.275).

Can a paper will prepared on LegalZoom, Trust & Will, FreeWill or a similar site be “converted” into a notarized legal document? Only by executing it: printing it and signing before two witnesses, and, if you want it self-proved, having the acknowledgment and affidavits taken by a notary at the same time or later. Uploading a signed PDF to a notary platform does not convert a document that was never properly witnessed into a valid will.

How is an electronic will signed and witnessed remotely?

Can a will be digitally signed in Florida? Yes. Is an electronic signature acceptable for a will? Under § 732.522(1) it is, but only as part of an execution that also satisfies the witness-presence rules, which is why a signature placed on a PDF at home, with no witnesses present or supervised session, does not produce a will.

Identity verification and the session recording

Under § 117.265(4), the online notary may establish the signer’s identity by personal knowledge or by remote presentation of a government-issued identification credential together with credential analysis and identity proofing. Identity proofing commonly takes the form of knowledge-based authentication (KBA), a timed set of questions drawn from public and credit records, but the statute describes the standard, not one product, so do not assume every platform uses identical questions or that every applicant can pass. People with thin credit files, recent moves or non-U.S. records sometimes cannot complete it. The notary cannot waive a failed check: if the credential, analysis and identity-proofing steps cannot be satisfied, the notary may not perform the online notarization (§ 117.265(4)). If verification cannot be completed, the lawful alternatives are an in-person signing or a session in which the notary personally knows the signer (§ 117.265(4)(a)), and they should be arranged before the appointment, not improvised during it.

The two-way audio-video session must be recorded. The required record includes the identities of the participants, the documents and the notarial act, the signer’s declaration that the signature is voluntary, and the actions and spoken words of the participants during the entire online notarization (§ 117.245(2)). A personal recording of an ordinary video call is not a substitute: § 732.522(2) requires the statutory session, and § 117.245 requires the statutory record. Why the recording matters later.

Where the signer, witnesses and notary can be

A Florida online notary must be physically in Florida when performing the act (§ 117.209(3)); the law separately addresses registered commissioners of deeds within their territorial authority. The signer does not have to be in Florida: a signer outside the state may use a Florida online notary if the notary confirms — verbally or by the signer’s written consent — that the signer desires the act to be performed by a Florida notary under Florida law (§ 117.265(3)). There is no separate statutory requirement specific to a signer outside the United States; the United-States-residence-and-location requirement applies to remote witnesses under § 117.285(4), not to the signer. So a Florida resident on a long stay elsewhere, or a nonresident with Florida property, can sign a Florida electronic will from another state, subject to the platform’s own rules.

The witnesses are the constraint. A witness appearing remotely must verbally confirm, on the recording, that he or she is a resident of and physically located within the United States or a U.S. territory at the time of witnessing (§ 117.285(4)). That rule is about remote witnesses only. A witness who is physically with the signer, wherever the signer is, instead states his or her name and current address on the recording (§ 117.285(2)). A brother in Madrid cannot witness by video from Spain, but a brother sitting beside the signer in Madrid is not a remote witness. Cross-border arrangements should be evaluated before scheduling, and the Florida place-of-execution statement under § 732.522(4) should be in the document.

None of this establishes that another country, or another state, will recognize the document, or that any particular provider can serve a signer in every location. Property and execution across borders need individual review; for the related situation of a nonresident who leaves Florida property, see ancillary probate in Florida.

When must witnesses be physically present?

The three screening questions

Before the RON service provider facilitates remote witnessing, it must require the signer to answer, in substantially this form (§ 117.285(5)(a)):

1. Are you under the influence of any drug or alcohol today that impairs your ability to make decisions?
2. Do you have any physical or mental condition or long-term disability that impairs your ability to perform the normal activities of daily living?
3. Do you require assistance with daily care?

If any answer is yes, the signature may be validly witnessed only by witnesses in the signer’s physical presence (§ 117.285(5)(b)). After the answers, the provider gives the written notice that documents witnessed by audio-video technology are not valid if the signer is a vulnerable adult (§ 117.285(5)(c)). Answering “no” to all three does not override the vulnerable-adult rule itself: remote witnessing is ineffective for a vulnerable adult under § 117.285(5)(g). Section 415.102(28) defines a vulnerable adult as “a person 18 years of age or older whose ability to perform the normal activities of daily living or to provide for his or her own care or protection is impaired due to a mental, emotional, sensory, long-term physical, or developmental disability or dysfunction, or brain damage, or the infirmities of aging.” The definition turns on impaired ability, not age: being 85 is not the test.

The five questions the notary asks during the signing

During a remote ceremony for one of these instruments, the online notary also asks the signer five ceremony questions, in substantially the statutory form (§ 117.285(5)(d)):

1. Are you currently married? If so, name your spouse.
2. Please state the names of anyone who assisted you in accessing this video conference today.
3. Please state the names of anyone who assisted you in preparing the documents you are signing today.
4. Where are you currently located?
5. Who is in the room with you?

The answers are part of the record and may matter later as evidence of voluntariness and capacity. An incorrect answer may not serve as the sole basis to invalidate an instrument (§ 117.285(5)(f)), but it can become the center of a contest.

Needing physical witnesses does not rule out an electronic will

Subsection (5)(k) of § 117.285 takes a ceremony with at least two witnesses physically present with the signer out of these requirements. An electronic will can still be signed electronically, with the notary appearing remotely, as long as two witnesses are in the room. That hybrid arrangement is legally available; whether a particular platform or firm offers it is a separate question. The exception does not waive capacity, voluntariness, identity verification or any other execution rule.

Tell the attorney or provider about assistance needs before the appointment, and do not change an accurate answer to gain access to remote witnessing. The screening questions are designed to protect the signer; an answer given to get past them is the kind of thing a disappointed heir’s lawyer may look for.

What makes an electronic will self-proved?

Signing, self-proof and custody therefore have to be planned together, before the ceremony. Receiving a download at the end of a session does not establish that the provider completed any of these steps. The first condition requires the testator’s acknowledgment and the witnesses’ affidavits under § 732.503 to be part of, attached to or logically associated with the electronic will; a notary’s seal on the acknowledgment alone does not satisfy it. Keeping your own copy does not interrupt qualified custody of the retained record; letting the only record live in an email attachment does.

A will that is not self-proved

It may still be valid and admitted through the ordinary proof procedure. Under § 733.201, a self-proved will may be admitted without further proof; any other will may be admitted on the oath of any attesting witness; and if no attesting witness can be found, or the witnesses have become incapacitated or their testimony cannot reasonably be obtained, the will may be admitted on the oath of the personal representative or another person with no interest under the will that the person believes the writing to be the testator’s true last will. The personal representative does not have to produce both witnesses.

The same section adds a rule specific to electronic wills: a purportedly self-proved electronic will executed through an online notarization that involved a substantial failure to comply with § 117.265 is treated as not self-proved and requires the additional proof above. That is the sense in which the statute’s procedural savings clause has limits. Self-proof also does not immunize a will from a challenge based on capacity, undue influence, fraud or mistake; see contesting a will in Florida.

What does a qualified custodian do?

Section 732.524 requires the custodian to be domiciled in and a resident of Florida, or incorporated, organized, or have its principal place of business in Florida, and to store the electronic will in a secure system that protects it from loss, destruction, and unauthorized access; the statute does not bar a beneficiary or other interested person from serving. It governs the records the custodian must keep, who may obtain access and copies, the custodian’s confidentiality obligations, how custody is transferred to a successor, how the custodian delivers the record and its certification to the court, and the custodian’s liability for negligent loss or destruction. The first paper copy of the electronic will and the electronic record requested by the testator is free; later copies may carry a fee, and the custodian may not suspend or terminate the testator’s access to the record or the ability to download it, although fees for access and downloads may be charged as permitted (§ 732.524(8), (10)).

Under § 732.525, a qualified custodian must at all times keep a blanket surety bond of at least $250,000 or maintain a liability insurance policy covering losses from negligence in the aggregate amount of at least $250,000, on the statutory terms. The Attorney General may seek the appointment of a receiver only in the circumstances listed in § 732.525(2): the qualified custodian is ceasing operation; it intends to close the facility without adequate arrangements for proper delivery of the records; the Attorney General determines that conditions present a danger that records will be lost or misappropriated; or it fails to maintain the required surety bond or liability insurance. Marketing copy that calls a company “Florida compliant” is not evidence of any of this. Proof of the § 732.525 bond or policy is evidence of that coverage, not of the custodian’s Florida qualification, secure storage or compliance with its other duties.

What to ask before choosing custody

Ask for the custodian’s exact legal identity and its Florida qualification, its written acceptance of custody under § 732.524, the records it will retain, how you obtain copies and downloads and what they cost, how your nominated personal representative will contact it after your death, and what happens to the record if the business is sold, closes or transfers custody. Ask for evidence of the § 732.525 bond or policy. An unrelated insurance policy, or the technology provider’s insurance, is not the custodian’s coverage.

The Florida Probate Rules, Rule 5.930, provide the custodian affidavit a qualified custodian files when an electronic will is offered for probate. It addresses the custodian’s qualification, the deposit, the custody history, the integrity of the record and the bond or insurance. Reading that form is the quickest way to understand what will be checked after your death, and therefore what to verify now.

Changing custodians and getting your will back

A change of custodian requires care: the custody chain has to be preserved. Section 732.524 governs how a custodian stops serving, how a successor accepts custody, and the written notices, consents and affidavits that document the transfer. A testator’s written request that a custodian cease serving and deliver the record to a designated successor must be signed with the formalities required for a will (§ 732.524(5)), and a successor qualified custodian may not succeed to office unless it agrees in writing to serve (§ 732.524(6)). An email, or moving the file into personal cloud storage, is not the statutory procedure and can break the continuous custody that self-proof depends on. If a custodian closes or the recording cannot be produced, the will is not automatically void; see the lost-will route.

The qualified custodian and the online notary are different roles

The online notary performs the notarial acts in the session and keeps the electronic journal; the RON service provider retains the session recording. The qualified custodian holds the electronic will itself, the associated records and a copy of the recording, continuously, until probate. A platform may employ online notaries and also offer custody through a Florida-qualified affiliate, but the notary’s commission does not make anyone a qualified custodian, and custody by a company that is not Florida-qualified does not satisfy § 732.523.

Why do the recording and the retention plan matter?

The online notary maintains the electronic journal, and the RON service provider retains the session recording, subject to permitted repository arrangements; each must be kept at least ten years after the notarial act (§ 117.245(2), (4)). For an online notarization involving the signing of an electronic will, a full copy of the recording must also be maintained by a qualified custodian. Section 732.524(3) separately permits the custodian to destroy the record after the earlier of five years following the conclusion of estate administration or twenty years after the testator’s death. And under § 732.901(4), once a will is deposited with the clerk, the clerk retains the original in its original form for at least twenty years. Confirm the will-specific arrangements for both the document and the recording when you sign.

If the required recording cannot be produced by the provider, the notary or the qualified custodian, § 117.245(5) treats the electronic will as a lost or destroyed will subject to § 733.207. That is a proof problem, not an automatic nullity. Section 733.207 requires the specific content of a lost or destroyed will to be proved by the testimony of two disinterested witnesses, or by one disinterested witness if a correct copy is provided. In practice the personal representative gathers the custodian’s records, the platform’s session data, any paper copies and the witnesses, and petitions to establish the will. Preserve the files, emails, execution records and custody information rather than trying to repair or recreate them yourself; a lost-will proceeding is won on evidence.

Where should a Florida will be kept, and does it have to be filed?

“Does a will need to be recorded in Florida?” comes up because deeds are recorded. Wills are not, and “do you have to file a will in Florida?” has the same answer during life: no. The only filing is the deposit with the clerk after death: whoever holds the will must deposit it with the clerk of the court having venue of the estate within ten days after receiving information that the testator has died (§ 732.901(1)), and the clerk keeps it for at least twenty years. Once deposited and a probate proceeding is opened, the will becomes part of the public court file. Are Florida wills a public record? During life, no; once probate is opened, the will is part of the public court file in that county.

Can you view a will online? To find a will online in a public court file, start with the clerk of court in the county where the decedent lived, after death; many clerks offer online case searches. Access through a private attorney or custodian is a different matter. Before death, the way to “find” a will is to ask the person, the drafting attorney or the custodian.

Tell your nominated personal representative where the original is, who the custodian is and how to reach them, and keep that information current. A will nobody can find is handled as a lost will, with the proof requirements described above.

How should you compare online will services?

The seven provider questions, side by side

Are online wills a good idea, and are online wills legit? The reputable services are legitimate businesses selling a real product; whether the product is a good idea for you depends on the suitability questions in the next section. Whether a document produces a valid will depends first on the signing, and the document must also satisfy the other applicable requirements and fit the intended plan.

Do online wills count? Online wills count if properly executed; an unexecuted draft in an account does not.

Who does online wills? Consumer document companies, nonprofits that offer a free will-maker, Florida document-preparation services that add a remote ceremony and custody, and attorneys who advise and draft by video.

Will kits and online will kits are the same product in a box or a download: a print-and-sign document with instructions. A “virtual will” is not a legal term; it usually means an electronic will signed in a remote session, and that is the route with the most rules.

How do online will services compare on electronic completion, printing options and signing requirements? That is what the seven questions above sort out: check whether a provider offers printing only or electronic completion through a notary partner, and remember that the signing requirements are Florida’s, not the platform’s. Do not assume that a provider’s name, a seal on a PDF, a “Florida compliant” label or a good review proves that your completed will satisfies every applicable requirement. Reviews rate the software experience; probate tests the ceremony. When people ask whether LegalZoom, Trust & Will or FreeWill “works” for a Florida will, check the current Florida offering directly: whether it is free or paid, whether the document must be printed, and whether any electronic signing or attorney service is included; which product you bought, and what you did at the signing, decides the result.

How do online will makers ensure compliance with Florida law?

They do not, in the sense the question assumes. Can I make my will entirely online without printing anything or visiting a notary? An eligible electronic-will signing may take place through a supervised online-notarization session. Appearing before an online notary is different from visiting a notary in person; the physical-witness and self-proof requirements must still be assessed for the chosen route. How do I know if an online will maker produces documents that are enforceable in my state, and how do I make sure my online will is legally valid in my state? Read the signing instructions against the state’s execution statute, which for Florida is § 732.502 or § 732.522, and ask the provider the seven questions above. Proper execution is necessary, whatever the maker says, but the document must also satisfy the other applicable requirements and fit the intended plan. A platform can keep its Florida template current, build in a signing page with two witness lines and a self-proving affidavit in the statutory form, and print instructions that match § 732.502. Compliance with the execution statute, though, is something the signer, the witnesses and, in a remote ceremony, the online notary do. The software is not present at the signing of a printed will; check the provider’s contractual responsibilities and the duties that apply to the service it actually supplies. For an electronic will with remote witnesses, the RON service provider has statutory duties, including the screening questions and the vulnerable-adult notice under § 117.285(5), and the notary has duties under chapter 117; check the provider’s own terms of service to see what responsibility, if any, it accepts for whether the will achieves what you intended. Ask to see the Florida signing instructions before you pay, and compare them with the requirements above.

How long does it take, and do you still need a lawyer to finalize it?

Document-generation and signing times vary by provider and circumstances. Executing a will takes a scheduled event with two witnesses, and, if self-proof or remote witnessing is wanted, a notary. For an electronic will, identity verification, witness availability and the custodian’s acceptance add steps, and a failed KBA check can push the signing to another day. How quickly a document can be generated is a different question from how quickly a complete plan can be reviewed and executed; confirm the schedule for your matter rather than treating an instant download as completed planning.

You do not need a lawyer to finalize an online will; you need two witnesses and, for self-proof, a notary. A lawyer’s review is useful when the content questions in the next section apply to you, when you are unsure whether the ceremony you are being offered matches Florida law, or when the will is one piece of a plan that also involves a trust, beneficiary designations, a homestead or a business. Lorenzo Law offers attorney-guided online estate planning in which advice, drafting and review happen by phone or video, and the signing is arranged in the form the law and your circumstances permit.

When is a DIY online will enough, and when is it not?

The Florida Supreme Court’s decision in Aldrich v. Basile, 136 So. 3d 530 (Fla. 2014), shows the risk: a do-it-yourself form will with no residuary clause does not dispose of property acquired after the will was signed, so that after-acquired property passes by intestacy.

Florida homestead

Florida homestead cannot be freely devised when a spouse or minor child survives. Under § 732.4015 and article X, section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution, a homestead owner survived by a spouse or minor child may not devise the home except to the spouse when there is no minor child, and a devise that violates the restriction is ineffective, with the home passing by statute instead. A trust label does not necessarily remove the restriction. A template that lets you leave “my house” to your children from a first marriage will not warn you. See Florida homestead and probate.

A surviving spouse’s rights

A surviving spouse of a Florida domiciliary may take an elective share of 30 percent of the elective estate (§ 732.201, § 732.2065), which is measured against a statutory base that reaches many assets outside probate, not 30 percent of what the will controls. A spouse also has homestead, exempt-property and family-allowance rights. Those rights can be waived by a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, and they can be reduced by what the spouse already receives, which is why a will that “leaves my spouse nothing” needs review rather than a template. See the Florida elective share guide and surviving spouse rights in Florida.

Blended families, minors and beneficiaries on public benefits

Children from a prior relationship, stepchildren who were never adopted, a minor beneficiary who cannot receive property outright, and a beneficiary who receives needs-based benefits such as SSI or Medicaid are the situations in which an outright gift in a form will produces litigation, a guardianship or a loss of benefits. Each has a planning answer: a trust for the minor, a third-party special needs trust for the benefits recipient, specific provisions for stepchildren. See estate planning for parents in Florida.

An out-of-state personal representative

Florida will executor requirements are, in Florida’s vocabulary, the rules for who may serve as personal representative. Under § 733.304, a person who is not a Florida resident can serve as personal representative only if he or she is related to the decedent in one of the ways the statute lists: a legally adopted child or adoptive parent; a relative by lineal consanguinity; a spouse, sibling, aunt, uncle, nephew or niece, or someone related by lineal consanguinity to any of those; or the spouse of any of those people. An out-of-state friend, business partner or accountant does not qualify. A nonresident may serve as personal representative only if he or she fits one of the categories in § 733.304; a nonadopted stepchild who is the biological child of the decedent’s spouse appears to qualify, as a person related by lineal consanguinity to the decedent’s spouse, although no Florida appellate court has squarely decided the point (including where the spouse died before the decedent). Templates ask for a name, not a relationship.

A business, property in more than one state, or digital assets

A business interest needs provisions a general template does not carry: who votes the shares, whether an operating agreement restricts transfer, who runs the business while the estate is open. Real property in another state means a second probate there unless it is titled to avoid it. Access to digital assets and online accounts depends on chapter 740, any directions the user gave, the governing documents and the provider’s terms. None of this is unsolvable, but a general form may not address these issues.

Spouses: mirror wills and joint wills

The usual arrangement is two separate wills. A married couple typically signs a pair of reciprocal, or “mirror,” wills, each leaving the estate to the other and then to the children, each signed and witnessed as its own instrument. Online services sell couples’ bundles on that basis. A single joint will for two people is a disfavored, older device; executing a joint or mutual will raises no presumption of a contract to make or not revoke it (§ 732.701(2)), and the survivor’s will remains revocable, though the will’s own terms may establish an enforceable contract not to revoke (Keith v. Culp, 111 So. 2d 278 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959); In re Estate of Rowland, 504 So. 2d 543 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)). It should not be chosen from a menu. Each spouse also needs to review beneficiary designations and titles, because a mirror will does not move an account that names someone else.

How contestable the will is

Independent witnesses and a documented planning and signing process can help preserve evidence if the will is challenged. A template signed at a kitchen table with a beneficiary as a witness, or an electronic will whose session recording shows a relative helping the signer answer, may invite a challenge on capacity or undue influence. No signing arrangement prevents a challenge, and the time and expense depend on the dispute. See undue influence in Florida.

One more coordination point: updating the will does not update a retirement account, a life insurance policy or a payable-on-death account. A will that leaves everything equally to three children does nothing to an IRA that names one of them. See beneficiary designations and Florida wills.

Does an online will avoid probate or replace the other documents?

People ask whether a will automatically avoids probate in Florida. It does the opposite: a will is the instruction manual for probate. Whether an estate needs a formal administration, qualifies for summary administration or needs no proceeding at all depends on the property, not on the will. See Florida probate and non-probate assets and the Florida probate guide.

If no valid will governs the probate property, an earlier valid will may still control, or Florida’s intestacy rules apply. Invalidating a later will therefore does not automatically mean the entire estate passes by intestacy, and nonprobate arrangements continue to operate on their own terms either way.

Signing the power of attorney, health care surrogate and living will online

Can a power of attorney be signed electronically? Not on the same terms as a will, and not by every method a website offers; a service that bundles an online will and power of attorney together may use different signing procedures for each. A Florida durable power of attorney must be signed by the principal and two subscribing witnesses and acknowledged before a notary (§ 709.2105(2)); a health care surrogate designation and a living will each have their own witness requirements under chapter 765; a revocable trust with testamentary aspects is signed with the formalities of a will. Remote online notarization and remote witnessing are available for these instruments under chapter 117, but a power of attorney granting the powers enumerated in § 709.2208, a health care advance directive and a revocable trust with testamentary aspects are on the § 117.285(5) list, so the three screening questions and the vulnerable-adult rule apply to them too. Do not assume that a signing method appropriate for the will is appropriate for every document in a package. See Florida powers of attorney and the Florida health care surrogate guide.

A living will is not a will

If you are looking for a living will online, first distinguish it from a last will and testament. Living will vs. will: a living will is a written declaration about life-prolonging procedures when you cannot speak for yourself; it has nothing to do with who inherits. A last will and testament distributes your estate after death. They are signed under different statutes, with different witnesses, and one does not substitute for the other. See what a living will does in Florida and the broader Florida estate planning guide.

What happens to an electronic will when you die?

Deposit, admission to probate and administration are three separate steps. Deposit puts the will in the clerk’s custody. Admission is the court’s determination that the will is valid and entitled to probate; for a self-proved will that happens on the paperwork, and for any other will it requires the proof described under a will that is not self-proved. For an electronic will the custodian files its Rule 5.930 affidavit and delivers the record and certification. Administration, whether formal or summary, is the process of collecting the property, paying claims and distributing; whether it is needed, and which form, depends on the property and the circumstances, not on whether the will was electronic. See probate of a will in Florida and the Florida probate rules and deadlines.

If you are handling a deceased relative’s affairs: locate the will or the custodian’s contact information, notify the custodian promptly, preserve the associated records and do not assume that a missing password or an old email download means the original record is lost. Ask the custodian and the platform what records exist before drawing that conclusion. The what to do when someone dies in Florida checklist covers the first weeks.

Can you change or revoke an electronic will?

The clear-and-convincing standard is the reason to handle changes formally. Because the electronic record may exist in several places, in qualified custody, in the platform’s records and on your devices, the intent behind a deletion is hard to prove after you are gone. A coordinated update does four things: documents the intended change, executes the replacement will or codicil correctly, addresses the earlier will and its custody record so the custodian is not holding a revoked instrument as if it were current, and reviews the beneficiary forms that the will does not reach. Marriage, divorce, a birth, a death and a major change in property are the usual reasons to revisit the plan; Florida law also treats a former spouse as predeceased for purposes of a will made before the divorce, unless the will states a contrary intention or the dissolution judgment provides otherwise (§ 732.507(2)), which is one more reason not to rely on a pre-divorce will.

Can you update your will later on the same platform? Many services let you regenerate the document, but a regenerated document is a new will only when it is executed again with the full formalities; the subscription does not keep the will current. For an attorney-prepared will, the cost of a change depends on the change and is agreed in writing first.

What does an online will cost in Florida?

Four kinds of online will purchase compared

Third-party prices change often; the table describes product categories, not any one company’s current price. Obtain the complete scope and price in writing, including any signing, custody, update or subscription charges. A $25 online-notary fee is the price of a notarial act, not of an estate plan.

What is the average cost of making a will in Florida, or the average cost of a will and trust in Florida? There is no reliable published average, because the products differ so much; the useful comparison is the table above. The cost to make a will online varies from free templates to paid subscriptions and services, before anyone has advised you. How much does a will cost in Florida with an attorney? Published flat fees for a will or a couple’s wills vary widely from firm to firm. Lorenzo Law publishes its fees: $675 per person covers the advice, the document, the supervised signing and the self-proving affidavit, with no separate charge for witnesses or the notary. Whether an electronic or remote signing is appropriate for a particular client is decided case by case; the fee does not depend on which lawful ceremony is used. See the online estate planning service for the planning options.

Has anything changed for 2026?

Readers also ask whether any Florida appellate court has ruled on electronic wills or remote witnessing. As of October 2026, no Florida appellate court has yet construed the electronic-will and remote-witnessing provisions (§§ 732.521–732.526, § 117.285 and § 117.245(5)); the statutes and the Probate Rules are the authorities a probate court will apply. A review date, when one is shown, is the date Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr. last checked the page against the current statutes.

A practical checklist before you sign

Keep this information private. You do not need to put account numbers, identity documents or medical details into a public website form to work through it.

1. Identify the product. Write down whether you are buying a print-and-sign will or an electronically executed will, and whether witnesses will be physical or remote.
2. Review the people and property. Marital history, children and stepchildren, real estate and homestead, business interests, accounts with beneficiaries, and your choice of personal representative and alternate.
3. Separate advice from software. Identify who, if anyone, is advising you about those facts, and under what engagement.
4. Confirm the signing route. Who will be physically present, who may appear remotely, and who supervises any required online notarization.
5. Disclose assistance needs honestly. Screening answers, capacity and voluntariness are settled before the ceremony, not during it.
6. Plan self-proof. The acknowledgment and witness affidavits, and for an electronic will the custodian designation and continuous custody.
7. Document storage and retrieval. Who holds the original or the record, the associated records and the recording, and for how long.
8. Check custody protections. The custodian’s legal identity, written acceptance, bond or insurance, access terms and transfer procedure.
9. Give your personal representative practical instructions. Whom to contact after death and where the records are, without exposing sensitive information now.
10. Coordinate the rest of the plan. Beneficiary designations, titles, any trust and the incapacity documents, with a reminder to review after major life changes.

Which signing route fits: a five-question chooser

The tool below asks five questions about your signing arrangements. Use these questions to identify signing arrangements to discuss with your attorney or provider. This tool does not confirm eligibility, capacity, proper execution or the validity of a will, and it does not tell you whether any provider offers the arrangement it names.

The interactive chooser needs JavaScript. The same four routes are compared in the four-route table near the top of this guide.

Questions readers ask about Florida online wills

Are online wills legal in every state?

A paper will must satisfy the execution and recognition rules of the state whose law applies; two witnesses alone do not establish that every state will recognize it. Electronic wills are not recognized everywhere: a growing number of states have electronic-will statutes, some under the Uniform Electronic Wills Act and some, like Florida’s §§ 732.521–732.526, under their own law, while other states have none. Check the law of the state where you live and sign, and have an out-of-state will reviewed after a move.

Is an online will legally binding, and will it hold up in court?

It is legally binding when it is properly executed, and it will hold up in court to the same extent as any other will: a court admits it if execution is proved and no successful challenge is made on capacity, undue influence, fraud or revocation. The word “online” neither helps nor hurts. What decides the case is the ceremony, the evidence of it, the signer’s capacity and whether the records can be produced when needed.

Can I sign a PDF or use an ordinary e-signature service like DocuSign?

Not as a will. Placing an electronic signature on a PDF through a general e-signature service does not satisfy Florida’s electronic-will framework, which requires either two witnesses physically present at an electronic signing or a supervised online-notarization session for remote witnesses. A scanned, signed paper will is a copy of the paper document; the original paper is the will.

Does an online will need to be notarized to be valid?

A printed online will does not need a notary to be valid; it needs two witnesses. A notary is used for the self-proving affidavit, which is optional but strongly advisable because it spares your family from locating a witness later. An electronic will with remote witnesses must be executed inside a Florida online notary’s session, so for that route the notary is required.

Do online wills include witness instructions, and can a bank provide witnesses?

Many consumer services include a signing page and instructions; read them against § 732.502 before the signing. Banks and shipping-store notaries sometimes notarize a self-proving affidavit but do not reliably supply two witnesses, and policies vary by branch, so call ahead. Ask the attorney’s office whether it supplies witnesses for the signing; a RON platform that offers remote witnesses does so only for an electronic will executed in its session.

Can a beneficiary witness my will?

Under § 732.504, any person competent to be a witness may act as a witness, and a will is not invalid because an interested witness signed it. Using a beneficiary as a witness is nevertheless the kind of fact a contest is built on, so independent witnesses are the better practice.

Do I still need a lawyer to finalize my will after using an online tool?

Not to make it valid: two witnesses, and a notary if you want self-proof, finalize a printed will. A lawyer is worth involving when your situation includes homestead, a spouse, a blended family, a minor or disabled beneficiary, a business or out-of-state property, or when you are unsure whether the ceremony a provider offers matches Florida law. The review can be done entirely by phone or video.

Does LegalZoom, Trust & Will or FreeWill work for a Florida will?

For LegalZoom, Trust & Will or FreeWill, check the current Florida offering directly: whether it is free or paid, whether its Florida will template must be printed, and whether any electronic signing or attorney service is included. The document is valid if you execute it correctly under § 732.502 or, for an electronic version, § 732.522. Do I need a witness signature for an online will, and does LegalZoom walk me through that? You need two witness signatures on a printed will; check whether the service includes signing instructions, whether it supplies witnesses, and whether individualized advice requires a separate attorney product. Ask the seven questions in the comparison section before you rely on any of them.

Can my witnesses join from outside the United States?

Not remotely. A witness appearing by audio-video technology must confirm on the recording that he or she is a resident of and physically located within the United States or a U.S. territory (§ 117.285(4)). A witness who is physically with the signer, wherever the signer is, is not a remote witness and instead states his or her name and address on the recording.

Can I sign a Florida will if I live in another state?

Yes. A paper will executed outside Florida by a nonresident is valid in Florida if it was valid where executed, except a holographic or nuncupative will (§ 732.502(2)). An electronic will can be executed with a Florida online notary from another state if the notary confirms, verbally or by the signer’s written consent, that the signer desires the act to be performed by a Florida notary under Florida law (§ 117.265(3)), and the document should state the intent to execute it in and under the laws of Florida (§ 732.522(4)). There is no separate statutory requirement specific to a signer outside the United States; the U.S. residence-and-location rule applies to remote witnesses, not to the signer.

Can I sign if I need help with daily care?

You can make a will; you cannot use remote witnesses. A yes to any of the three screening questions requires witnesses physically present with you (§ 117.285(5)(b)), and remote witnessing is ineffective for a vulnerable adult as defined in § 415.102 regardless of the answers. An electronic signing with two witnesses in the room, or a paper signing, remains available. Needing help with daily care is not the same as lacking capacity to make a will.

Do I need a qualified custodian?

A qualified custodian is required for an electronic will to be self-proved (§ 732.523). Separately, an online notarization involving the signing of an electronic will requires a full copy of the recording to be maintained by a qualified custodian (§ 117.245(4)). Lack of self-proof does not by itself make the will invalid; if the applicable proof requirements are met, it may be admitted under § 733.201. A paper will never needs a custodian. If the required recording cannot be produced by the RON service provider, the online notary public or the qualified custodian, the electronic will is treated as a lost or destroyed will under §§ 117.245(5) and 733.207.

Does notarization make my will self-proved?

Not by itself. A paper will is self-proved when the testator’s acknowledgment and the witnesses’ affidavits are taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths in substantially the § 732.503 form. An electronic will must also meet § 732.523’s custodian and certification requirements. Notarizing only the testator’s signature does neither.

What if my custodian closes or the recording disappears?

Custody can be transferred to a successor under the written procedure in § 732.524, and the Attorney General may seek a receiver for a custodian that fails to maintain its bond or insurance. If the execution recording cannot be produced by the provider, the notary or the custodian, § 117.245(5) treats the electronic will as lost or destroyed, and its contents are then proved under § 733.207 by two disinterested witnesses, or one with a correct copy. Preserve every record and get advice promptly; losing the recording does not by itself void the will, but its contents must then be proved.

In Florida, does a will automatically avoid probate?

No. A will directs the probate estate; it does not remove property from it, and an electronic will does not either. Property avoids probate through beneficiary designations, survivorship ownership or a funded trust. Whether an estate needs a formal administration, qualifies for summary administration or needs no proceeding depends on the assets, not on the form of the will.

Is there a Florida will registry, and can I find someone’s will online?

Florida has no state will registry, and wills are not recorded during the testator’s life. After death, the will is deposited with the clerk of court in the county of the estate’s venue; once deposited and a probate proceeding is opened, the will becomes part of the public court file, and many clerks offer online case searches. Before death, the only way to find a will is to ask the testator, the drafting attorney or the custodian.

Do video wills hold up in court?

A video of someone describing their wishes is not a will in Florida and will not be admitted as one. It may be used as evidence of intent or capacity in a dispute about a properly executed written will, which is a different role. The recording of an electronic will’s online-notarization session is also evidence of execution, not the will itself.

Can I update my will later on the same platform?

You can regenerate the document, but a new document becomes your will only when it is executed again with full formalities, paper or electronic. Until then the earlier executed will remains operative, and deleting a copy or cancelling the subscription does not revoke it. For an electronic will, the custodian also needs to know which instrument is current.

Can Lorenzo Law help me plan remotely?

Yes. Advice, preparation and review of a Florida will or estate plan can be done by phone or video from anywhere in Florida, in English or Spanish. The signing is arranged separately: a supervised paper signing with witnesses and the self-proving affidavit, or, when the law and your circumstances permit, a remote online-notarization ceremony. Which arrangement fits your matter is confirmed before you rely on it.

Discuss your Florida will and signing options

Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr. is Lorenzo Law’s sole attorney (Florida Bar No. 107002). Clients work directly with Jose: the attorney you speak with at the first call is the attorney who handles any matter the firm accepts.

If you are comparing online will services with a Florida will attorney, or searching for a wills lawyer in Florida who can work by video, bring the questions this guide raises: which route you want, who will witness, whether self-proof matters to you, and what the rest of your plan looks like. If you are a personal representative or family member holding an electronic will after a death, identify the custodian, the platform and the records you have, and the deposit deadline comes first.

Consultations are available in English and Spanish, by phone or video, with in-person meetings by appointment. The principal office is in Kissimmee, Florida, with by-appointment meeting locations in Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale. Wills start at $675 per person, all-inclusive; the core estate planning package is $1,500 per person; trust plans start at $2,500. Provide sensitive records only through the agreed intake process. Representation depends on conflict review, acceptance and a written engagement; an inquiry alone does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Request a free initial consultation. Only the initial consultation is free; representation fees and costs are agreed separately in writing.

Request a free initial consultation or Call (305) 224-6811

¿Prefiere español? Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr. atiende consultas en español sobre testamentos en Florida, testamentos electrónicos y la firma con notario en línea. Lea también cómo hacer un testamento en Florida.

Explore estate planning for coordinating a complete plan, probate administration for handling an estate after death, and will contests for a disputed will.

This page provides general information about Florida law, not advice about a particular will, signing or estate. Reading it, using the route chooser or requesting a consultation does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Sources and authorities cited

Statutes cited are the 2026 Florida Statutes unless noted. The text of the law and the court rules control over any summary on this page.