Estate Planning Attorney Serving Orlando and Orange County
As an Orlando estate planning attorney, I prepare wills, durable powers of attorney, health care documents and revocable trusts for individuals and couples in Orlando and across Orange County, and the whole engagement, from the first call to the signing, can be handled without anyone driving to an office. Most people who call have one of three reasons: they have never made a plan, they moved to Central Florida with documents written for another state, or they have a plan and are no longer sure it still works.
If you are comparing an estate planning lawyer in Orange County, the first thing to know about me is where I am. My offices are in Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale, and I serve Orlando clients remotely: consultations by phone and email, and signing arranged for each document in the way Florida law allows. I do not have an Orlando office, and I would rather tell you that now than have you discover it later.
I am Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr., Florida Bar No. 107002, and the only attorney in my practice. The lawyer you speak with on the first call is the lawyer who drafts your documents and takes you through the signing. To start: call (305) 224-6811 for a short, free first call, or use the contact form. Please do not put Social Security numbers, account numbers or medical details in the web form.
| Who is it for? | Individuals and married couples in Orlando and Orange County who want a will, incapacity documents or a revocable trust, including people who have just moved to Florida |
| What does it cost? | A will on its own starts at $675. The core estate planning package is $1,500 for one person. A revocable living trust plan is a separate engagement, starting at $2,500, plus $575 per deed, recording included, when Florida real estate is moved into the trust. Married couples receive a discount, quoted individually |
| Is there a free consultation? | Yes: a short phone call with me, with no charge and no obligation |
| Do I have to come to an office? | No. I explain on the first call which documents can be signed remotely in your situation and which need witnesses in the room |
| Is there an Orlando office? | No. I am an estate planning lawyer serving Orange County remotely, from offices in Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale |
Estate planning with attorney Jose Lorenzo for Orlando and Orange County
An estate plan answers two separate questions. What happens to what you own when you die, and who makes decisions for you if you are alive but cannot make them yourself. The second question comes up far more often than the first, and it is the one a plan made in a hurry usually leaves out. Everything I prepare is built to answer both.
People usually call an estate planning lawyer Orlando friends have recommended at a specific moment: a diagnosis, a new baby, a closing on a Central Florida home, a second marriage, or a bank refusing a parent’s power of attorney. Whatever brings you here, the work is the same: a set of documents drafted to be accepted by Florida courts, Florida banks and Florida hospitals.
Personal attorney guidance, not a rotating file
I am one attorney. There are no associates and no rotating file assignments. You explain your family once, to the person who writes the documents, and when you call in three years to change something you reach the same person. The practical difference between that and a larger firm is set out in the comparison section below.
Individual and couple planning
Most of the Orlando plans I prepare are for one of two households: a single person, often widowed, divorced or never married, or a married couple who want their documents to work together. Estate planning for couples in Orlando is not one set of documents with two names on it. Each spouse signs his or her own will and his or her own incapacity documents, drafted so that the two plans agree with each other and with how the couple owns their home and accounts.
Many single clients want an Orlando estate planning attorney for a will and health care documents and nothing more. That is a complete plan for a lot of people, and it is the core package described below.
Do I need an estate planning attorney near me in Orlando?
Not in the sense of an office down the street. Whether you call the person an Orlando wills and trusts attorney or an estate planning lawyer, what matters is a Florida lawyer who knows Florida’s rules on homestead, spouses and signing, and who is available when you call. The firms that appear first for the best estate planning attorney near me are mostly the ones with an Orlando address. That is a fair way to start, but the address does not tell you who will actually draft your documents or how much time you will get with that person.
Remote estate planning in Orlando, done properly, is not a lesser version of the work: I explain on the first call how the signing will work for you, including whether any document should be signed with witnesses in the room.
Choose between a will, a document package and a trust plan
Most people need one of three things, and the choice is easier once you see what each includes. The table below is the service-selection table I use: what each option is for, what it contains, whether a trust is included, and how the fee is set.
| Service | What it is for | Documents | Trust? | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will on its own | Who inherits, who administers the estate, and the guardian you nominate for minor children | Last will and testament | No | Starts at $675 |
| Core estate planning package | A will plus the documents that work while you are alive | Will, durable power of attorney, designation of health care surrogate, living will, preneed guardian designation | No | $1,500 for one person |
| Revocable living trust plan | Keeping assets out of probate and handling incapacity through a successor trustee | Revocable living trust, pour-over will, and the incapacity documents | Yes | Separate engagement, starting at $2,500, plus $575 per deed when Florida real estate is moved into the trust |
Married couples: each spouse signs his or her own documents, and the couple receives a discount, quoted individually. Business owners: business succession planning is an additional service, quoted before that work starts.
The table is a starting point, not a verdict. On the first call I ask what you own, how it is held and who is in your family, and I tell you which of these fits. Sometimes the answer is less than you expected.
Will-based planning and incapacity documents
What many people call an Orlando will package is what I call the core estate planning package. The core estate planning package is $1,500 for one person: a will, a durable power of attorney, a designation of health care surrogate, a living will and a preneed guardian designation. Each one does a different job, and together they are the basic estate planning documents most Orlando adults need.
If you came looking for a last will and testament attorney Orlando families can rely on, the will is where we start, but it is rarely the only document that matters.
- Last will and testament. Names who inherits, who administers the estate and the guardian you nominate for your minor children. It operates only after death, and only through the court. Even what people call a simple will: Florida requires it to be signed at the end with two witnesses, and a simple document can still give a result nobody intended.
- Durable power of attorney. Lets a person you choose handle your financial and legal affairs. A Florida power of attorney generally takes effect when you sign it, and because it is durable it keeps working if you become unable to act. It ends at death.
- Designation of health care surrogate. Lets a person you choose make medical decisions and receive your records. What other states call a medical power of attorney, Florida calls a designation of health care surrogate.
- Living will. States your own wishes about end-of-life care, so no one has to guess. A living will is a medical document. It does not leave property to anyone, and it is not the same thing as a living trust. Most people look for a living will attorney in Orlando after a hospital stay; it is far easier to sign one before.
A preneed guardian designation, which names the person you want appointed if a court ever decides a guardian is needed, is included in the package. You will also see it written pre need guardian. Florida law gives the person you name a statutory presumption if a guardianship is ever opened.
Health care surrogate attorney for Orlando families
The designation of health care surrogate is the document an Orlando hospital asks for first, usually on the worst day a family has had in years. It names the person who speaks for you on medical decisions and, if you choose, gives that person access to your records straight away rather than only once you are incapacitated. I prepare the surrogate designation as its own document rather than folding health care into the durable power of attorney: the financial document falls under chapter 709 and the health care document under chapter 765, and keeping them separate means each is read for the job it does. My page on the Florida health care surrogate explains the document in detail.
If what you want is a will and health care surrogate package in Orlando, that is the core estate planning package: the will, the surrogate designation, the living will, the durable power of attorney and the preneed guardian designation, signed together.
Separate revocable trust engagement
A revocable living trust plan is a separate engagement, starting at $2,500. I quote it once I understand what the trust needs to hold and do. The trust plan includes my review of your estate plan and your trust, so that they work together. For your beneficiary designations, I advise you on what is necessary and how to get it done efficiently. The deed that moves your home into the trust is $575. That fee includes reading your recorded deed, deed preparation, online notarization, witnesses, county recording fees, and the minimum documentary stamp charge; documentary stamp tax above the minimum is separate. The $575 applies only when Florida real estate is moved into the trust, and it is per deed, so each additional Florida property is another $575. If a property is outside Florida, I advise you to have counsel in that state prepare and record the deed. When people look for a trust attorney in Orlando, they are usually after one of three things: keeping a house or accounts out of probate, letting someone step in without a court if they become incapacitated, or holding a child’s inheritance until an age they choose.
A living trust attorney does two jobs, and a living trust lawyer in Orlando who does only the first leaves you with a document that controls nothing. A trust plan has two parts. The first is drafting: the trust itself, a pour-over will that catches anything never moved into the trust and nominates guardians for minor children, and the incapacity documents. The second is funding, and it is the part that decides whether the trust works. Real estate is funded by recording a new deed into the trust; in Orange County, deeds are recorded with the Orange County Comptroller. Bank and brokerage accounts are retitled at the institution. You handle that step yourself, and I give you the steps to follow, because it is faster and less expensive for you to do it directly with your bank or brokerage than to pay counsel to do it. Retirement accounts and life insurance are usually handled by changing the beneficiary designation. An unfunded trust is an expensive folder.
For an Orlando couple, a revocable trust plan for a married couple may use one trust or two, with a pour-over will for each spouse. Which one fits depends on how you own your home and accounts now, and I quote the couple’s trust plan individually.
A Florida resident’s revocable trust that disposes of property at death must be signed with the same formalities as a will. That matters if you want a revocable trust lawyer to handle your Orlando plan remotely, and it is covered in the signing section below. My Florida living trust page goes further into how a revocable living trust in Florida works.
What are the pros and cons of a living trust in Florida?
The advantages are concrete. A successor trustee can step in at once if you become incapacitated, without a court proceeding. The terms stay private rather than filed publicly. Real estate in another state can pass without a separate proceeding there. And a child’s inheritance can be held until an age you choose instead of arriving as a lump sum at eighteen.
The disadvantages are just as real. A trust costs more to set up than a will. It has to be funded: deeds recorded, accounts retitled, beneficiary designations coordinated. And it does not remove your home from Florida’s homestead restrictions. Put side by side, the living trust in Florida pros and cons usually favor a trust when there is real estate, a blended family or a young beneficiary, and a will-based plan when the estate is simple. That is the conversation to have with any revocable living trust attorney before you sign.
Will vs. living trust in Florida: the short answer
Is a trust better than a will in Florida? Not always. A will speaks only after you die and only through a court. A trust speaks as soon as it is funded, and keeps speaking through incapacity and death without one. That is why the choice is rarely a will instead of a trust. Most people who use a trust also sign a pour-over will, and the two are drafted as a pair.
On cost, an Orlando will package versus a living trust plan is $1,500 against a trust plan starting at $2,500. Each deed that moves Florida real estate into the trust is a separate $575, with recording included.
| Question | Last will and testament | Revocable living trust |
|---|---|---|
| Does it work if I become incapacitated? | No; it has no effect until death | Yes; the successor trustee takes over |
| Does it avoid a court proceeding? | No | Only for assets actually titled in it |
| Does it name guardians for minor children? | Yes | No |
| Does it protect assets from my own creditors while I am alive? | No | No |
| Does it override the homestead restrictions? | No | No |
| Work after signing | Very little | Funding is essential |
What should your estate plan address?
A plan should match your goals, not a standard list. The matrix below connects what people usually want to the document that does it.
| If you want to… | The document that does it |
|---|---|
| Choose who handles your money if you cannot | Durable power of attorney |
| Choose who makes medical decisions for you | Designation of health care surrogate |
| Record your own end-of-life wishes | Living will |
| Say who inherits and who administers your estate | Last will and testament, or a trust with a pour-over will |
| Name a guardian for your minor children | Last will and testament |
| Keep assets out of probate | A funded revocable trust, beneficiary designations, or a lady bird deed for one property |
| Hold a child’s inheritance until an age you choose | A trust |
| Make your business plan and your estate plan agree | Your company’s documents read together with your will or trust |
Decision-making during life
If I could get every Orlando household to fix one document, it would be the durable power of attorney. Without one, the alternative when someone loses capacity is a court guardianship, heard in the Ninth Judicial Circuit for Orange County residents: slower, public, supervised and expensive. Florida’s power of attorney law was rewritten effective October 1, 2011. A power of attorney signed today takes effect when you sign it; the “springing” power that waits for a finding of incapacity no longer works for documents signed on or after that date. Certain powers, including making gifts, creating or amending a trust and changing beneficiary designations, are not granted by general language. They must be listed in the document, with your signature or initials next to each one. The financial power of attorney Orlando banks are most likely to question is a form downloaded from a website, and it usually fails at exactly that point. My Florida power of attorney page covers the document in full.
Property and family goals after death
Most of what you own passes by how it is titled, not by what your will says. Retirement accounts, life insurance, annuities and payable-on-death bank accounts pass by beneficiary designation. A carefully drafted will controls none of them. Part of any estate plan is making sure the beneficiary designations already on file match the plan the documents describe, and I advise you on what is necessary to get that done efficiently. Probate is avoided the same way, by titling, not by writing “avoid probate” in a document. A will does the opposite: it is the instrument that sends an estate to court. Florida has no inheritance tax and no state estate tax, so the question for most Orlando families is not tax but who receives what, and how quickly.
Can a lady bird deed replace an estate plan?
No, but it can be one part of one. A lady bird deed, formally an enhanced life estate deed, passes the one property it describes at your death without probate, while you keep the right to sell, mortgage or change your mind. It does nothing if you become incapacitated. It does not name a guardian for your children or cover your accounts, and it does not appoint anyone to act for you. If your only goal is keeping one Orlando home out of probate, my Orlando lady bird deed service may be all you need. It is a separate service from a will, even though both start at $675. If you want the whole picture, my comparison of the lady bird deed and the living trust sets out the trade-offs.
Is it better to leave a house in a will or a trust in Florida?
Usually a trust, or a lady bird deed, rather than a will alone. A house left by will goes through probate. A house held in a funded revocable trust, or covered by a recorded lady bird deed, passes without it. Whichever document you use, homestead still limits who can receive the house if you are survived by a spouse or a minor child, as explained below.
Which Orlando situations deserve particular attention?
The documents are the same across Florida, but the families who need them differ. Young families building in Lake Nona, Horizon West and Winter Garden, retirees who moved to Winter Park or Dr. Phillips from the Northeast, and couples in College Park and Baldwin Park with children from earlier marriages each bring a different first question. Two neighbors are not in Orange County at all: Clermont is in Lake County and Altamonte Springs is in Seminole County. The situations below are where Orlando plans most often need extra thought.
New Orlando residents with a plan from another state
Much of Orlando moved here from somewhere else, and so did the documents. Some travel well and some do not. It is the most common reason a new resident calls an estate planning attorney Winter Garden or Dr. Phillips neighbors have used.
- The will. Under section 732.502(2), Florida Statutes, a will signed by someone who was not a Florida resident at the time is valid here if it was validly signed under the law of the place where it was signed, unless it is a holographic will. A handwritten, unwitnessed will is not valid in Florida even if the state where it was written would honor it. The Fourth District Court of Appeal applied that rule in Caveglia v. Heinen, 359 So. 3d 745 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023).
- The person you named to settle your estate. Under section 733.304, Florida Statutes, a person who does not live in Florida can serve as personal representative only if he or she is within the family relationships the statute lists. A trusted friend in another state may be exactly the right person and still be ineligible.
- The power of attorney. Banks and title companies read powers of attorney against Florida’s 2011 Act. A document signed elsewhere may still work here, but it is read against Florida’s rules, and a review before you need it checks the document against those rules.
Validity is not the same as workability. A will can be valid here and still produce a result you did not intend, because it was written for another state’s rules on spouses and real estate. A review after a move shows which of your documents still work as written and which should be updated.
Hypothetical: a couple who moved to Lake Nona from New Jersey. They bring New Jersey wills naming his brother, who lives in Pennsylvania, as executor, and a New Jersey power of attorney. The wills were properly witnessed, so they are likely still valid here. His brother is a sibling, one of the relatives Florida allows to serve from out of state. The power of attorney deserves the first look: banks read powers of attorney against Florida’s 2011 Act, and the first time the couple’s Orlando bank sees theirs may be during a hospital stay. The decision they face is not whether to start over, but what to review now, and the power of attorney is the document that should not wait for a crisis to be tested.
Estate planning for young families and parents of minor children
Parents who ask an estate planning attorney Lake Nona families recommend usually start with the same question: who would raise the children? The will records the guardian you want, and a separate preneed guardian declaration filed with the clerk gives that choice more weight. The second question is who manages the money: if more than $15,000 in total is left to a child outright, a court guardianship of the property is generally required, and the child receives the whole balance at eighteen, which a trust avoids. My page on planning for parents of minor children covers guardians, trusts for children, life insurance and what happens if the other parent is still living.
Married couples and blended families
Estate planning for married couples in Florida has to account for rights a spouse holds whatever the documents say. The elective share entitles a surviving spouse to elect thirty percent of the elective estate (section 732.2065, Florida Statutes). The elective estate reaches well beyond the will, drawing in revocable trust property, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, and joint accounts, among others. Without a will, section 732.102 gives a surviving spouse only one half of the estate when the deceased spouse leaves descendants and either spouse has a descendant from another relationship. In a blended family, that is the outcome nobody chose. For estate planning, second marriage is where these rules matter most. These rights can be addressed, but through a properly signed marital agreement or spousal waiver, not by drafting around them.
Should a married couple sign a joint will?
It is one of the first questions couples ask when they look for a joint will attorney. Orlando couples get the same answer as couples anywhere in Florida.
Each spouse signs his or her own will. Under Florida law, signing a joint will, or two matching wills, does not by itself create a promise that neither of you will change your will later. If a couple wants that kind of promise to be binding, Florida requires it to be a written agreement signed in front of two attesting witnesses (section 732.701).
Married Orlando homeowners and the homestead rule
Your house is the asset most likely to defeat a plan, and Florida homestead is the reason. Under section 732.4015, Florida Statutes, homestead is not subject to devise if the owner is survived by a spouse or minor child, except that it may be left to the spouse if there is no minor child. A will leaving the house to children from a first marriage, over a surviving second spouse, does not do what it says. Moving the house into a revocable living trust does not get around this. Section 732.4017 treats a lifetime transfer in trust as outside the devise rules only where the owner keeps no power to revoke, and a revocable trust is revocable by definition. A spouse’s homestead rights can be given up only by a valid waiver in the form Florida law requires. The property tax exemption is a separate question, handled by the Orange County Property Appraiser.
Estate planning for business owners and business succession
If you own a business, your estate plan and your company’s documents have to agree, and often they do not. An operating agreement that restricts transfers can override what your will says. A buy-sell agreement can require your estate to sell on terms your family never negotiated. An LLC interest with no succession provision can leave a spouse holding a minority stake in a company she has no role in. Estate planning for business owners here covers who takes over operations, who takes the economic interest, how the interest is valued, whether a buy-sell agreement is funded with life insurance, and whether the interest is better held in a trust. It is work done alongside your accountant and your company’s lawyer, and it is quoted before that work starts.
My page on probate and estate planning in Central Florida covers the region’s courts and counties if your family is dealing with an estate rather than planning one.
What does planning cost, and what is included?
I publish my estate planning fees. Here is how they work.
- Will. A will on its own starts at $675. (My lady bird deed is also $675, but it is a separate service that passes one property; it is not a will.)
- Core package. The core estate planning package is $1,500 for one person: a will, a durable power of attorney, a designation of health care surrogate, a living will and a preneed guardian designation. For parents of minor children, it also includes a preneed guardian declaration for the children, filed with the clerk, and a designation of health care surrogate for the children.
- Trust. A revocable living trust plan is a separate engagement, starting at $2,500. I quote it once I understand what the trust needs to hold and do.
- Deed into the trust. The deed that moves your home into the trust is $575. That fee includes reading your recorded deed, deed preparation, online notarization, witnesses, county recording fees, and the minimum documentary stamp charge; documentary stamp tax above the minimum is separate.
- Couples. Married couples receive a discount. Each spouse signs his or her own documents, so I quote a couple’s plan individually rather than doubling the single price.
A trust plan with the deed for your home starts at $3,075, plus any documentary stamp tax above the minimum. The $575 applies only when Florida real estate is moved into the trust, and it is per deed, so each additional Florida property is another $575. If a property is outside Florida, I advise you to have counsel in that state prepare and record the deed.
Every figure is agreed before drafting begins, so an Orlando estate planning flat fee here, for an individual or a couple, means you know the number before I write a word. The quote changes if the plan needs more than the documents listed, for example a business succession arrangement, a second property in another state, or a trust. I tell you the figure before that work starts.
Estate planning attorney cost varies widely in Orlando, which is one reason I publish mine. When you compare the cost of an estate planning package, compare what is included.
People ask how much a will costs, or how much a living trust costs in Florida, as if the document were the whole job. For a trust in particular, ask what each quote covers on funding, because a trust that is never funded does nothing. Retitling your bank and brokerage accounts is done by you, with the steps I give you. Reviewing documents you already have, including a plan signed in another state, is separate work, quoted before it starts.
A simple will cost is the easiest number to compare between lawyers. The harder comparison is what each will leaves out: the homestead, the spouse’s rights, and whether the person you named can serve.
What does an Orlando estate planning consultation cost?
The first conversation is free: a short phone call with me, so you can tell me what you have in mind, ask how the process works and decide whether you want to go ahead. There is no charge and no obligation.
How do consultation, drafting and signing work?
Working with a virtual estate planning attorney does not mean working with a less involved one. The process is simple, and none of it requires a trip to an office. You call; we talk; you decide whether to go ahead. Then there is a questionnaire, the drafting, your review, and the signing.
Prepare for the conversation
If you decide to go ahead, we email you an intake questionnaire. It covers your family, the people you want to name and a general picture of what you own. You don’t need every answer before we begin; anything you are unsure about, we work through together. I then draft the documents myself and send them to you to read, with the reasoning explained in plain language, and we change what needs changing before anything is signed.
Which documents can be signed remotely in Florida?
Florida permits remote online notarization, and a Florida will can be signed electronically with an online notary and witnesses on the same audio-video session. Most of Florida’s estate planning requirements are signing requirements, and remote signing is not unlimited: the limits catch people who assume it is. The table below sets out what changes by document. I tell you which documents can be signed remotely in your situation before anything is scheduled.
| Document | Can it be signed remotely? | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Last will and testament | Yes, electronically, with an online notary and witnesses on the same session | The same Florida formalities apply: a signature at the end and two witnesses who sign in your presence and in each other’s |
| Revocable living trust | Yes, on the same basis as a will | A Florida resident’s revocable trust that disposes of property at death must be signed with the formalities of a will |
| Durable power of attorney | Yes, for general authority | Under section 709.2202(6), a power of attorney signed by someone domiciled in Florida at the time of signing, whose witnesses were not physically present, cannot grant the specially listed powers: creating, amending or revoking a trust, making gifts, creating or changing survivorship rights, changing beneficiary designations, waiving a joint and survivor annuity or retirement survivor benefit, and disclaiming property. If you need those powers, the witnesses must be in the room |
| Designation of health care surrogate and living will | Discussed with you | These documents have their own witness rules, and I confirm the arrangement for your situation |
| A will, a revocable trust that disposes of property at death, a health care advance directive, an agreement or waiver of spousal rights under sections 732.701 or 732.702, or a power of attorney authorizing the transactions listed in section 709.2208, when signed with remote witnesses | Only if the screening allows it | Under section 117.285(5), when fewer than two witnesses are physically present, you must be asked whether you are under the influence of a drug or alcohol that impairs your decision-making, whether a physical or mental condition or long-term disability impairs your daily activities, and whether you need help with daily care. A “yes” to any of them means the document can be witnessed only by people physically present. A vulnerable adult cannot have these documents witnessed remotely at all |
My online estate planning page covers remote signing in more depth.
When I still recommend signing with witnesses in the room
Not every document, and not every client. Where capacity may later be questioned, where a family member has been applying pressure, or where the plan is complex enough that I want the signing handled with the witnesses physically present, I will tell you plainly. Remote signing is a genuine option, not a default, and knowing which situation calls for which is part of what you are hiring.
When a document needs witnesses physically present, that is arranged as part of the engagement at no extra charge. It is included in every fee on this page.
How long does it take?
There is no one-size timetable. We talk about when you need the documents signed, and we work around your schedule and any deadline you are facing.
Who keeps the signed documents?
For documents signed on paper, you keep all of the signed originals, and I keep a copy on file. For an electronic will, I serve as the qualified custodian of the electronic record. Give copies of the power of attorney and the health care surrogate designation to the people named in them, and keep your living will where your family can find it: Orlando hospitals cannot follow wishes nobody can produce.
What should you gather before starting?
Less than you might think. What documents you need for estate planning is my job to work out; yours is to be ready to say who you trust and what worries you. You do not need to make every final choice before we speak, and you do not need any of this perfectly organized. This on-page estate planning checklist is what helps most:
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The people you want to name, with a backup for each: personal representative, agent under the power of attorney, health care surrogate, guardian for minor children, trustee | These are the most important decisions in the plan, and the ones only you can make |
| Any existing will, trust or power of attorney, including documents signed in another state | Shows what still works in Florida and what does not |
| A rough list of what you own: your home, bank and brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, a business | Decides whether a will, a package or a trust fits |
| How each item is held: your name alone, joint, or with a beneficiary named | Most assets pass by titling or beneficiary designation, not by the will |
| A marital agreement, if you have one | Affects a spouse’s rights under Florida law |
| Your company’s governing documents, if you own a business | They may control what happens to the business whatever your will says |
Keep sensitive details for the questionnaire, not the public web form. The problems with do-it-yourself documents are usually not in the blanks but in what the form never asked: your homestead, your spouse’s rights, and whether the person you named can serve.
Comparing Orlando estate lawyers, and attorneys vs. document preparers
People looking for estate lawyers in Orlando, Florida, will find large firms, small firms, directories and non-lawyer services side by side. Here is how I would compare them, including me.
Estate attorney, estate lawyer, estate planner: do the titles mean anything?
Not much, and one of them is a warning. An estate attorney in Orlando and an Orlando wills and trusts lawyer are describing the same work. No Florida licensing distinction sits behind these labels. The exception is “estate planner,” which does not necessarily mean a lawyer at all. Financial advisors, insurance agents and document preparation services all use it. A document preparer who drafts your will or trust is practicing law without a license, and cannot advise you on homestead, the elective share or whether the person you named can serve. Ask one question and the ambiguity disappears: are you a member of The Florida Bar, and what is your bar number? Mine is 107002.
Are estate planners worth it?
A lawyer who drafts your plan is worth it when the plan has to survive Florida’s rules on homestead, spouses and signing, which is most plans. The problems a form or a non-lawyer misses do not show up while you are alive; they show up as a court case afterward, and the cost of a contested case after a plan fails is measured in tens of thousands of dollars. If “estate planner” means someone who is not a lawyer, the question to ask first is the bar number.
How a solo practice compares to firms with more lawyers
Here the same attorney handles every stage of your plan. That is a difference in structure, not a claim about talent. At estate planning law firms with several lawyers, a matter is often divided among people: one lawyer may take the first meeting, another may draft, staff may assemble the signing packet, and a different attorney may cover the signing. I am one attorney. The person who takes your first call is the person who drafts your will, sits with you through the signing, and answers the phone years later when you want to change something.
To be fair about the trade-off: larger Orlando estate planning firms offer bench depth, specialists down the hall and coverage when someone is away, and for a very large estate with an international tax structure that depth is worth having. For most families, retirees and business owners, direct access to one attorney is worth more than headcount, and you do not need a large Orlando estate planning law firm to get a plan that works. I also handle estate litigation, including will and trust contests, so the documents I draft are written by someone who has seen documents tested in court.
Who is the best estate planning attorney in Orlando for you?
The one who answers these questions well. Ask them of any of the last will and testament lawyers you are comparing, including me.
- Who actually drafts the documents, and how much time will I have with that person?
- Will you advise me on my beneficiary designations and how my home is held, or only draft documents?
- Is the fee quoted before the work starts, and what does it include? Any lawyer offering an Orlando will package should be able to list every document in it.
- What is your answer on homestead? If a Florida lawyer does not raise it when you own a home, keep looking.
- Which of my documents can be signed remotely, and which should not be?
- Are you a member of The Florida Bar, and what is your bar number?
Schedule an Orlando estate planning conversation
Call (305) 224-6811 or use the contact form. The first conversation is free: a short phone call with me, so you can tell me what you have in mind, ask how the process works and decide whether you want to go ahead.
Plenty of firms advertise an estate planning attorney free consultation. This first call is exactly that, and it is with the attorney who would draft your documents.
I also speak Spanish; readers looking for an abogado de testamentos can start with my page on the testamento en Florida.
Compare the available services
- You want a will, or a will with incapacity documents. The will starts at $675; the core estate planning package is $1,500 for one person.
- You want to keep assets out of probate and plan for incapacity through a trustee. A revocable living trust plan, a separate engagement starting at $2,500, plus $575 per deed when Florida real estate is moved into the trust.
- Your only goal is keeping one Orlando property out of probate. The Orlando lady bird deed service, a separate $675 service.
- Someone has already died and you are dealing with the estate. That is probate, not planning: see my Orlando probate lawyer page.
Can you review documents I already have?
Yes. Tell me on the first call what you have and where it was signed. Reviewing existing documents is separate work, and I quote it before it starts. Being told nothing needs to change is a legitimate outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Can I work with you remotely from Orlando?
Yes. Consultations are by phone and email, the intake questionnaire is emailed, and I tell you which documents can be signed remotely in your situation and which should be signed with witnesses physically present.
What is included in an Orlando estate planning package?
The core estate planning package is $1,500 for one person: a will, a durable power of attorney, a designation of health care surrogate, a living will and a preneed guardian designation. For parents of minor children, it also includes a preneed guardian declaration for the children, filed with the clerk, and a designation of health care surrogate for the children. A revocable trust is not included: a revocable living trust plan is a separate engagement, starting at $2,500, plus $575 per deed when Florida real estate is moved into the trust. Married couples do not share one set of documents; each spouse signs his or her own, and the couple’s plan is quoted individually with a discount.
Does Florida have a transfer on death deed?
Not for real property. The Florida equivalent is the enhanced life estate deed, usually called a lady bird deed. Bank and brokerage accounts can pass by payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation.
Can my adult child help set this up for me?
Your son or daughter can help: make the call, gather documents and arrange the signing. You are the client. I confirm your wishes with you directly, and you decide who may be on the calls and who receives information.
Does a durable power of attorney cover medical decisions in Florida?
Not the way I prepare them. I draft the durable power of attorney for financial and legal matters and a designation of health care surrogate for medical decisions, so each document does one job. If the two ever conflict, the health care advance directive generally controls unless the power of attorney was signed later and says expressly that it governs.
Does a power of attorney need to be notarized in Florida?
Yes. A Florida durable power of attorney must be signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses and acknowledged before a notary (section 709.2105, Florida Statutes).
How long is a power of attorney good for in Florida?
A durable power of attorney keeps working if you become incapacitated; that is what “durable” means. You can revoke it at any time while you have capacity, and it ends at your death: the agent cannot use it to settle your estate.
Do I need a lawyer for a will in Florida, or can I write my own?
No law requires a lawyer. You can write your own, but a handwritten will is valid only if it is signed and witnessed exactly as section 732.502 requires, and an unwitnessed handwritten will is not valid in Florida. The larger risk in a do-it-yourself will is what the form never asks: whether your homestead can go where you are leaving it, what your spouse is entitled to, and whether the person you named can serve.
Does a Florida will need to be notarized?
Not to be valid. It needs your signature at the end and two witnesses who sign in your presence and in each other’s. A self-proving affidavit, which does need a notary, lets the will be admitted to probate without tracking down the witnesses later, and a will should not be signed without one.
For the statewide picture, see my Florida estate planning attorney page. To talk to an Orlando estate planning attorney about your plan, call (305) 224-6811.
Last updated: September 25, 2026.
Written and reviewed by Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr., attorney, Florida Bar No. 107002.
This page is general information about Florida law and does not constitute legal advice for any particular situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.