Specific Bequests of Tangible Personal Property in a Florida Will

Specific bequests and personal property memoranda at a glance

Use the step-by-step guide and private worksheet if you are preparing a list now, or start with what happens after a death if you are handling an estate.

What is a specific bequest in a Florida will?

The specific bequest meaning is easiest to see by example. “The upright piano in my living room to my son David” is a specific bequest. “$10,000 to my nephew” is not, because any money in the estate can pay it. “The rest of my estate to my children equally” is not either; it is the residue. The difference is not just vocabulary. Whether a gift is specific decides what happens when the item is sold before death, when the estate owes debts, and when a surviving spouse claims exempt property, all of which this guide covers.

Specific bequest examples show how to identify an item and its recipient. Read each specific bequest in a will example below as a gift description, not a finished specific bequest clause. These examples of specific bequests in a will still need surrounding instructions about survivorship, alternates and delivery, drafted with the rest of the will:

• “My 18-karat gold wristwatch with the engraved caseback, serial number ending 4471, to my grandson Mateo Ruiz.”
• “The oil painting of the Biscayne Bay lighthouse that hangs in my dining room to my daughter Ana Lopez.”
• “My 2019 center-console fishing boat and its trailer to my brother Luis Perez, if he survives me.”
• “My house at [street address], Kissimmee, Florida, to my daughter Ana Lopez” (a specific devise of real property, which has its own rules and limits).

Each one names a thing that can be found and a person who can be identified. That is what makes it specific, and it is also why a vague gift (“my jewelry to the girls”) invites argument later. Put simply, the specific bequest definition has two parts: an identified asset and an identified recipient. When people ask “what is a specific bequest in a will?” or search for a specific bequest Florida answer, they usually want to know how to leave a ring, a watch or a car to one person, and what can go wrong. The rest of this guide answers both for specific bequests in a Florida will.

Bequest, devise, legacy and special bequest: the vocabulary

What is a bequest? Traditionally a bequest was a gift of personal property by will, a devise was a gift of land, and a legacy was a gift of money. Florida has merged them: the Probate Code defines “devise” as a testamentary disposition of real property, personal property or both (§ 731.201), and the person who receives it is a “devisee.” So in Florida, bequest vs devise (or devise vs bequest) is a difference of habit, not law, and a specific devise in a will is the same thing as a specific bequest. You will see “special bequest,” “specific gift” and “specific legacy” used the same way: a special bequest in a will, a specific gift in will language, and specific gifts in a will all mean an identified item for an identified person. Bequest examples range from a single ring to “my coin collection,” as long as the item can be identified. A bequest is not the same as a beneficiary: the bequest is the gift, and the beneficiary (devisee) is the person who receives it.

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Types of bequests in a Florida will: specific, general, demonstrative, residuary and pre-residuary

The table summarizes the default order in § 733.805; the will can change it, and funds the will designates for debts are used first. See debts and abatement.

See the chart “The order Florida uses an estate's assets to pay its debts” (opens the full-size image; the details are also in the text).

What is a pre-residuary devise in Florida?

“Pre-residuary” means before the residue, and a Florida pre-residuary devise is any gift in the will that comes ahead of the residue. Specific, general and demonstrative gifts are all pre-residuary, because they are satisfied before anyone knows what the residue will be. The term is a practitioner label; the apportionment statute uses “nonresiduary devise.” Florida practitioners invoke the concept most often in two places: estate tax apportionment, where § 733.817 charges the tax on nonresiduary devises to the residuary estate by default unless the governing instrument directs otherwise, and abatement, where the order in which gifts are reduced to pay debts depends on the class. If you are drafting a will, the practical question is simple: should the specific gifts bear any share of taxes and debts, or should the residue bear them? The will can say.

Comparing the types of bequests in a will is the quickest way to see why classification matters. In a specific bequest vs general bequest comparison, the specific gift is safer from debts but can fail if the item is gone, while the general gift survives the sale of any one asset but is reduced sooner. In a specific bequest vs residuary comparison, the residuary estate (whatever the residuary clause leaves after everything else) absorbs debts first and also collects failed gifts. A cash bequest is a general gift; it belongs in the will, not on a personal property list.

A few related questions come up often:

• Can a specific bequest be a percentage? A percentage of the estate is not a specific bequest; it is a share of the residue or a fractional gift. A percentage interest in a particular item (“a one-half interest in my condominium”) is a specific gift of that interest.
• Are specific bequests part of the estate? Yes. A specific bequest in a will passes through the probate estate, so it waits for administration and remains subject to the rules in this guide. Property that passes outside the will (a joint account, a payable-on-death account, trust property) is not controlled by the will at all.
• Is a specific bequest in trust different? A trust can make a specific gift too. It is governed by the trust instrument and Florida’s Trust Code, not by the will, and the separate-writing rules work differently there.

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Leaving a house or land as a specific devise

A specific devise of real property works like any other specific gift: it is satisfied only by that property, it is reduced last when debts are paid, and it can fail by ademption if you sell the property before death, subject to the nonademption rules. Describe the property by street address and, ideally, legal description, so there is no question which parcel you meant.

Homestead is the major Florida exception. Under article X, section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution and § 732.4015, a homestead may not be devised if the owner is survived by a spouse or a minor child, except that it may be devised to the spouse if there is no minor child. If the owner is survived by a spouse or a minor child, a will that leaves the family home to an adult child from a first marriage is an invalid devise, and the home passes instead under Florida’s homestead inheritance rules (§ 732.401) rather than under the will. The rules have exceptions and waivers; see Florida homestead probate before relying on a will gift of a residence.

Other ways to pass real estate at death include a Lady Bird deed, a deed into a revocable trust, and joint ownership with survivorship. Each changes who controls the property during life and after death, and each interacts with homestead differently. A specific bequest of real property in the will is one option, not the only one; see the Florida deeds guide.

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What counts as tangible personal property in Florida?

What is tangible personal property, in a sentence? A practical tangible personal property definition is “a physical object whose value lies in the object.” What is tangible personal property in Florida for a will? The same idea, subject to the exclusions in § 732.515 and Florida’s 2026 rule for gold and silver. The dividing line is tangible versus intangible. A stock certificate is a piece of paper, but its value lies in the ownership right it records, so it is intangible. The same is true of a certificate of deposit, a bank statement, a promissory note and an insurance policy: the paper is not the asset. That is why “is money considered personal property in a will?” has two answers. Money is personal property, but a bank balance is intangible, and a gift of dollars belongs in the will, not on the tangible personal property list (see cash).

Does tangible personal property go through probate? It does if it was owned in the decedent’s name alone and is not controlled by another arrangement, and the same is true of other personal property. Does personal property go through probate when it is in a trust or held jointly with survivorship? Generally no, because the trust or the survivorship arrangement controls it. So how to list personal property in a will starts with ownership: list what you own outright, along with your share of anything you own with others without a right of survivorship.

Use and ownership matter too. A camera used for family photographs is ordinary tangible personal property; the same camera in a working photographer’s business kit is “property used in trade or business,” which the separate-writing statute excludes. An item owned by your revocable trust, or a vehicle titled jointly with survivorship, is not controlled by your will at all.

Is it tangible personal property in a will? A quick table

The table describes the usual treatment. Ownership, title and the wording of the will control the result for a particular item.

See the chart “What a § 732.515 list needs, and what it can hold” (opens the full-size image; the details are also in the text).

Not the property tax. In Florida, “tangible personal property” also names a property tax on business equipment, reported to the county property appraiser on the Department of Revenue’s form DR-405. This guide is about wills and gifts at death, not that tax return.

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The Florida personal property memorandum (§ 732.515 separate writing)

People call the same document a personal property memorandum, a tangible personal property memorandum, a memorandum of personal property, a tangible personal property list, a personal property list for a will, a TPP list or a TPP memo. The statute’s term is “separate writing.” You may also see it searched as a “personal property list for will” purposes, a “will personal property list” or an “addendum to will for personal property.” The label does not matter; meeting the statute does. For a personal property memorandum Florida law gives effect to, here is the full text of the Florida separate writing statute, Florida Statute 732.515:

What § 732.515 requires

Read together, the statute asks for four things, and each one is necessary:

1. Your will must refer to the writing. The statute reaches only “a written statement or list referred to in the decedent’s will.” A note stored beside the will, but never mentioned in it, is not a § 732.515 writing. Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal declined to give effect to a claimed list where the will itself contained no reference to it (Adkins v. Woodfin, 525 So. 2d 447 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988)).
2. You must sign it. The writing must be signed by the testator, the person whose will it is. It must also be a writing: oral instructions to family are not a separate writing (see In re Estate of Corbin, 645 So. 2d 39 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)).
3. It must describe the items and the recipients with reasonable certainty. A bequest of “my jewelry to my daughters” invites argument. “The 1.2-carat solitaire engagement ring, appraised in 2019, to my daughter Clara Ruiz” leaves far less room for it.
4. The property must qualify. Items of tangible personal property, not used in a trade or business, and not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will.

These requirements work together. A signature does not cure a missing will reference; a will reference does not cure an item that is not eligible; and extra formality, such as a notary, cannot make a bank account into tangible personal property.

Can you write it after the will is signed and change it later?

Yes to both. Section 732.515 says the writing “may be prepared before or after the execution of the will” and “may be altered by the testator after its preparation.” You can sign your will in March and write the list in October, and change it again when you buy a painting, give away a ring or a grandchild is born. That flexibility is the reason the separate writing exists. Without it, changing who gets the china would mean signing a codicil, a formal amendment with the same execution ceremony as the will.

To change the list cleanly, sign and date a complete new version and say at the top whether it replaces all earlier lists or only certain entries. Avoid crossed-out lines, unsigned additions and loose pages. When the will itself is replaced, make sure the new will refers to the list (or a new list) as well.

Does a Florida personal property memorandum need to be notarized?

No. Does a personal property memorandum need to be notarized under Florida law? Section 732.515 does not require a notary or witnesses; it requires your signature and reasonably certain descriptions within the rules above. A handwritten list or a typed one can qualify. That is a real contrast with the will itself, which under § 732.502 must be signed at the end by the testator in the presence of two attesting witnesses who sign in the testator’s presence and each other’s. Florida does not accept an unwitnessed handwritten (holographic) will, yet a signed handwritten list referred to in a valid will can work. And does a will need to be notarized in Florida? Not to be valid: the notary is used for the optional self-proving affidavit under § 732.503, which makes the will easier to admit to probate.

Two cautions. First, the statute requires no date, but it resolves conflicts by asking which writing is “most recent,” so date every page. Second, informality cuts both ways: a list that needs no witnesses and can be signed shortly before death may be more vulnerable to a challenge for lack of capacity or undue influence (see § 732.5165 and § 733.107). Where the family is fragile, there is nothing wrong with signing the list in a lawyer’s office in front of witnesses, even though the statute does not require it.

Signing the list electronically

Section 732.522 provides that for “any other instrument under the Florida Probate Code,” a requirement that an instrument be signed “may be satisfied by an electronic signature.” That supports an electronically signed separate writing. Subsection (4) is a different rule: it addresses when an electronically signed instrument is deemed executed in Florida, if the instrument states that the person intends to execute it under Florida law. Because questions of identity, intent and document integrity can arise, a typed name in a phone note or an unsigned email is a weak substitute. A signed paper original kept with the will is a widely accepted and straightforward choice; if you prefer to sign electronically, have the process reviewed.

Where the list should be kept

Keep the current signed list with the original will, and tell your personal representative and your lawyer that it exists and where it is. There is no public registry for a separate writing. Keep a record of which version is current, and do not keep stray drafts that could be mistaken for a later list. After a death, or once a dispute begins, the opposite rule applies: preserve every version that is found.

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How to write a personal property memorandum in Florida

How to leave personal items in a will comes down to two documents working together: the will, which can make specific gifts itself and must refer to the list, and the list. Drafting wills with specific bequests well means deciding which items belong in the will itself (anything very valuable, or going to someone whose gift might be challenged) and which can go on the changeable list. The steps below show how to draft a will with specific bequests and a matching list so heirlooms reach intended recipients, whether you want to leave jewelry in a will, leave items in a will to grandchildren, or name a few items in a will and let the rest go to your children equally.

1. Check the will first. Confirm that your current will refers to a separate writing under § 732.515 and see what it already gives away. The list cannot change a specific gift the will itself makes. If the will has no reference, the list will not work until the will is updated.
2. Decide which items need individual gifts. Each heirloom, jewelry, art, collections, firearms, vehicles and anything with sentimental weight. Ordinary household contents can go to a group (“everything else to my children equally”) under the will.
3. Describe each item so a stranger could find it. Maker, material, color, size, engraving, where it is kept, and for vehicles and boats the year, make and model (keep full serial numbers and VINs in your private records, not on a public website). A private photograph reference helps, but the written description must stand on its own.
4. Name each recipient precisely. Full legal name and relationship (“my granddaughter Sofia Elena Ruiz”), not nicknames. For a charity, its exact legal name and city. For a minor, see the note below.
5. Add an alternate (contingent) recipient for each important gift. Say who receives the item if the first recipient does not survive you, and coordinate that with the will’s survivorship terms.
6. Avoid what the list cannot do. No cash amounts, accounts, real estate, business property or instructions to buy something; no passwords or seed phrases.
7. Sign and date every page, number the pages (“page 2 of 3”), and say whether this list replaces all earlier lists.
8. Store it with the will and tell your personal representative. Then review it after any sale, gift, move, marriage, divorce or death in the family.

Specific bequest language: sample entries. These are illustrations of reasonably certain descriptions, not a form to sign:

• “My grandmother’s emerald and diamond ring, platinum setting, engraved ‘R.M. 1952,’ to my niece Clara Ruiz of Tampa; if she does not survive me, to her daughter Lucia Ruiz.”
• “The blue antique vase with pink roses on the hall table to my sister Teresa Gomez.”
• “All of my vinyl record collection, including the shelving unit it is stored in, to my grandson Mateo Ruiz.”
• “My 2018 Toyota Tacoma pickup, titled in my name alone, to my son David Lopez.”

Gifts to minors. A child can own property, but a valuable item left outright to a minor may need an adult to manage it. The will can name a custodian under Florida’s Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (chapter 710) or leave the item to a trust for the child. Discuss that in the will rather than on the list.

Is there a Florida personal property memorandum template? Templates, a personal property memorandum form or even a Florida will template are easy to find online, and a form can help you organize your thoughts. The form is not the hard part: the hard part is the will’s reference, eligibility and coordination with the rest of the plan, which no form can check. Lorenzo Law does not offer a downloadable form. The worksheet below is for planning and discussion only.

Private gift-planning worksheet

Use this to collect your decisions before a review. It is not a will, codicil, separate writing, trust amendment or beneficiary designation; do not sign it expecting it to transfer property. Print it or copy it into a private document. Do not send account numbers, serial numbers, passwords or safe combinations through a website form.

Add a private note with the date of your review, where the will and list are kept, and which earlier versions exist.

How to describe items and recipients clearly

For items, prefer features that do not change: maker, material, markings, dimensions, engraving and purchase history. If you own two similar things, say which is which. If a gift covers a collection, say whether it includes items you acquire later. For recipients, use full names and relationships, and think about people with similar names, recipients who may change their name, and organizations with several branches. Do not describe the same object twice, on the list and in the will, or on two lists, unless the later entry is meant to replace the earlier one.

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Separate writing vs incorporation by reference (§ 732.512)

Why it matters: a will that describes the list in incorporation-by-reference terms, for example as a document “to be considered part of this will,” invites the argument that only a list existing on the day the will was signed counts, and that later lists are not covered. The safer course is a will reference written for § 732.515 itself.

What the will’s reference to the list should do

Rather than copying a sample clause into an existing will (a handwritten addition to a signed will is not a valid amendment), ask the lawyer drafting the will to make sure the reference:

• authorizes one or more separate writings under § 732.515, signed by you, prepared before or after the will and changeable at any time;
• says how the list relates to the will’s own gifts of tangible personal property, including any blanket gift to a spouse or children;
• says what happens to items not effectively given by the list (usually a gift to named people or the residue);
• applies the will’s survivorship, alternate-recipient and tax and expense provisions to list gifts; and
• gives the personal representative authority to deliver, ship, insure and, if necessary, sell items, and to decide disputes over identification.

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What cannot go in the list

• Business property. The exclusion follows how the item is used, not who owns it. A tractor on a hobby farm can be listed; the same tractor on a working farm cannot. Mixed personal and business use needs a closer look.
• Items the will already gives away. If the will gives the painting to your son, a later list giving it to your daughter does not change that gift. Change the will.
• Property outside the will. Trust-owned items, a vehicle titled with a survivorship co-owner, or anything held jointly with right of survivorship passes under its own arrangement.
• Real estate, timeshares and burial rights. These need the will, a deed or other documents; see real property.
• Intangibles. Accounts, securities, insurance and retirement benefits follow the will, the trust or the beneficiary designation.

Can you leave cash in a Florida personal property memorandum?

Use the will for cash. Before 2001, § 732.515 excluded “money” by name; chapter 2001-226, Laws of Florida, removed that word, and today the only express exclusion is trade or business property. But the statute still reaches only “items of tangible personal property,” and a gift of a dollar amount, or of money from an account, is not an item of tangible personal property. In Baldwin v. Estate of Winters, 944 So. 2d 437 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006), signed letters directing the personal representative to buy someone “a new car of his choice” could not take effect as a separate writing because they were, in substance, a gift of money; that case arose under the earlier version of the statute.

The line to hold is an existing object versus a dollar value. Your existing car can go on the list. Money to buy a car should go in the will as a general bequest. An identified collectible bill or coin, kept for its collector value, raises a different question from a cash gift and should be described as the object it is.

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Gold and silver: what changed on July 1, 2026

Section 215.986 defines “gold coin” as gold in the form of rounds, bars, ingots or bullion coins, valued for its metal content, stamped with its weight and purity, and at least 99.5 percent pure; “silver coin” is the same at 99.9 percent. Both definitions exclude jewelry, items of utility and collectibles. The statute also limits how legal-tender coin may be marked, including a bar on markings suggesting the coin was minted or issued by a government. Purity alone therefore does not settle the question. A coin eligible for legal-tender status may carry only its weight, purity, and a refiner or mint identifier; it may not bear any marking suggesting a government minted or issued it. A government-minted bullion coin such as an American Gold Eagle carries exactly such markings, so it cannot be legal tender under § 215.986 and remains tangible personal property.

If you hold physical metals, review both documents. A list written in 2023 leaving “my gold coins” to a grandchild may no longer reach the legal-tender bullion, and a will clause leaving “all my tangible personal property” to your spouse may not capture it either. Where the metals then go depends on the rest of the will: another specific gift, the residue, and only if nothing else applies, intestacy. Naming the metals specifically in the will avoids the question.

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What happens if you leave two lists that disagree?

That item-by-item rule surprises people in both directions. A new list does not automatically cancel every older one. And because the statute requires no date, “most recent” can become a question of evidence if two undated lists turn up. The cure is simple: date every list, and when you make changes, sign a complete new list that says whether it replaces all earlier lists. Destroying old versions during your lifetime is a decision to make with your lawyer; after a death, every version should be preserved.

The blanket tangible-property clause and the list

Many Florida wills contain a blanket gift such as “I give all my tangible personal property to my spouse.” Section 732.515 reaches only items “not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will,” so a blanket clause raises a question: is anything left for the list? In Babcock v. Estate of Babcock, 995 So. 2d 1044 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008), an exempt-property case, the will’s tangible-property article expressly excluded items given by the written list, and the court treated the list as a more particular designation that would control. The lesson is drafting, not a rule that the newest list always wins: the will should say that its blanket gift is subject to any separate writing. Do not assume a later list overrides a specific gift, a title or a beneficiary designation.

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What if the item is gone? Ademption in Florida

The traditional approach, often called the identity theory, asks one question: is the specifically devised item in the estate at death? If not, the gift fails, whatever the reason. Florida starts there but has statutory exceptions and a body of case law that considers the testator’s intent where the property can be traced. What happens depends on what changed:

See the chart “If a specifically given item is gone before death” (opens the full-size image; the details are also in the text).

Florida’s nonademption statute, § 732.606

Section 732.606 protects a specific devisee in defined circumstances:

• Sale by a guardian of the property. If specifically devised property is sold by a guardian of the property, or a condemnation award or insurance proceeds are paid to the guardian, the specific devisee has the right to a general pecuniary devise equal to the net sale price, the award or the proceeds. This does not apply if, after the sale, condemnation or casualty, it is adjudicated that the testator’s disability has ended and the testator survives that adjudication by one year. The right is reduced by any right under subsection (2).
• Unpaid purchase price. Any balance of the purchase price owing from a buyer at death, plus any security interest.
• Unpaid condemnation award. Any part of an award for the taking of the property unpaid at death.
• Unpaid insurance. Any fire or casualty insurance proceeds on the property unpaid at death.
• Foreclosure. Property owned at death as a result of foreclosure, or obtained instead of foreclosure, of the security for a specifically devised obligation.

Read the insurance rule carefully: it reaches proceeds unpaid at death. If the painting burned, the insurer paid you, and the money was deposited and spent, subsection (2) does not supply a replacement. Courts have applied the guardian-sale rule of subsection (1) in Owen v. Wilson, 399 So. 2d 498 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981), which extended it to voluntary as well as incompetent-ward guardianships; and have construed subsection (2) in Ott v. Ott, 418 So. 2d 460 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), holding that subsection applies to every testator’s unpaid sale proceeds, not only those with a guardian.

When an agent under a power of attorney sells the item

Section 732.606(1) names a guardian of the property. It does not mention an agent acting under a durable power of attorney, and Florida has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code provision that extends nonademption protection to agent sales. A durable power of attorney is far more common than a guardianship, so this is where many ademption disputes begin: the item was sold to pay for care, and the will is silent.

That does not mean every agent sale automatically destroys the gift, or that the beneficiary has no remedy. The agent’s authority, duties and use of the proceeds, any tracing of the proceeds, and the will’s terms all matter. The planning answer is to address it in the will, for example by giving the specific devisee a substitute gift of the net proceeds if an agent sells the item during incapacity. See the Florida power of attorney guide for the agent’s duties.

Identity, intent and tracing

Florida courts have not applied the identity theory mechanically in every case. In a line of decisions, Florida courts have considered whether the property can be traced into an asset the estate still holds and whether the testator’s own act showed an intent to change the plan: In re Estate of Budny, 815 So. 2d 781 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); In re Estate of Jones, 472 So. 2d 1299 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); In re Watkins’ Estate, 284 So. 2d 679 (Fla. 1973); and Eisenschenk v. Fowler, 82 So. 2d 876 (Fla. 1955). Eisenschenk states the intention rule but, on its facts, found an ademption because the testator’s own act altered the property. Where the testator deliberately disposed of the property, the gift has been held adeemed: In re Estate of Murphy, 340 So. 2d 107 (Fla. 1976). Tracing is a litigation argument, not a safety net. Preserve the records and get advice before distributing disputed property or promising a substitute payment.

Ademption by satisfaction: lifetime gifts

The two types of ademption are ademption by extinction (the item is gone) and ademption by satisfaction. Ademption by satisfaction is a different doctrine. It asks whether something you gave a beneficiary during your lifetime should count against what the will leaves that person. Under § 732.609, a lifetime gift is treated as satisfaction of a devise, in whole or in part, only if the will provides for deducting it, you declare in a contemporaneous writing that it is to be deducted or is in satisfaction, or the devisee acknowledges in writing that it is in satisfaction. If you hand your daughter the ring now, record what you intend, and update the will or list so the documents match.

A note on securities, § 732.605

Securities cannot go on a personal property memorandum. If the will itself specifically devises shares, § 732.605 addresses what the devisee receives after certain changes initiated by the company, such as stock splits, mergers and reinvestment, with limits. Check first whether the account passes by beneficiary designation or transfer-on-death registration; if it does, the will does not control it.

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What if the person is gone? Lapse and Florida’s anti-lapse statute

Section 732.603 applies, unless a contrary intent appears in the will, when the devisee is a grandparent or a descendant of a grandparent of the testator (children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins) and is dead when the will is signed, fails to survive the testator, or must be treated as having predeceased. The devisee’s surviving descendants then take, per stirpes, what the devisee would have taken. It does not apply to a spouse, a stepchild, an in-law, a friend, a caregiver or a charity. Words of survivorship, such as “if he survives me” or “to my surviving children,” are a sufficient indication of contrary intent, so a gift written that way does not pass to the devisee’s children. The statute has separate rules for class gifts and alternative gifts, and gifts in trust are governed by a different statute (§ 736.1106).

If a specific gift fails and the antilapse statute does not apply, § 732.604 provides that a devise other than a residuary devise becomes part of the residue. Under § 732.6005, the testator’s intention as expressed in the will controls, and a will passes all property owned at death; property not effectively disposed of by the will passes by intestacy under § 732.101(1).

For list gifts, the safest course is to put the survivorship rule in the will and say expressly that it applies to dispositions made by separate writing, and to name an alternate for each important item on the list itself. Whether a condition written only on the list counts as “contrary intent” under a statute that looks to “the will” is a question to avoid rather than litigate.

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Specific bequests and Florida exempt property, § 732.402(5)

Section 732.402 gives the surviving spouse, or if there is no surviving spouse the decedent’s children, a right to exempt property when the decedent was domiciled in Florida:

Exempt property is free of claims against the estate except perfected security interests. Now the provision that matters for specific bequests:

Whether items passing under a § 732.515 list are “specifically devised by the will” for exempt-property purposes is not expressly settled; the better view treats them as specifically devised, but no Florida authority decides the point.

Two planning consequences follow. If you want the furniture or a car to go to a particular person, such as a child from a first marriage, a specific bequest takes it out of exempt property. If you want your spouse to have the creditor protection exempt property gives, do not make a specific gift of those items to someone else; and if you give them to the spouse specifically, the spouse can still ask for the exemption under the second sentence. Neither choice affects the spouse’s other rights, such as homestead and the elective share.

The deadline. Under § 732.402(6), persons entitled to exempt property are deemed to have waived it unless a petition is filed by the later of four months after service of the notice of administration or 40 days after the end of any proceeding involving the construction, admission to probate or validity of the will, or any other matter affecting any part of the estate subject to the section. See surviving spouse rights in Florida.

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Will your belongings be sold to pay your debts?

The abatement order and pre-residuary gifts

Section 733.805 sets the order in which estate assets “abate” (are used up) to pay debts, the family allowance, exempt property, elective share charges, expenses of administration and devises:

1. Funds or property designated by the will for those purposes, to the extent sufficient.
2. Property passing by intestacy.
3. Property devised to the residuary devisees.
4. Property not specifically or demonstratively devised (general gifts, such as cash bequests).
5. Property specifically or demonstratively devised.

Within the statute there are qualifications: a demonstrative devise is treated as general to the extent its source fails; certain gifts to a surviving spouse in place of statutory rights abate last within their class; and estate tax apportionment under § 733.817 is applied first. When specifically devised property is sold or used by the personal representative, the statute provides that other devisees contribute according to their interests to the devisee whose gift was used, in amounts the court determines. That contribution depends on the estate’s assets and the will; it is not a guaranteed full replacement in every case.

For planning, the real question is liquidity. If most of the money passes outside probate (life insurance, retirement accounts or payable-on-death accounts payable to individuals), the probate estate may have little cash to pay its bills, and specifically given items can be at risk. Coordinate the will with your beneficiary designations.

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Can a Florida revocable trust use a personal property memorandum?

A list telling a trustee who receives the china after the settlor’s death is, in substance, a disposition of trust property at death. Section 736.0403(2)(b) defines “testamentary aspects” as provisions of the trust instrument that dispose of trust property on or after the settlor’s death other than to the settlor’s estate, and requires will formalities for them. A list signed only by the settlor does not have those formalities. Whether a particular trust can incorporate a later list, and how, depends on the trust’s terms and its amendment procedure; adding witnesses to a list does not by itself make it a valid trust amendment or override a conflicting trust provision. (The will-formalities rule in § 736.0403(2)(b) applies to trusts created on or after July 1, 2007; earlier trusts are governed by former § 737.111.)

In Flagship National Bank of Boynton Beach v. Kelley, 516 So. 2d 1067 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), the trust referred to a list of personal assets that was never attached; the court affirmed, as supported by the evidence, that the property passed under the estate through the will’s separate-writing provision rather than into the trust.

Coordinating trust ownership and the will

There is no single right answer for every plan. A few principles help:

• Know who owns each item. A pour-over will and its separate writing can reach tangible personal property you own at death; they do not control items already owned by the trust. A trust cannot distribute an item that was never actually transferred to it.
• Choose one route for each item. Either the will (with the § 732.515 reference) disposes of your belongings, or the trust does under its own terms. Do not leave the same item to different people in each.
• If an item must sit in the trust (a boat already retitled to it, for example), name the recipient in the trust instrument and change it by a proper trust amendment.
• Do not retitle or “unfund” items just to use a list without considering the effect on probate, insurance and the rest of the plan.

Personal property trusts and assignments

Many revocable trust plans include an “assignment of personal property” that transfers household goods to the trust. If you signed one, your belongings may be trust property, and the trust, not a will list, governs who receives them. Some people search for a “personal property trust” or a “Florida personal property trust”; in practice that usually means either such an assignment into a revocable trust or a separate trust created for particular valuable items such as art or a collection. Read the assignment before relying on a will-based list. For trust planning generally, see living trusts in Florida.

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Assets that need their own treatment

Cars, boats and anything with a title

A personal vehicle titled in your name alone, and not used in a business, can be described on a separate writing. Check the certificate of title first. Under § 319.22, two owners whose names are joined by “or” on a motor vehicle title generally hold with a right of survivorship, so the car passes to the surviving co-owner and the list never reaches it; whether names joined by “and” carry survivorship depends on the title and the statute’s terms. A list entry cannot override a survivorship title.

After death, the transfer runs through the title rules in § 319.28, which allow transfer on affidavits in some situations without a probate order; vessels and other titled property have their own procedures. Florida does not offer a transfer-on-death designation on an ordinary motor vehicle title. For the mechanics, see transferring a car title after a death in Florida. Remember too that two personal vehicles can be exempt property, and a specific bequest takes them out of that claim.

Firearms

A firearm is tangible personal property and can be the subject of a specific bequest or a list entry. The difficulty is delivery, not the gift. Federal law makes it a crime to transfer a firearm to a person the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe is prohibited from possessing one (18 U.S.C. § 922), and Florida has its own prohibitions (§ 790.23). Interstate delivery and National Firearms Act items (such as suppressors and short-barreled rifles) have additional requirements; the ATF’s guidance on NFA firearms in decedents’ estates is a starting point. Pair any firearm gift with a will provision that conditions it on lawful possession, tells the personal representative to verify eligibility before delivery, and names an alternate recipient or a lawful sale. Some owners use a gun trust (a firearms trust) for NFA items; it is an option, not a requirement for every gun.

Pets

Animals are personal property, so a list can say who will own your dog or cat. That transfers ownership only: it provides no money for care and no enforceable duty, and it does nothing for the first days after a death. Section 736.0408 allows a trust for the care of an animal alive during your lifetime, enforceable by a person named in the trust or appointed by the court, and a court may reduce property that exceeds what the intended use requires. A practical plan combines a willing caregiver (confirmed in advance), money for care through a pet trust or a gift in the will, and a temporary caretaker who can act immediately.

Cryptocurrency, devices and digital files

Digital assets are intangible: § 740.002 defines a digital asset as an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. They cannot go on a tangible personal property list. The hardware can: leaving your laptop or hardware wallet to your son gives him the device, not necessarily the bitcoin or the accounts it accesses. Plan for the accounts and coins separately, in the will or trust.

Under § 740.003, a direction you give through a platform’s online tool about disclosure of your digital assets (a legacy contact, for example), if the tool lets you change it at any time, overrides a contrary direction in your will, trust or power of attorney. That is a rule about who can see and access the content; it is not the same as who owns the asset. Never put passwords, PINs or seed phrases on the memorandum: lists are shared with beneficiaries, and safe-deposit inventories are filed with the court.

Gifts of an item to a charity

A museum, school, library or religious organization can receive an identified object by specific bequest or on the list. Use the organization’s exact legal name, confirm it can accept the item (some will not take art or collections without conditions), and name an alternate. Cash, percentage and beneficiary-designation gifts to charity are covered in the guide to a charitable bequest in a Florida will.

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After death: how a Florida personal representative handles specific bequests

See the chart “How a personal representative delivers specific bequests” (opens the full-size image; the details are also in the text).

Finding the will and the list

Look where the original will is kept, in the lawyer’s file, at home, and in any safe-deposit box, and ask family members whether anyone was given a copy or an heirloom with a note attached. Keep every version of the list that turns up, including drafts, and record where each was found. Do not throw away an older list because a newer one appears: the conflict rule works entry by entry, and an older list’s other entries may still count.

The safe-deposit box

Florida separates a limited search from the formal opening. Under § 655.935, before a personal representative is appointed, the bank must let a person named in a court order, or (if no order has been served) the spouse, a parent, an adult descendant or a person named as personal representative in a copy of a purported will, examine the box in the presence of a bank officer. Only three kinds of documents may be removed: a writing purporting to be a will (delivered to the probate court in the county), a deed to a burial plot or burial instructions, and an insurance policy on the decedent’s life (delivered to the named beneficiary). Jewelry and other valuables stay in the box.

The initial opening for administration under § 733.6065 must take place, subject to the statute’s exception, in the presence of any two of: a bank employee, the personal representative, or the personal representative’s attorney of record. Each person present signs a copy of the inventory under penalties of perjury. The personal representative files the inventory, together with a copy of the box entry record from six months before the date of death through the date of the inventory, with the court within 10 days after the box is opened. Unless the court orders otherwise, that filing may be inspected only by persons entitled to inspect an estate inventory.

Inventory, valuation and delivery

The personal representative has the right to take possession of estate property (§ 733.607) and must prepare an inventory of the probate estate. Valuable items may need an appraisal, both for the inventory and to treat beneficiaries fairly when items are of unequal value. Before distribution, the personal representative should confirm that each item is eligible, that the list is effective, that no exempt-property or other claim is pending, and that the estate can pay its obligations. It is good practice to get a signed receipt from each recipient. If the will does not say who pays to pack, ship or insure an item, the personal representative should decide that with the estate’s lawyer before delivery rather than after.

Who gets personal belongings after death in Florida?

Who receives personal belongings after death depends on what the documents say, in this order: items passing outside the will (joint ownership with right of survivorship, trust ownership, a survivorship title) follow those arrangements; then specific gifts in the will; then an effective personal property memorandum; then any general gift of tangible personal property in the will; then the residue. If the will does not effectively dispose of the item — because there is no valid will, or none that reaches it (for example, no residuary clause, or a residuary gift that fails) — Florida’s intestacy statutes decide who inherits, starting with the surviving spouse and descendants; personal belongings after death without a will pass to those heirs, and the personal representative distributes them under the same fiduciary rules. Personal property does go through probate if it was owned in the decedent’s name alone, although small estates may qualify for summary administration or other simplified procedures. See what assets are exempt from probate and probate of a will in Florida.

When the family disagrees about the list

Disputes over a separate writing usually involve authenticity (is this really the testator’s signature?), capacity or undue influence, which of two lists is more recent, what a description means, and whether an item was eligible. Undue influence is defined in Florida case law and, in some circumstances, a presumption shifts the burden of proof (§ 733.107). A personal representative facing a dispute should hold the items, preserve every document, and get advice before distributing. See Florida estate litigation and contesting a will in Florida.

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How to divide personal belongings after a death

Families searching for how to divide personal belongings after death, or for rules on dividing personal property after death, usually find that the will and list answer most of it; the distribution of personal property after death that remains is up to the personal representative within these limits. Under § 733.810, assets are distributed in kind unless the will provides otherwise (for example, by giving a general power of sale), and the personal representative may make non-pro rata distributions, subject to the duty of impartiality. Section 733.612 authorizes the personal representative, acting reasonably for the benefit of the interested persons, to sell estate personal property. Those powers come from the will and the law and are exercised as a fiduciary; they are not permission to substitute anyone’s preferences for an effective gift.

No-contest clauses do not help in Florida: a provision penalizing an interested person for contesting a will is unenforceable (§ 732.517), and the same is true for trusts (§ 736.1108).

Methods to write into the will

• Rotating selection. Beneficiaries choose in turn, with the order reversing each round. Say who goes first and what happens if someone cannot take part.
• Appraisal and equalization. An independent appraisal, whole items allocated, and differences balanced with cash from the residue. Say who chooses the appraiser.
• Recorded preferences. Each person marks the items they want, with contested items resolved by a method chosen in advance.
• A deadline, then sale. Items the family cannot agree on within, say, 90 days are sold and the proceeds divided.
• Personal representative’s discretion. The will can give the personal representative authority to allocate items, while the fiduciary duties still apply.

None of these guarantees there will be no dispute; each reduces the room for one. A list of practical facts (where things are, what they mean to you) can go in a letter of instruction.

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Memorandum, codicil, letter of instruction or beneficiary designation?

Changing the recipient of an eligible item can be done on the list. Changing the residuary beneficiaries, the personal representative, a guardian for minor children, or any gift of money or real estate requires a codicil or a new will. Changing who receives trust property requires a trust amendment. The cost of changing an existing will depends on the change, and the fee is agreed in writing first. For a fuller inventory, see making a thorough list of assets.

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Common misunderstandings

• “A handwritten list is enough on its own.” Only if a valid will refers to a separate writing. Without that reference, the list has no effect under § 732.515, and it cannot be saved as a will or codicil because Florida does not accept unwitnessed handwritten wills.
• “The memorandum has to be notarized.” It does not. A notary also cannot fix a missing will reference or an ineligible item.
• “I have to redo the list every time I change my will.” Not necessarily, but a new will must still refer to the list, and the two should be reviewed together.
• “I can leave someone $5,000 on the list.” Put cash in the will.
• “All my gold can go on the list.” Collectible coins and jewelry, generally yes; legal-tender gold and silver under § 215.986, for deaths on or after July 1, 2026, no.
• “The newest paper always wins.” The newest effective list controls conflicting entries among lists. It does not override the will’s own specific gifts, a title, a trust or a beneficiary designation.
• “If an item is sold, the beneficiary gets the cash.” Not automatically. See ademption.
• “My spouse gets the furniture no matter what.” A specific bequest of the furniture takes it out of exempt property, though the spouse keeps other rights.
• “A no-contest clause will stop a fight.” Florida does not enforce them in wills or trusts.
• “Updating the list never needs a review.” You can change an effective list yourself, but whether it works depends on the will and the rest of the plan, which is worth reviewing when your circumstances change.

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Frequently asked questions about specific bequests in Florida

Is a personal property memorandum legally binding in Florida?

It can be. A personal property memorandum takes effect under § 732.515 when a valid will refers to it, you signed it, it describes the items and recipients with reasonable certainty, and the items are eligible tangible personal property not already given by the will. A list your will never mentions is not binding on anyone, and a signature alone does not make an ineligible gift effective.

Does a separate writing need witnesses in Florida?

No. Section 732.515 does not require witnesses or a notary; it requires your signature and reasonably certain descriptions. The will itself is different: it needs two attesting witnesses under § 732.502. Witnesses on the list are optional, and can help if a challenge is likely.

Can the list be handwritten?

Yes, if you sign it and it meets the other requirements. A handwritten list referred to in a valid will can work even though Florida does not accept an unwitnessed handwritten will. It must be in writing; spoken instructions to family are not a separate writing.

Can I write the list after I sign my will?

Yes. Section 732.515 says the writing “may be prepared before or after the execution of the will” and “may be altered by the testator after its preparation.” Date each version, say whether it replaces earlier lists, and review the list whenever you sign a new will.

Does my will have to mention the list?

Yes. The statute reaches only “a written statement or list referred to in the decedent’s will.” Keeping a note next to the will is not enough. If your current will has no reference, the will needs a codicil or replacement before a list can work.

What if I leave two lists that contradict each other?

Among otherwise effective writings, the most recent one controls the conflicting entries; entries on the earlier list that do not conflict can survive. Because the statute requires no date, undated lists can turn “most recent” into a dispute, so date every list and say whether a new list replaces all earlier ones.

What cannot go in a Florida personal property memorandum?

Property used in a trade or business is excluded by name. The list also cannot reach real estate, bank and brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds, insurance, retirement accounts, cryptocurrency and digital accounts, cash gifts, items the will already gives away specifically, or property that passes outside the will. For deaths on or after July 1, 2026, gold and silver coin that is legal tender under § 215.986 is not tangible personal property.

Can I leave cash in a personal property memorandum?

Put cash gifts in the will. The current statute no longer excludes “money” by name, but it reaches only items of tangible personal property, and a gift of a dollar amount or of money to buy something is not such an item. An existing object, such as your car, can go on the list; money to buy a car belongs in the will.

Can I leave gold or silver in a separate writing?

It depends on the item and the date of death. For deaths on or after July 1, 2026, gold or silver coin that is legal tender under § 215.986 is not tangible personal property (§ 731.1065) and should be given in the will or trust. Collectible coins, jewelry and silverware held for their collectible or other value remain tangible personal property and can be listed. Form, purity and markings decide the category, so review the actual pieces.

What happens if I sold the item before I died?

The gift is usually adeemed (it fails), because the item is not in the estate. Florida’s nonademption statute, § 732.606, gives the beneficiary certain rights, such as any unpaid balance of the purchase price owed at death. Courts may also consider intent and tracing in some cases, but a cash substitute is not automatic.

What if my power of attorney sold it?

Section 732.606(1) protects the beneficiary when a guardian of the property sells the item; it does not mention an agent under a power of attorney. An agent’s sale needs individual review of the agent’s authority, the proceeds and the will. The planning answer is a will provision giving the beneficiary the net proceeds if an agent sells the item.

What if the person I named dies before I do?

Your will’s alternate-recipient and survivorship terms apply first. If the will is silent, § 732.603 creates a substitute gift for the surviving descendants of a recipient who was your grandparent or a descendant of your grandparent, unless the will shows a contrary intent; the antilapse substitute gift applies to outright devises, and devises in trust are governed by § 736.1106. Otherwise a failed specific gift generally falls into the residue. Name an alternate on the list and put the survivorship rule in the will.

Can I use a personal property memorandum with my Florida revocable trust?

Do not assume so. Section 732.515 works through a will, and § 736.0403(2)(b) requires will formalities for the testamentary aspects of a revocable trust signed by a Florida domiciliary. Items you own at death can pass under the pour-over will and its list; items the trust owns follow the trust and its amendment rules.

Does a specific bequest defeat my spouse’s exempt property claim?

It removes that item from exempt property: under § 732.402(5), property specifically or demonstratively devised is not included in exempt property. But a specific devisee who would otherwise be entitled to the item as exempt property can ask the court to protect it from creditors by filing on time, and the spouse’s other rights, such as homestead and the elective share, are unaffected.

What happens to belongings I never listed anywhere?

They pass under the rest of the will: a general gift of tangible personal property if there is one, otherwise the residue. If the will does not effectively dispose of them — because there is no valid will, or none that reaches the item — Florida’s intestacy rules decide. Items owned by a trust or held jointly with right of survivorship follow those arrangements instead.

Can someone challenge the list?

Yes. A personal property memorandum can be challenged for forgery, lack of capacity, undue influence, an unclear description, an ineligible item or a later conflicting list. Because it needs no witnesses, it can be a more vulnerable target than the will. Signing it in front of witnesses, keeping it with the will and updating it in an orderly way all help, but no method guarantees it cannot be challenged.

How do I write a personal property memorandum?

Confirm your will refers to a separate writing, then list each item with identifying details, name each recipient by full name and relationship, add an alternate, avoid cash, accounts and real estate, sign and date every page, say whether it replaces earlier lists, and keep it with your will. The step-by-step guide explains each step.

Can a personal property memorandum override my will?

No. The list works through the will and only for items “not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will.” If the will gives the painting to your son, a later list cannot give it to your daughter; change the will. Where the will’s blanket gift of tangible personal property is made subject to the list, the list controls the items it covers.

Is a car tangible personal property in a Florida will?

Yes. A car, truck, motorcycle or boat is tangible personal property, and a personal vehicle titled in your name alone can be described on the list. Check the title first: a vehicle titled to two owners joined by “or” generally passes to the surviving co-owner, and a vehicle used in a business is excluded from the list.

Can I leave my house in a personal property memorandum?

No. A house is real property, and § 732.515 covers only tangible personal property. Leave real estate by a specific devise in the will, a deed or a trust, and check Florida’s homestead restrictions if you are survived by a spouse or a minor child.

What is the difference between a specific, general and residuary bequest?

A specific bequest gives an identified item (“my emerald ring”); a general bequest gives an amount payable from estate assets generally (“$10,000”); a residuary bequest gives what is left after debts, expenses and the other gifts. A demonstrative bequest is a sum payable first from a named source. Specific gifts are usually the last to be used for debts and can fail if the item is gone.

Can I name an alternate recipient on the list?

Yes, and you should for anything that matters. Write who receives the item if your first choice does not survive you, and make sure the will’s survivorship terms apply to list gifts so the alternate and Florida’s anti-lapse statute do not point in different directions.

What if the list cannot be found after death?

Search where the original will is kept, the lawyer’s file, the home and any safe-deposit box. If no effective list is found, the items pass under the rest of the will (a general gift of tangible personal property or the residue), unless they are owned outside the will. Florida has no statute specifically governing a lost separate writing; proof of a lost testamentary instrument by a correct copy follows the lost-will statute (§ 733.207), so whether a copy can be given effect is a legal question for the estate’s lawyer.

Does the personal representative have to follow the list?

The personal representative must give effect to an effective § 732.515 writing, but delivery remains subject to estate debts and expenses, exempt property and other statutory rights, eligibility questions, and any dispute about the list. A personal representative who is unsure should hold the items and get advice before distributing.

Can a beneficiary refuse an item?

Yes. No one has to accept a bequest. A beneficiary who does not want an item can decline it; to disclaim it formally, the refusal (a disclaimer) is made in writing under Florida’s disclaimer statute, chapter 739. A disclaimed item passes as the will and the statute direct, often to the alternate or the residue, so a disclaimer should be planned with advice.

Is there a Florida personal property memorandum template or form?

Many templates are available, and Florida law prescribes no official form. A form helps you organize decisions, but it cannot confirm that your will refers to the list, that each item is eligible, or that the list fits the rest of your plan. Use the planning worksheet on this page to gather your choices, then have the will and list reviewed together.

Are specific bequests taxable in Florida?

Florida has no state inheritance tax and no state estate tax. A federal estate tax return is required only for larger estates that exceed the federal filing threshold — a threshold that is reduced by large lifetime gifts — and a return may also be filed for a smaller estate to preserve a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion. The will can say whether specific gifts bear any share of any federal estate tax that is due; if it does not, Florida’s apportionment statute applies. A beneficiary generally does not pay income tax on receiving an inherited item, but selling it later can have tax consequences. See inheritance tax in Florida.

Do I need a lawyer to write a personal property memorandum?

The statute does not require one: you can write and sign the list yourself. The will that must refer to it does not require a lawyer either. But Florida law does set specific execution formalities. The will must be signed at the end by the testator, in the presence of two witnesses, and those witnesses must sign in the testator’s presence and each other’s. A lawyer is not legally required for any of this. A lawyer is still useful — for confirming the will is validly executed, checking eligibility, coordinating the list with the will’s other gifts, trusts and titles, and handling items such as firearms, metals and valuable collections.

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Working with Jose Lorenzo on a Florida will and personal property list

Bring your current will and any codicils, any trust and assignment of personal property, every version of a list you have signed, and a private summary of the items you want reviewed. Note anything already sold or given away, recipients who have died, items used in a business, vehicles with joint titles, firearms and precious metals. You can start with categories; there is no need to send financial details through a website form.

Lorenzo Law prepares and reviews Florida wills, trusts, deeds and separate writings statewide. A Florida will starts at $675, all-inclusive: advice, drafting, the supervised signing with both witnesses, the notary and the self-proving affidavit, at the same price whether you sign on paper, electronically in person, or remotely by online notarization. A Lady Bird deed is $675 and a quitclaim deed $575, each with supervised signing, recording and the minimum documentary stamp; a deed into a revocable trust is $575 per deed. Changing an existing will depends on the change, and reviewing an existing plan or handling an estate or a dispute is quoted separately; any fee is agreed in writing first.

Looking for a Florida will attorney, or comparing will lawyers in Florida? Lorenzo Law is a solo practice, so the will lawyer who drafts your will is the same one who reviews your list. Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr. personally takes the first call, and the attorney you speak with at the first call is the attorney who handles any matter the firm accepts. The principal office is in Kissimmee; meetings in Coral Gables and Fort Lauderdale are by appointment, and consultations are available statewide by phone or video in English and Spanish. For probate of an estate anywhere in Florida, see the Florida probate service areas.

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 · Call (305) 224-6811

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Related guides: Florida estate planning · Florida estate planning guide · signing a Florida will online · choosing your personal representative · inherited collections in Florida probate · charitable bequests.

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

Sources and authorities cited

Statutes cited are Florida Statutes (2026) unless noted. The text of the law controls over any summary on this page.