Maya is thirty-one, single, and renting an apartment near downtown Palm Beach. She assumes estate planning is something to handle decades from now, after a house and kids and a portfolio. Then a friend her age has a serious car accident and spends two weeks unable to make decisions for herself — and Maya learns that the documents that mattered most had nothing to do with money or death. They were about who decides while you are still alive. Here is the core set every Florida adult should have.
A Last Will and Testament
The will is the document people know. Under Florida law (section 732.502), a valid will must be signed by you and witnessed by two people who also sign in your presence. Making it “self-proved” with a notarized affidavit lets it be admitted to probate more smoothly later. A will names who receives your assets, names a personal representative to administer your estate, and — for parents — nominates a guardian for minor children. Without one, Florida’s intestacy statute decides everything, often not the way you would have chosen.
A Revocable Living Trust (For Many, Not All)
A revocable living trust under Chapter 736 lets you transfer assets into a trust you control during life, then pass them at death without probate. Probate in Palm Beach County is a public, court-supervised process; a trust keeps your affairs private and can avoid summary or formal administration for the assets it holds. Not every young adult needs one, but anyone with real estate, business interests, or a desire for privacy and incapacity planning should consider it.
A Durable Power of Attorney
This is the document Maya’s friend desperately needed. A durable power of attorney under Chapter 709 lets someone you trust manage your finances — pay bills, handle accounts, deal with insurance — if you become incapacitated. Florida’s POA rules are specific: the document must be signed, witnessed, and notarized, and certain powers must be separately initialed. Without it, your family may have to petition a Palm Beach court for guardianship, an expensive and slow process for something a one-page authorization could have solved.
A Designation of Health Care Surrogate
This document names the person who can make medical decisions for you when you cannot, and it grants access to your medical information. For an unmarried adult like Maya, it is essential — without it, doctors turn to default next of kin, who may be a parent across the country rather than the person who knows her wishes.
A Living Will
A living will is your written statement about end-of-life care — whether you want life-prolonging procedures if you have a terminal condition or are in a persistent vegetative state. It spares your loved ones from guessing during the hardest possible moment and removes ambiguity for Palm Beach hospitals.
Don’t Forget Beneficiary Designations
Not technically estate planning documents, but they control where major assets go. Life insurance and retirement accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries, overriding your will. Keeping them current is part of any complete plan.
Consult a Florida Attorney
Florida’s execution requirements are strict, and a document that fails them can be worthless when it is needed most. Before drafting or relying on any of these, work with a licensed Florida estate planning attorney to ensure each one is valid and fits your situation.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of estate planning in Palm Beach. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .
