Estate Planning Attorney in Deerfield Beach, FL
Quick Answers on Deerfield Beach Estate Planning
- Florida has no state estate tax and no state income tax. Plans here only address federal estate tax (applying above a multi-million-dollar federal exemption per person).
- Our Boca Raton office is approximately 10 to 15 minutes north of Deerfield Beach. In-person consultations available for Deerfield Beach residents.
- A will from another state is generally valid in Florida, but homestead, elective share, and POA provisions usually need updating after relocation.
- Florida's elective share (Statute 732.2065) guarantees a surviving spouse 30% of the elective estate. A spouse cannot be fully disinherited.
- A revocable living trust avoids probate. A will alone does not. Assets in the will must still go through 17th Judicial Circuit administration.
- Out-of-state powers of attorney and healthcare documents may not be honored by Florida banks and providers. New Deerfield Beach residents should execute Florida-form versions.
- Florida homestead protection is unlimited by value for primary residences within the acreage limit (½ acre municipal, 160 acres rural).
Start Your Florida Estate Plan
Free 30-minute consultation. Our Boca Raton office is just minutes from Deerfield Beach. In-person or remote consultations available.
What does a complete Florida estate plan include?
Most Deerfield Beach clients work with us on the same seven-document package, customized to their family and asset situation:
- Last Will and Testament. Names beneficiaries, appoints a personal representative (Florida's term for executor), and designates guardians for minor children.
- Revocable Living Trust. Holds titled assets outside of probate and directs their distribution. Most useful when the estate includes real estate in multiple states, business interests, or significant non-retirement financial assets.
- Pour-Over Will. Works alongside a trust to catch any assets that weren't retitled into the trust during life.
- Durable Power of Attorney. Authorizes someone to handle finances if you become incapacitated. Florida law requires specific formalities. See our breakdown on why a durable POA matters in Florida.
- Designation of Healthcare Surrogate. Names who makes medical decisions if you can't. Florida separates this from the financial POA.
- Living Will. Specifies preferences for end-of-life care. Covered in detail in our guide to Florida living wills and healthcare surrogates.
- HIPAA Authorization. Allows designated people to access your medical information.
Deerfield Beach client profiles
Deerfield Beach's demographic mix concentrates several estate planning client profiles. The plan structure varies meaningfully by profile.
Snowbirds and seasonal residents. Many Deerfield Beach residents maintain primary residency in another state and winter here. Establishing Florida domicile correctly is often the largest single estate planning move, capturing Florida's no-state-income-tax and unlimited homestead protection while reducing exposure to high-tax northern states.
Century Village and retirement community residents. Deerfield Beach's Century Village is one of South Florida's largest 55-plus retirement communities. Many residents are decades into retirement with relatively settled financial profiles but outdated estate documents drafted in their prior state of residence.
Coastal condo owners. The Deerfield Beach oceanfront and intracoastal corridors include hundreds of condo buildings. Estate planning here often involves coordinating with the unique features of Florida condo ownership: HOA approval requirements, special assessment exposure under post-Surfside legislation, and warrantability considerations for resale.
Year-round Deerfield Beach residents. Working-age families and long-term Florida residents whose estate planning needs are similar to any Florida resident but who appreciate having local counsel just minutes from home.
Hillsboro Beach residents. The separately incorporated coastal town of Hillsboro Beach (immediately east of Deerfield Beach) draws significant ultra-high-net-worth ocean-to-Intracoastal estate owners. Planning here often involves federal estate tax exposure and complex trust structures.
What makes Florida estate planning different from other states?
Three things set Florida apart, and they all affect how a plan gets drafted, especially for Deerfield Beach clients who relocated from northern states.
No state estate tax, no state income tax. Florida is one of the most tax-friendly states in the country for estate purposes. Estates only face federal estate tax, and only on amounts above the federal exemption. For retirees relocating from high-tax states (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, all common origins for Deerfield Beach residents), establishing Florida domicile is often the single biggest estate planning move.
Unlimited homestead protection. Florida's constitutional homestead shields your primary residence from most creditors with no dollar cap, only an acreage limit (half an acre inside municipal boundaries, 160 acres outside). Other states cap homestead at a fixed dollar amount. Florida's protection is unlimited by value.
A mandatory 30% elective share for surviving spouses. Under Florida Statute 732.2065, a spouse cannot be fully disinherited. The elective share extends to an "expanded estate" that includes most non-probate transfers, not just probate assets. Plans drafted in states without an elective share regime often need restructuring when a client establishes Florida residency.
Will vs. revocable living trust: which one do you need?
| Feature | Will only | Revocable Living Trust |
|---|---|---|
| Goes through probate? | Yes, full court-supervised administration in Broward's 17th Judicial Circuit | No, assets in the trust skip probate entirely |
| Privacy | Public record at the Broward County Clerk | Private, no public filing required |
| Out-of-state property | Each state requires its own probate (ancillary) | One trust covers all states |
| Cost to set up | Lower | Higher (drafting + funding) |
| Cost at death | Higher (probate fees scale with estate value) | Lower (private administration) |
| Speed of distribution | 6 to 12 months for uncontested formal administration | Weeks, not months |
| Best for | Estates under $500K, single-state assets, simple family | Estates over $500K, multi-state property, blended families, business interests |
For deeper trust drafting and funding work, see our Boca Raton trust creation page (Boca is the nearest office). For our general comparison: why Florida residents are choosing living trusts over wills.
Relocating to Deerfield Beach or updating an old plan?
Free initial consultation. We review your existing documents, identify Florida-specific gaps, and quote flat fees for any rework. Our Boca Raton office is just minutes from Deerfield Beach for in-person meetings. Call (561) 672-1161 or submit through the contact form.
Florida estate plan: timeline and cost
| Plan complexity | Timeline | Typical scope |
|---|---|---|
| Simple plan | 1 to 2 weeks | Will, POA, healthcare surrogate, living will, HIPAA. Single state, modest estate, no business interests. |
| Standard revocable trust plan | 2 to 3 weeks | Revocable Living Trust, pour-over will, full ancillary documents, initial funding instructions. |
| Complex multi-state plan | 4 to 8 weeks | Multi-state property, blended family considerations, business succession, asset protection structuring. |
| High-net-worth / tax-driven plan | 2 to 6 months | Federal estate tax planning, ILITs, QPRTs, GRATs, advanced trust structures, coordination with tax counsel. |
Routine estate planning work is handled on a flat-fee basis with cost certainty disclosed before engagement. Complex tax-driven matters may use alternative billing arrangements.
Deerfield Beach's coastal condo concentration creates an estate planning consideration most generic plans skip. Florida's post-Surfside legislation (SB 4-D) has fundamentally changed condo ownership economics. Buildings within three miles of the coast trigger milestone structural inspections at 25 years instead of 30. Special assessments to fund newly-required reserves can add tens of thousands per unit, and a growing list of buildings have been added to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac non-warrantable lists.
For estate planning purposes, this matters in two ways. First, when condo ownership is part of an estate, the special assessment exposure is a liability the personal representative or trustee will need to address. Plans that don't address this leave heirs with surprise obligations. Second, the warrantability question affects how easily heirs can sell the unit if they don't want to keep it. Beneficiary planning around Deerfield Beach condos increasingly needs to consider whether the unit is realistically resellable at fair market value or whether heirs may need to hold for a long stabilization period. We coordinate this analysis with our association law and title insurance practices for complete coverage.
What happens if a Deerfield Beach resident dies without an estate plan?
Intestacy. Florida Statute 732 governs how the estate gets distributed, and the order is fixed:
- Spouse and no descendants: entire estate to spouse
- Spouse and descendants, all common to both: entire estate to spouse
- Spouse and decedent's descendants from a prior relationship: 50% to spouse, 50% to descendants
- Descendants but no spouse: entire estate to descendants per stirpes
- No spouse or descendants: parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives
Unmarried partners and stepchildren who weren't legally adopted receive nothing under intestacy. This catches blended families constantly. Full breakdown in our guide to Florida intestacy laws.
If estate planning fails, the estate goes through probate administration in Broward's 17th Judicial Circuit under court supervision rather than direct distribution.
Why work with Kelley, Grant & Tanis, P.A.
Brett Halperin leads the firm's estate planning, probate, trust administration, elder law, and asset protection practice. Brett earned his JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and his Bachelor's in Economics from the University of Florida, where he was a member of Florida Blue Key. He volunteers with the Mission United Veterans Pro-Bono Legal Project and the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. He's a member in good standing of the Florida Bar.
Full attorney bios on our attorneys page.
The firm has two offices in South Florida, with the Boca Raton office approximately 10 to 15 minutes north of Deerfield Beach:
- Boca Raton Office: 370 Camino Gardens Blvd., Suite #301, Boca Raton, FL 33432 (closest to Deerfield Beach). In-person consultations available by appointment.
- West Palm Beach Office: 1645 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd, Suite #1200-3, West Palm Beach, FL 33401.
Deerfield Beach clients can choose between in-person meetings at our Boca Raton office or remote consultations by phone and video. Final document signing can happen in-office or via remote online notarization (RON).
Estate planning integrates with the firm's trust creation, probate, asset protection, and association law practices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Florida have an estate tax?
No. Florida has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Estates only face federal estate tax, and only on amounts above the federal exemption (currently in the multi-million-dollar range per person). This is one of the primary reasons retirees relocate to Florida.
Do I need a will or a trust in Deerfield Beach?
Every Florida resident with assets or minor children should have at least a will. Whether you also need a revocable living trust depends on estate size, asset complexity, and whether you own property in multiple states. Trusts add cost during planning but save substantially on probate at death. The breakeven is typically around $500,000 in non-retirement assets, but blended families and multi-state property change the math significantly.
What happens if I move to Florida and have an out-of-state estate plan?
Your will is probably still valid (Florida recognizes wills executed under the law of the state where signed), but it may not capture Florida's homestead rules, elective share, or tax advantages. Your revocable trust still holds your assets but may need provisions updated. Your financial power of attorney may not be accepted by Florida banks. Your healthcare documents should be replaced with Florida-form versions. A new resident review typically takes one to two weeks.
How often should I update my Deerfield Beach estate plan?
Every three to five years, and immediately after any major life event: marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a beneficiary, significant change in assets, or a move between states. More on timing in our article on how often you should update your Florida estate plan.
What is Florida's elective share for surviving spouses?
Florida Statute 732.2065 guarantees a surviving spouse 30% of the "elective estate," an expanded definition that includes probate assets plus most non-probate transfers. A spouse cannot be fully disinherited in Florida. Pre-marital and post-marital agreements can waive the elective share but require specific formalities.
How does Florida condo legislation affect Deerfield Beach estate planning?
Florida's post-Surfside legislation (SB 4-D) imposes new structural inspection and reserve funding obligations on condo buildings, with the 25-year milestone inspection trigger applying to buildings within three miles of the coast (which captures most Deerfield Beach oceanfront condos). For estate planning, this creates two considerations: the special assessment exposure becomes a liability heirs may inherit, and the warrantability question affects how easily heirs can sell. We coordinate condo-specific estate planning with our association law practice.
How long does it take to set up a Deerfield Beach estate plan?
For most clients, two to three weeks from initial consultation to fully signed documents. Complex estates with business succession or multi-state assets can take longer. Funding the trust (retitling assets) typically continues for several months after the documents are signed.
Can a Deerfield Beach estate plan be done in person at your Boca office?
Yes. Our Boca Raton office at 370 Camino Gardens Blvd. is approximately 10 to 15 minutes north of Deerfield Beach via Federal Highway or I-95. In-person consultations and document signings are available by appointment. Most clients also have the option to handle some or all of the work remotely via phone, video, and remote online notarization (RON).
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Free 30-minute consultation with a Florida estate planning attorney. We serve Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, and north Broward County. In-person at our nearby Boca Raton office or remote consultations available.
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