Florida Estate Planning Guide for High-Net-Worth Families (2026)

Florida is one of the most favorable states in the country for high-net-worth estate planning. No state estate tax. No state income tax. Unlimited homestead protection from creditors. Tenancy by entireties extending to bank accounts and investment portfolios — not just real estate. Dynasty trusts lasting up to 1,000 years. The Florida Community Property Trust Act, which lets married couples capture the double step-up in basis without living in California or Texas. This guide covers every Florida-specific advantage — and the planning traps that catch families off guard.

No Florida state estate or inheritance tax

Florida has had no state estate tax or inheritance tax since 2005. The state constitution now prohibits the legislature from imposing either.² For a family with $8M in net worth, moving to Florida eliminates a potential state death tax bill that would exist in New York (top rate 16%), Massachusetts (top rate 16%), Illinois (top rate 16%), New Jersey (estate tax phased out but inheritance tax still applies at up to 16%), or Washington State (top rate 20%).

The federal estate tax still applies. With the permanent $15M-per-person exemption under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, July 2025), a married Florida couple can shelter up to $30M from federal estate tax via portability — without any gifting or trust strategy. Estates above $30M (married) or above $15M (single) still face the 40% federal rate, making trust planning essential regardless of state residency.

But the state tax savings for families in the $5M–$30M range are real and significant. A $12M estate in New York owes roughly $1.08M in state estate tax; the same estate in Florida owes zero. That alone can justify the cost of a well-planned relocation.

Florida homestead exemption: unlimited creditor protection

The Florida Constitution (Article X, Section 4) protects a Florida resident's primary residence from forced sale by general judgment creditors — with no dollar cap on the value protected.³ A $15M oceanfront estate is just as protected as a $400,000 bungalow. Size limits apply (1/2 acre within a municipality; 160 contiguous acres outside), but equity protection is unlimited.

Creditors who cannot reach the homestead include: personal injury plaintiffs, business creditors (unless they hold a lien on the property), creditors from guarantees, and unsecured judgment creditors. Exceptions that can reach homestead equity include: purchase-money mortgages, home equity loans, tax liens, HOA assessments, and mechanics' liens.

Property tax benefit: Save Our Homes and the base exemption

Florida homestead also triggers two property tax advantages:

• Base exemption: $50,000 removed from assessed value ($25,000 applies to all taxing authorities; an additional $25,000 applies to assessed value between $50K–$75K, exempt from all taxes except school district).⁴ Fla. Stat. §196.031.
• Save Our Homes cap: Once homestead is established, annual increases in assessed value are capped at the lesser of 3% or the CPI. The 2026 cap is 2.7% (2026 CPI was 2.7%, below the 3% ceiling).⁴ In rising real estate markets, the accumulated SOH savings can represent hundreds of thousands of dollars in reduced property tax over time.
• Portability: When you sell a homesteaded property, you can port up to $500,000 of accumulated SOH savings to a new Florida homestead. (Florida Constitution, Article VII, §4(c).)

Homestead devise restrictions — the estate planning trap

Florida's homestead protection comes with a significant constraint: you cannot freely devise your homestead by will if you have a surviving spouse or minor children. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood rules in Florida estate planning.

• If you die with a surviving spouse but no minor children: the homestead passes as a life estate to the surviving spouse, remainder to lineal descendants per stirpes. The surviving spouse may elect instead to take a 50% undivided interest as a tenant in common (Fla. Stat. §732.401). Either way, you cannot leave the full fee-simple interest to your spouse via will — it passes by operation of law.
• If you have minor children: you cannot devise homestead to anyone other than the minor children, even to your spouse.
• With a revocable trust: the homestead devise restriction does NOT apply to homestead owned in a revocable trust in the same way. Trust-based planning is commonly used to work around the will devise restriction — but the structure must be done correctly.

For blended families — where spouses have children from prior relationships — the homestead devise rules can directly conflict with estate planning goals. See the second marriage estate planning guide for a QTIP-based solution that addresses both the elective share and homestead complications.

Florida tenancy by the entireties: marital asset protection beyond real estate

Tenancy by the entireties (TBE) is a form of joint marital ownership that protects assets from one spouse's individual creditors. A joint creditor holding a judgment against both spouses simultaneously can reach TBE assets; a creditor with a judgment against only one spouse cannot.

Florida is one of the few states that extends TBE protection to personal property as well as real estate — including bank accounts, brokerage accounts, vehicles, and business interests, if properly structured. The landmark case Beal Bank v. Almand & Associates, 780 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 2001), confirmed that personal property can be held TBE in Florida and receives the same creditor protection.

For a couple with $10M in liquid assets, holding brokerage accounts as TBE creates a powerful shield against one spouse's professional liability judgments, failed business guarantees, or personal injury claims. The protection is self-executing — no trust, no attorney, no filing required. The account simply needs to be titled in both spouses' names with TBE designation (or meets the "six unities" test under Florida law).

Florida dynasty trusts: 1,000-year duration

Florida amended its rule against perpetuities statute (Fla. Stat. §689.225) effective July 1, 2022, to allow trusts to last up to 1,000 years.⁵ For planning purposes, 1,000 years is functionally equivalent to perpetual — it encompasses more than 30 generations.

This makes Florida a competitive dynasty trust jurisdiction. A family funding a dynasty trust with $15M (the 2026 GST exemption) in Florida gets:

• 1,000-year trust duration — assets can grow tax-free across generations without federal or state estate tax
• Spendthrift protection for each generation of beneficiaries under Florida's codified spendthrift rules
• No Florida state income tax on trust income distributed to Florida-resident beneficiaries
• Florida DAPT status available (Florida is one of 21 DAPT states) — the grantor can be a discretionary beneficiary while receiving some creditor protection, though the IRC §2036 estate inclusion risk must be carefully managed

The marquee perpetual-trust states — South Dakota, Nevada, Delaware, Wyoming — offer zero state income tax on undistributed trust income and have somewhat stronger creditor protection law. For large dynasty trusts with substantial investment income, a South Dakota or Nevada situs may still be worth considering. But for Florida residents who want home-state administration and 1,000-year duration, Florida is a viable choice.

Florida Community Property Trust Act: the double step-up opportunity

In 2021, Florida enacted the Florida Community Property Trust Act (Fla. Stat. §§ 736.1501–736.1512), which allows married couples to hold assets in a community property trust and obtain the full double step-up in basis at the first spouse's death.⁶

Normally, married couples in common-law states (which includes Florida) get only a 50% step-up at the first death — the surviving spouse's half retains its original cost basis. Community property states (California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Louisiana, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Alaska by election) give both halves a full step-up under IRC §1014(b)(6), eliminating embedded capital gains on the entire asset.

The Florida Community Property Trust (FCPT) bridges this gap. By transferring appreciated assets to a properly structured FCPT, a Florida couple can obtain the same IRC §1014(b)(6) double step-up that California couples get automatically.

Requirements: both spouses must sign the trust; at least one trustee must be a Florida-qualified trustee or Florida-licensed bank or trust company. The trust must explicitly adopt the community property rules. Assets should be transferred while both spouses are living and while the property has significant unrealized appreciation.

The FCPT is distinct from the general community property rules that apply to people relocating from CP states. If you are moving from California to Florida and bring appreciated CP property, Fla. Stat. §732.219 governs the treatment of that existing CP property — a separate set of rules.

No state income tax: planning implications for HNW families

Florida's lack of a state income tax is relevant for several estate planning strategies:

• Roth conversions: Converting a large traditional IRA to Roth in Florida costs only the federal income tax (up to 37%). No California 13.3% surcharge, no New York 10.9%, no Massachusetts 9% layer. See the IRA estate planning guide for the step-by-step analysis on Roth conversion at high net worth.
• Capital gains realization: Selling a concentrated position, unwinding a low-basis real estate holding, or harvesting gains in a trust — all cost only the federal LTCG rate (up to 23.8% including NIIT) in Florida. The same transaction in California triggers an additional 13.3% state tax on long-term gains.
• Trust income: Trusts administered in Florida with Florida resident trustees and Florida-domiciled beneficiaries generally owe no state income tax on investment income or capital gains. This matters for dynasty trusts and charitable remainder trusts holding appreciated assets.
• Business sale proceeds: A business owner executing a sale has significantly more flexibility on installment note structure and year-of-sale income recognition in Florida vs. high-tax states — no state-level incentive to defer.

Florida elective share: what surviving spouses must know

Under Fla. Stat. §732.2065, a surviving spouse has the right to claim an elective share of 30% of the "elective estate" — an augmented estate concept that captures virtually all assets the decedent owned, controlled, or transferred in contemplation of death, including revocable trust assets, jointly held property, and pay-on-death accounts.⁷

The elective share must be claimed within 6 months of service of the formal notice of administration (or 2 years from death, whichever is earlier). For HNW families, the key implication is that estate plans designed to leave significant assets to children from a prior marriage — while providing the surviving spouse a lesser share — are subject to challenge via the elective share mechanism. A properly structured QTIP trust can satisfy the elective share while still directing ultimate distribution to the children.

For families moving to Florida from high-tax states

Florida's tax advantages only apply to bona fide Florida residents. If a family maintains primary ties to New York or California while using a Florida address for tax purposes, state tax authorities in the prior state may assert continued residency. Planning a move requires:

1. Establish Florida domicile clearly. Spend more days in Florida than any other state (especially important for NY). File a Florida Declaration of Domicile. Register to vote in Florida. Update driver's license, vehicle registration, and professional licenses. Move safe deposit boxes, valued personal property, and family heirlooms to Florida.
2. Audit existing estate plan documents. Wills and trusts from New York, California, or another state remain valid in Florida but may reference state-specific laws that no longer apply or miss Florida-specific opportunities (FCPT, TBE titling, homestead).
3. Retitle assets to capture TBE. Bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and other marital assets should be reviewed and retitled as TBE if appropriate.
4. Address community property from the prior state. Property acquired while domiciled in a community property state retains its CP character. Fla. Stat. §732.219 governs disposition of that property at death. If the accumulated CP property has significant appreciation, transferring it into a Florida Community Property Trust may preserve — or in some cases improve — the step-up benefit.
5. Update the homestead plan. If buying a Florida primary residence, ensure the estate plan accounts for homestead devise restrictions, especially if there is a surviving spouse or minor children.

Seven common Florida estate planning mistakes

1. Leaving homestead by will to a non-spouse/non-lineal descendant. In a blended family, you may intend to leave the homestead to your surviving spouse outright — but if you have children from a prior marriage, Florida law restricts this. The homestead passes by operation of law, not by will. Failing to plan around this can create a forced co-ownership between your spouse and your children.
2. Transferring homestead to an irrevocable trust without analysis. The unlimited creditor protection and the property tax exemption both depend on the nature of the trust. Irrevocable trust transfers typically terminate both benefits. Many clients discover this too late — after completing an IDGT or SLAT transaction that inadvertently included the homestead.
3. Failing to retitle brokerage assets as TBE after marriage. TBE protection does not arise automatically from marriage — the assets must be titled correctly. Many couples have brokerage accounts in individual names that could be converted to TBE joint accounts to gain creditor protection at zero cost.
4. Missing the FCPT opportunity for large appreciated portfolios. The Florida Community Property Trust is one of the most underused tools available to Florida married couples. A couple with $5M+ in appreciated stock who moves to Florida and never creates a FCPT leaves potentially hundreds of thousands in capital gains taxes on the table when the first spouse dies.
5. Not filing a portability election after the first spouse's death. Even if the first estate owes no federal or state estate tax, the surviving spouse must file Form 706 within 9 months (extendable) to preserve the deceased spouse's unused exemption amount (DSUE). In Florida, this is purely a federal consideration — but missing the deadline is an irreversible mistake. See the portability guide.
6. Assuming Florida residency eliminates the need for a trust. Florida's probate court has jurisdiction over all assets held in individual names at death. A revocable trust still provides privacy (probate records are public in Florida), faster administration, avoidance of ancillary probate for out-of-state property, and multi-state continuity. See how to avoid probate.
7. Ignoring the elective share on a blended-family plan. An estate plan that disinherits a surviving spouse in favor of children from a prior marriage is subject to the 30% elective share claim. QTIP trusts are the standard solution — the surviving spouse gets income for life (satisfying the elective share), and the remainder passes to the children.