Death is a subject people do not like to think about. But there are good reasons to prepare for death by having an attorney prepare a will for you. A will is a written document stating the manner in which your property is to be distributed after you die. A will can be simple or more elaborate, depending upon if there are minor children, how much property is involved, and the wishes of the person making the will. In addition to directing how property is to pass at your death, a will can also name a guardian to take care of minor children and can create a trust naming a trustee to manage property for minor children or for others, and you can name the person who will manage your property after your death during the probate proceeding (the personal representative). The laws of each state set forth the formal requirements for a legal will. In Florida, the maker of the will must be at least 18 years old, must be of sound mind, and the will must be witnessed by two different people who are not receiving property under the will.

It is important to remember that a will has no legal effect until you die. You can change your will at any time by making a new will or making an amendment to the will (called a "codicil"). In order for the will to be legal, it is important that there be no mistakes in the preparation or signing of the will. You should never try to prepare your own will. You should have an attorney prepare it and supervise the signing of the will.

There are some restrictions as to what you can put in the will. To protect the family, particularly a surviving spouse, Florida law does not allow you to disinherit your spouse without a properly executed pre-nuptial agreement. Most people do not have such agreements. Even if the will leaves all of your property to someone else or even to a charity, Florida law requires that your surviving spouse be allowed to have at least 30% of property owned at your death less any claims against the estate, real estate located outside of Florida, and state and federal taxes, and administrative expenses. This is known as the spouse’s elective share. You may, however, disinherit your children. There are also restrictions on what you can do with your homestead (your primary residence). In most cases, your surviving spouse or minor children will have some form of ownership in the homestead after you die no matter what your will says.

Real estate and personal property owned jointly with your spouse or another person with right of survivorship cannot be given away in the will, since ownership of the property automatically passes to the other person upon your death. Also, you cannot specify that someone other than the beneficiary of your life insurance policy receive the benefits of the policy. When you die, the benefits of the life insurance policy immediately become the property of the beneficiary named in the policy.

If you die without a will, your property will be given to your heirs according to the formula provided by Florida law. Your property does not go to the State of Florida unless there are absolutely no heirs at law, which is unlikely. If you die without a will, the court will appoint the personal representative to manage your estate. The cost of probating your estate will probably be more than if you had a will.

If you have moved to Florida from another state, you should have your will reviewed by a Florida lawyer to be sure that it is a valid will in Florida.

There are also several other documents that you should consider when having a will made: