Revocable Living Trust
Skip probate entirely. Stay in control while alive.
A revocable living trust is the document most Florida families should have but most don't. It does one thing your will can't: it lets your assets pass to your loved ones without going through probate. Done well, it saves your family three to twelve months of paperwork and several thousand dollars in legal fees, while you stay in complete control of everything during your lifetime.
"Revocable" means you can change it any time. "Living" means it works while you're alive — you're the trustee, you manage the assets, you can buy and sell things normally. The only practical difference: the title says "The Smith Family Trust" instead of "John & Jane Smith." When you pass, the successor trustee you named takes over, distributes the assets per your instructions, and the family never sees a courtroom.
The catch most attorneys gloss over: the trust only works if it's funded — meaning the home, the brokerage account, the cars, the rental property, all need to be retitled into the trust's name. We don't just hand you a 30-page document and wish you luck. We do the funding paperwork too, every time.
Who qualifies
- Homeowners — especially anyone with a Florida homestead or out-of-state property
- Parents with minor children (the trust names a successor trustee to manage assets until they're adults)
- Anyone with non-exempt assets over $150k — formal probate is otherwise required
- Snowbirds with property in two or more states (saves coordinated probate filings)
- Anyone who wants privacy — wills become public record at death; trusts don't
What we handle
Your flat fee covers everything below. No surprise invoices, no “billable hours” anxiety — the price is the price.
- Initial planning meeting — we listen, you talk through your family and assets
- Drafting the trust agreement — Florida-compliant, plain English
- Pour-over will (catches anything that didn't make it into the trust)
- Funding instructions: which assets to retitle and how
- Deed re-recording for Florida real estate (transfer to trust)
- Coordination with banks and brokerages on account retitling
- Trustee guidance memo — what your successor trustee actually has to do
- Two signing meetings, in person or video (your call)
How it works, step by step
- 01Discovery call (free)
30 minutes on the phone. We listen to your situation, your family, your assets. Most calls end with a clear plan and a flat-fee quote in writing.
We handleWe come prepared. You don't need to prep — just show up and tell us what you'd want for your family. - 02Planning meeting
60–90 minutes. We work through choices: who's the successor trustee? Who inherits what? Are there minor children, special-needs heirs, complicated family dynamics?
We handleDone in person at our Sarasota office or by video. Most clients find video easier — no driving, full coffee. - 03Drafts to review
Within 5–7 business days, you receive: the trust agreement, pour-over will, durable POA, healthcare surrogate, and a funding checklist. Review at your pace, ask questions.
We handleWe text back inside 5 minutes when you have questions. Drafts go through our encrypted portal. - 04Signing meeting
Witnesses, notary, signatures. Florida law requires two witnesses + notary for a trust with testamentary provisions (FS 736.0403, 732.502) — we follow the same standard for every trust we draft, no exceptions.
We handleDone at our office or by mobile notary at your home. You walk out (or hang up) with a complete estate plan. - 05Funding the trust
We handle Florida real estate retitling and provide instructions for banks, brokerages, vehicles, and out-of-state property. This is the step most other firms skip — and it's the step that makes the trust actually work.
We handleFlorida deed retitling included. Out-of-state property gets a memo to send to the deed clerk in that county.
What we watch for
Easy on people, tough on problems. These are the things that catch families off guard — we've seen them all and we plan around them.
- Drafting without funding. A trust that isn't funded is a $1,800 paperweight. Assets still in your individual name still go through probate. We make sure the funding actually happens.
- Naming a single successor trustee with no backup. If they predecease you or can't serve, the trust falls into court oversight. Always name backups.
- Putting the homestead in without coordinating Save Our Homes. Florida has special homestead-in-trust rules — done wrong, you lose property tax benefits. Done right, you keep them.
- Forgetting to update beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary form, not by trust. We coordinate so your trust isn't fighting your IRA.
- Treating the trust as static. Life happens — marriage, birth, move, divorce, business sale. The trust should be reviewed every 3–5 years. We offer free reviews to former clients.
Questions families ask us
A trust isn't about your death — it's about your family's life after you. The drafting takes a few hours of your time and a flat fee that's small compared to what your family saves. We draft these the way we'd draft our own — careful Florida-current language, real funding work, and a follow-up to make sure it actually works decades from now. Easy on people, tough on the problems probate would otherwise create.