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Estate Planning Attorney for Destin, Florida

A complete Destin estate plan keeps your family out of probate court, for a flat fee.

Wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and health-care directives, built for Destin and Okaloosa County families, wherever you are.

  • Every core document in one flat-fee plan
  • Keep your home out of probate, and avoid a guardianship
  • Done by phone and video, serving Destin wherever you are
Book a free 30-minute consult Trust plans from $3,200 / $4,500 · will plans from $1,200

Quick Overview

A complete Destin estate plan is a coordinated set of documents (a will or living trust, a durable power of attorney, and health-care directives) that keeps your family out of probate court. A trust-based plan is a flat $3,200 individual or $4,500 couple; a will-based plan $1,200. We build it for Okaloosa County families, wherever you are. What you actually need is below.

Topics to Know HideShow

Below, we walk through the 4 issues that decide whether this is the right move for you. Jump to any one.

  1. Estate Planning in Destin: the Local Picture Destin has the homeowners estate planning is built for. A home above Florida's $150,000 summary threshold (raised from $75,000 on July 1, 2026) can pull the family into a months-long probate without a plan.
  2. What a Complete Plan Covers A plan is a coordinated set of documents, not one piece of paper, and it takes a will or trust, a durable power of attorney, and health-care directives, often plus a deed on the home.
  3. Keeping a Destin Home Out of Probate Your homestead has special rules and cannot be left freely in a will if you have a spouse or minor child. A funded trust or a lady bird deed keeps it out of probate.
  4. Flat Fees A trust-based plan is a flat $3,200 individual or $4,500 couple; a will-based plan $1,200 with a lady bird deed on the home included; single documents from $299. Government recording costs are added at cost.

That’s the quick version. The details below are what decide your situation, and where the costly mistakes hide.

Estate Planning in Destin: the Local Picture

Destin and Okaloosa County are an affluent Emerald Coast beach, snowbird, and second-home market, with a strong military and veteran presence from Eglin Air Force Base. A high-value Gulf-coast market where homestead, deeds, and probate avoidance lead, with non-resident second-home owners and veteran-aware survivor planning a real local angle.

A home at that value sits well above Florida’s $150,000 summary-administration threshold, raised from $75,000 on July 1, 2026, so without planning it can pull your family into a full, months-long probate. The fix is to coordinate the home, the will or trust, and any deed together, so the house passes the way you intend.

What a Complete Plan Covers

Most families in Destin come to us for the same three documents, a will, a trust, and a power of attorney. A last will and testament says who inherits, a living trust can keep the estate out of probate, and a durable power of attorney covers you while you are still alive.

An estate plan is a coordinated set of documents, not one piece of paper. It takes a will or a revocable living trust to direct your property, a durable power of attorney so someone can act if you can’t, and a health-care surrogate, living will, and HIPAA authorization for medical decisions. Homeowners often add a lady bird deed on the homestead. See the full estate-planning guide →

Keeping a Destin Home Out of Probate

Your Florida homestead carries special rules. It generally can’t be left freely in a will if you have a spouse or minor child, and it passes outside the will by its own path. A funded revocable trust or a lady bird deed keeps the home out of probate while you keep full control during life. See Okaloosa County probate → or find the right deed →

Serving Destin and Okaloosa County, wherever you are.

A free 30-minute video consult maps your plan and quotes a flat fee. No office visit required.

Book your free consult

Communities We Serve

We work with families across Okaloosa County, including Miramar Beach, Sandestin, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Crestview, and the rest of Okaloosa County. Any deed in your plan records with the Okaloosa County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, whose office is at 101 East James Lee Boulevard in Crestview; we prepare and e-record it for you. We are a Miami firm serving Destin wherever you are; this is not a Destin office.

Flat Fees

Trust-based plan $3,200 individual / $4,500 couple (trust + pour-over will + durable POA + health-care directives + one funding deed). Will-based plan $1,200 individual / $1,950 couple (will, durable POA, health-care directives and a lady bird deed on the home). Single documents from $299. Government recording costs are additional, at cost. See full pricing →

Secure Will Estate Plan
$1,200 individual · $1,950 couple
Five documents, designed together and signed together, plus a lady bird deed on your home so the house passes outside probate. The will, the durable power of attorney, the designation of health-care surrogate, the living will and the HIPAA authorization. The will carries survivorship and contingent takers, recitals that survive a later marriage or a new child, death-tax apportionment, and a trust for a minor’s share. We review your beneficiary designations, check the homestead, and guide the signing with a self-proving affidavit.
Complete Trust Plan
$3,200 individual · $4,500 couple
Everything in the Secure Will Estate Plan, with the revocable living trust drafted for your family, a pour-over will with a self-proving affidavit as the backup, one deed moving your Florida homestead into the trust, funding instructions and help retitling accounts, beneficiary designations coordinated with the trust, and instructions for your successor trustee. For blended families, out-of-state property, more than one property, and anyone who wants the family to skip probate entirely.
Lady bird deed
$399 · $449 joint
Passes the home to your family at death with no probate, and you keep full control and your homestead protection while you live. One owner $399, joint owners $449. Drafted with the homestead language Florida requires. A quitclaim, warranty or life-estate deed is $399.
Recording costs vary by county and start at $19.20 for a deed. Documentary stamp tax, court filing fees, publication and certified copies are additional and passed through at cost.
See every fee on one page →

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have an office in Destin?

No. StepUpLaw is a Miami firm that serves Destin and Okaloosa County residents wherever they are, by phone and video. Most of the work happens online, and your signing is coordinated to meet Florida formalities (two witnesses and a notary).

Where are deeds recorded in Okaloosa County?

Deeds and other documents for a Okaloosa County property are recorded with the Okaloosa County Clerk of Court and Comptroller. We handle the recording for any deed in your plan and pass the county’s cost through at cost.

Do I need a living trust, or is a will enough?

It depends on what you own and your goals. A will alone still goes through probate; a funded revocable living trust avoids it and manages things if you lose capacity. For a single home passing to your kids, a lady bird deed may be all you need. We talk through both at the free consult.

Updated August 19, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. We serve Destin and Okaloosa County residents from our Miami office. Local figures are Census estimates (ACS 2024) and approximate.

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