Port St. Lucie Estate Planning Attorney: Wills & Trusts

Estate Planning in Port St. Lucie: the Local Picture

Port St. Lucie is one of Florida’s fastest-growing cities, drawing both retirees and relocating families to the Treasure Coast. A fast-growing Treasure Coast city of new arrivals and retirees, where first estate plans, homestead, domicile, and probate avoidance all apply.

Port St. Lucie’s median home value is about $415,000. 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

The wills, trusts, and powers of attorney people ask us about in Port St. Lucie are really one plan in three pieces. A last will and testament names who inherits, a living trust keeps the estate out of probate, and a durable power of attorney covers the years you are still here.

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 Port St. Lucie 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 St. Lucie County probate → or find the right deed →

Serving Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie 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 St. Lucie County, including St. Lucie West, Tradition, Torino, The Vines, Tesoro, Sandpiper Bay, and the rest of St. Lucie County. Any deed in your plan records with the St. Lucie County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, whose office is at 218 South 2nd Street in Fort Pierce; we prepare and e-record it for you. We are a Miami firm serving Port St. Lucie wherever you are; this is not a Port St. Lucie 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 Port St. Lucie?

No. StepUpLaw is a Miami firm that serves Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie 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 St. Lucie County?

Deeds and other documents for a St. Lucie County property are recorded with the St. Lucie County Clerk of the Circuit 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 Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie County residents from our Miami office. Local figures are Census estimates (ACS 2024) and approximate.

Estate Planning Attorney for Port St. Lucie, Florida