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Living Trust and Estate Planning Attorney for St. Augustine, Florida

A complete St. Augustine 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 St. Augustine and St. Johns 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 St. Augustine wherever you are
Book a free consultation Trust plans from $3,200 / $4,500 · will plans from $1,200

Your consultation is by phone from St. Augustine, your signing is online from home, and the firm records your deed in your own county.

Quick Overview

For St. Augustine families, an estate plan coordinates the will or trust, the powers of attorney, the health-care directives, and the home so nothing lands in probate. Trust-based plans are a flat $3,200 to $4,500; will-based plans from $1,200. We handle it by phone and video, wherever you are. Which plan fits, and how the home passes, are 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 St. Augustine: the Local Picture St. Augustine 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 St. Augustine 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 St. Augustine: the Local Picture

St. Augustine has a median age of 50 and 27 percent over 65, older than the Florida average. Planning demand among the 15,351 residents reflects a blend of retirees and historic homeowners. A median home value of $439,800 in St. Johns County puts Florida homestead protection at the center of the plan.

St. Augustine’s median age is around 50, and the median home value is about $439,800. 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

Three documents come up in nearly every St. Augustine consult, the will, the trust, and the power of attorney. Your last will and testament directs what you own, a living trust can skip probate entirely, and a durable power of attorney lets someone act for you if you cannot.

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 St. Augustine 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. Johns County probate → or find the right deed →

Serving St. Augustine and St. Johns County, wherever you are.

A free consultation maps your plan and quotes a flat fee. No office visit required.

Book a free consultation

Notary Services in St. Augustine

The firm prepares your deed or trust and most clients sign from home by online notarization, with the firm arranging the notary and the two witnesses by video. Some people prefer to sign on paper in person. A Florida deed must be signed in front of two witnesses and acknowledged before a notary, so you need to bring two adult witnesses who are not named in the deed. Do not count on the store to supply witnesses. Call the store first to confirm a notary is on duty that day.

The UPS Store locations in St. Augustine that list notary services, with posted hours
StoreAddressPhoneHours
The UPS Store #0939Anastasia Publix Plaza Across From Bank Of America1093 A1a Beach Blvd, Saint Augustine 32080(904) 471-4200Mon to Fri 8 am to 6:30 pm · Sat 10 am to 3:30 pm · Sun 10 am to 3 pm
The UPS Store #2664Winn-Dixie Shopping Center/North End Of Town3501 N Ponce De Leon Blvd, Ste B, Saint Augustine 32084(904) 824-3444Mon to Fri 8 am to 6:30 pm · Sat 10 am to 3:30 pm · Sun 10 am to 3 pm
The UPS Store #6859Moultrie Plaza4255 US Hwy 1 South, Ste 18, Saint Augustine 32086(904) 615-1976Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 7 pm · Sat 9 am to 3 pm · Sun 10 am to 3 pm
The UPS Store #30606 Doors Down From Publix135 Jenkins St, Ste 105-B, Saint Augustine 32086(904) 825-2300Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 6:30 pm · Sat 9 am to 5 pm · Sun 10 am to 3 pm
The UPS Store #6113Next To Publix At Corner Of Intl Golf Pkwy & Hwy16 Corner52 Tuscan Way, Ste 202, Saint Augustine 32092(904) 217-0890Mon to Fri 8 am to 6 pm · Sat 9 am to 5 pm · Sun 11 am to 4 pm
The UPS Store #82991985 Silverleaf Pkwy, Suite 103, Saint Augustine 32092Mon to Sun closed
The UPS Store #83672895 Sr-16 E, Ste 140., Saint Augustine 32092(904) 289-3380Mon to Sun closed
The UPS Store #7067120 Palencia Village Dr, #C-105, Saint Augustine 32095(904) 829-0116Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 7 pm · Sat 9 am to 3 pm · Sun 10 am to 3 pm

Hours read from each store’s own page on October 30, 2026. Confirm by phone before you go.

Communities We Serve

We work with families across St. Johns County, and the rest of St. Johns County. Any deed in your plan records with the St. Johns County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, whose office is at 4010 Lewis Speedway in St. Augustine; we prepare and e-record it for you. We are a Miami firm serving St. Augustine wherever you are; this is not a St. Augustine office.

Recently moved to Florida, or planning to? Make it official and cut your old state’s income tax with a St. Johns County Declaration of Domicile, then re-do your plan under Florida law.

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. The trust pays out on a graduated schedule, holding each share and releasing it at the ages you set rather than handing it over at once. 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 St. Augustine?

No. StepUpLaw is a Miami firm that serves St. Augustine and St. Johns 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. Johns County?

Deeds and other documents for a St. Johns County property are recorded with the St. Johns 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 consultation.

Updated September 30, 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 St. Augustine and St. Johns County residents from our Miami office. Local figures are Census estimates (ACS 2024) and approximate.

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