Where Online Tools Are Fine
Let’s be fair: for a truly simple situation, no real estate, no business, no blended family, no probate-avoidance goal, an online will is cheap, fast, and better than nothing. If that is genuinely you, a template may be enough. The trouble is that most people are not that simple, and the tool cannot tell you which one you are.
Where They Break in Florida
- Execution. Florida requires two witnesses, signed a specific way. Get it wrong and the will may be invalid, and the notarized self-proving affidavit, which makes probate smoother, is often skipped.
- Homestead. Florida bars leaving your home away from a spouse or minor child. A DIY will that ignores this is simply ineffective as to the house.
- A spouse’s rights. The elective share lets a spouse claim about 30% regardless of the will. Templates do not plan around it.
- Unfunded trusts. People buy a living trust online and never transfer assets into it, so it controls nothing and the estate goes through probate anyway. (how to fund a trust)
Every one of these is invisible until it fails, and by then no one can fix it.
Find out which one you actually need.
Take the 2-minute quiz, or book a free consult. No pressure either way.
The Difference a Litigator Makes
Most plans, online or not, are written by people who never had to defend one in court. Kevin does. He litigates failed estate plans, the will contests, the unfunded trusts, the homestead mistakes, so he drafts yours to hold up against the exact challenges he has watched break the do-it-yourself ones. And the firm posts flat fees, so doing it right is more affordable than the price of doing it wrong.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Online Estate Planning Legit?
For a genuinely simple situation, an online will can be valid if it is signed and witnessed correctly. The tools are cheap, fast, and better than nothing. The problem is not the document, it is everything around it: whether it is executed to Florida’s exact standard, whether it accounts for homestead and a spouse’s rights, whether your trust actually gets funded, and whether anyone catches the mistake. A template cannot do those things, and the errors only surface after you are gone, when no one can fix them.
What Does DIY Estate Planning Get Wrong in Florida?
The most common failures: signing the will without Florida’s required two witnesses (or skipping the notarized self-proving affidavit, which makes probate harder); ignoring the homestead rule that bars leaving your home away from a spouse or minor child; missing a spouse’s elective-share and other rights; and creating a living trust but never transferring assets into it, so it controls nothing and the estate still goes through probate. Each of these is invisible until it fails.
When Do I Actually Need an Attorney?
When anything is not simple: you own a home or a business, you have a blended family or minor or special-needs children, you want to avoid probate or plan for Medicaid, you own property in more than one state, or your estate is large enough for tax planning. In those cases the cost of getting it wrong dwarfs the cost of getting it right. Not sure where you fall? Our short quiz points you to the likely fit.
Isn’t an Attorney a Lot More Expensive?
Less than you think, and the consult is free. We post flat fees: a lady bird deed is $399, a will-based plan is $1,200, a trust-based plan is $3,200, far less than the cost of a botched plan landing your family in probate litigation. And because Kevin litigates failed estate plans in court, he drafts yours to hold up against exactly the challenges he has seen break the DIY ones.
Are Electronic Wills Legal in Florida?
Yes, with strings attached. Florida allows a will to be signed electronically with remote online notarization, but only through a strict process that includes a qualified custodian to store the electronic record. That is not the same as filling out an online form and printing it; an electronic will has its own technical requirements, and one that misses them can be challenged or thrown out. Florida law also restricts remote notarization for vulnerable adults, so older signers are usually better off signing in person. We run the signing correctly either way, which is the one part no software does for you.
Updated on July 12, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate planning 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. Fees are honored as posted; see the pricing page. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.