You bought the place on the island years ago. Maybe it’s a rental most of the year. Maybe it’s where the whole family lands every summer. Either way, it’s probably worth considerably more now than what you paid, and it’s probably the asset your children care about most.
Here’s what most owners don’t know: your will was drafted in Georgia, or Ohio, or Tennessee — and it doesn’t control what happens to Florida real estate the way you think it does. When you die, your family may face a second, separate court proceeding down here, in a state where they don’t live and don’t know anyone, on top of everything else they’re handling.
It’s avoidable. Usually with one document and a couple of hours.
Real property is governed by the law of the state where it sits — not where you live, not where your will was signed. Your Florida house answers to Florida law regardless of anything else in your estate plan.
That means Florida’s homestead rules, Florida’s probate procedure, and Florida’s specific requirements for deeds and property transfers. A perfectly valid Ohio will doesn’t change any of it. What it does is send your family to a Florida courthouse to get the property released.
The proceeding is called ancillary administration, and it’s exactly what it sounds like — a whole second probate, running alongside the one in your home state, with its own filings, its own timeline, and its own costs.
Usually the answer.
For multiple properties or more complexity.
Coordinated with your home state plan.
Most of my out-of-state clients handle everything by phone, email, and mail. Florida permits remote online notarization, which means you can sign a valid Florida deed or estate plan from your kitchen in Nashville with a notary on video.
When you are down here — and most owners are, a few times a year — my office is upstairs at the historic Post Office at 20 Avenue D, in downtown Apalachicola across from the Owl Cafe. Plenty of clients prefer to schedule around a trip they were already taking. Either way works.
I handle probate in Franklin County, including ancillary administrations for families whose parent died out of state and owned property here. That’s given me a clear view of what these situations cost when nobody planned for them — and how straightforward they are to prevent.
The planning conversation usually takes twenty minutes. The deed takes about a week. Compared to what an ancillary probate costs your family in fees, delay, and frustration, it’s not a close comparison.
The first conversation is free, by phone or in person. Bring your deed and your current will if you have them — twenty minutes will tell you whether you have a problem.
For most of your assets, yes. For Florida real estate, usually not. Your will can direct who receives the property, but it doesn't avoid the Florida court proceeding required to actually transfer it.
A separate Florida probate that runs alongside the main proceeding in your home state, opened solely to handle Florida real property. It requires its own filings, its own attorney, and its own timeline.
It varies with the property's value and complexity, but it typically means several thousand dollars in fees and costs, plus months of delay. All of it avoidable in advance for a fraction of that.
No. These issues have nothing to do with where you live. They're about where the property sits.
For most owners, a Lady Bird deed. The property passes automatically to whoever you name, with no probate and no court involvement, while you keep complete control during your lifetime.
Yes. Homestead property gets additional tax benefits, but the probate avoidance works identically on a second home or a rental.
Sometimes, particularly for rentals, since it can offer liability separation. But an LLC doesn't avoid probate by itself — the LLC interest still passes through your estate. It's a complement to planning, not a substitute.
Often not, if a Lady Bird deed handles the real estate. When you have other Florida assets, or the situation is more complex, a coordinated Florida will can make sense. We'd look at your specific picture.
If you own property in several states, have minor beneficiaries, or run a rental you want to keep operating without interruption, likely yes. For a single Florida property going to adult children, a Lady Bird deed usually does the job for far less.
It raises the stakes. Rental income means active accounts, contracts, bookings, and a property manager who needs someone with authority to make decisions. Planning should cover the business, not just the title.
Without planning, the accounts freeze and nobody can pay the manager, refund guests, or handle maintenance until a court appoints someone. A trust or a properly drafted power of attorney prevents that.
Yes, if the transfer happens cleanly and quickly. That's precisely what probate avoidance buys you — the property changes hands without the operation stopping.
No. Florida permits remote online notarization, so you can execute a valid Florida deed or estate plan by video from anywhere. Many of my out-of-state clients never make a special trip.
Absolutely, and many clients prefer it. My office is downtown Apalachicola. We can schedule around a trip you were taking anyway.
This is common. If a parent or grandparent died and the deed was never sorted out, you may not have clear title — which means you can't sell it, mortgage it, insure it properly, or plan around it. It's fixable, and often simpler than people expect if enough time has passed. Worth handling before it passes to another generation.
Coastal property carries risk that inland property doesn't, and it affects planning. Documents should be stored so they survive a storm and can be produced remotely. Insurance and mortgage information should be somewhere your family can find it. I cover this as part of the conversation.
Considerably. Florida has no state income tax and no estate tax, and Florida homestead offers protections most states don't. If you're weighing it, the estate planning implications are worth understanding before you decide.
A meaningful and growing share. Franklin County property is increasingly owned by people who live elsewhere, and almost none of them arrived with a plan that accounted for it.
Lady Bird Deeds — the fix for most coastal owners
Trusts — for multiple properties or rental operations
Wills — coordinating with your home state plan
Probate — if you’ve already inherited property here
Free consultation, by phone or in person. If your plan already covers the property, I’ll tell you that and you’ll have spent twenty minutes for peace of mind.
