You must have the original will in the state of Florida for it to be a valid will. There are other ways of establishing a lost or destroyed will, but the law presumes that if you cannot find the original will, that the person that created the will intended to destroy it or revoke it.

A will can control all of your property, but there is a variety of estate planning tools that can be used to avoid probate. For instance, property can be titled as joint tenants to avoid probate, but essentially a will does control all of your property after your death if you have not established a trust, or used some other manner of estate planning.

All property does not have to go through probate when a person dies. You can establish a trust to avoid probate. You can use different forms of real property ownership to avoid probate such as tenancy by the entireties, or joint tenants with rights of survivorship. Certain retirement plans and life insurance avoids probate. It’s important to seek the advice of an experienced estate planning attorney to determine what assets you have that may have to go through probate, and what assets you have that are exempt from probate.

The way you hold title to property is very important with your overall estate plan. There’s three common ways to own property in Florida: Tenants in common, a joint tenants with rights of survivorship and tenantry by the entireties. Each form of ownership has benefits and drawbacks and it’s important to talk to an experienced attorney to analyze which type of ownership is the correct one for you.

An estate plan makes things easier on your family when you die because you’ve arranged for everything to be taken care of in advance. During that time of course the family wants to grieve, and it’s a gift really to your family for them to have to avoid having to go see an attorney, file a probate or worry about where all your assets are going.

There are several ways that a person can avoid probate. It’s important to speak with a qualified attorney to see what methods will work best for you. You could establish a revocable living trust. We can title real estate in certain ways to avoid probate. You can designate certain bank accounts to be payable on death or transfer on death accounts. It’s important to sit down with an attorney to analyze your specific situation and what your needs are.

It’s important to review an attorney’s experience and qualifications in the area which you’re intending to hire them. For instance, if you’re looking for a residential real estate attorney, have they been involved in a lot of real estate deals? What experience do they have with real estate litigation? It’s also a good idea to have someone you’re compatible with personality wise. The attorney-client relationship is very important, and attorney and client must trust each other to come up with the best outcome.