Remarriage and stepchildren reshape an estate plan in ways a first-marriage template never anticipates. In Palm Beach, where second marriages, prenuptial agreements, and out-of-state property are common, a plan built for a blended family must do two jobs at once: protect a surviving spouse and preserve an inheritance for children from a prior relationship. Our practice is organized around exactly that tension under Florida law.
Why Blended Families Need Florida-Specific Planning
Florida grants a surviving spouse powerful default rights that can override what a will appears to say. The elective share (Florida Statutes §732.2065 and following) entitles a surviving spouse to roughly 30% of the elective estate, even if the will leaves everything to children. Florida homestead protections (Article X, §4 of the Florida Constitution) restrict how a married person can devise the family residence. And an omitted (pretermitted) spouse who marries after a will is signed may inherit an intestate share. For a second marriage, these defaults can quietly redirect assets away from the children a parent intended to protect.
The Tools We Use
We coordinate several instruments so the plan works as a whole rather than as disconnected documents:
- Wills executed to Florida’s strict standards (§732.502).
- Revocable living trusts (Chapter 736) to keep stepfamily arrangements private and avoid probate.
- QTIP-style marital trusts that support a surviving spouse for life while guaranteeing the remainder passes to your own children.
- Durable powers of attorney and advance directives (Chapter 709 and §765) so the right person — not a former spouse or an estranged stepchild — makes decisions.
- Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deeds to pass Palm Beach real estate outside probate while preserving homestead.
Common Palm Beach Scenarios
A retiree who moved to Palm Beach County after a second marriage may own a condo here plus a lake house in another state, triggering ancillary probate. A surviving second spouse may want to remain in the homestead while the deceased spouse’s adult children worry about ever inheriting it. A blended family may include children of very different ages and needs. Each of these calls for deliberate drafting, not a fill-in-the-blank form.
How We Work
We start by mapping who you want to protect and in what order, then identify where Florida’s spousal-rights rules could defeat that intent. From there we build a coordinated plan — often pairing a marital trust with clear beneficiary designations and, where appropriate, a marital agreement that waives or shapes the elective share. Our goal is a plan your family can administer without a courtroom fight after you are gone.
Consult a Florida Attorney
This site is general information about Florida estate planning, not legal advice for your situation. Spousal rights, homestead, and probate outcomes turn on specific facts. Please consult a licensed Florida attorney before acting. Explore our pages on wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney, blended-family trust planning, and Florida probate to learn more.