Your mom passed away last month. You’re still figuring out how to get through the day without calling her about something stupid. And now you’re sitting in a lawyer’s office learning that her will has problems. Big problems. The kind that could cost your family tens of thousands of dollars and drag things out for years.

Here’s the hard truth: most folks don’t think about a will until it’s already late. When they finally sit down to sort it out they often slip up creating nightmares for the people they leave behind. In Florida a handful of recurring pitfalls keep resurfacing. The good news? All of those can be sidestepped—if you know what to watch out for.

Mistake #1: Not Having a Will at All

If you die without a will in Florida, something called “intestacy” kicks in. That’s a fancy way of saying the state gets to decide who gets your stuff. Florida has specific rules about this. Your spouse might get some things. Your kids get some things. Your parents might get some things. But the order matters, and it probably doesn’t match what you would have wanted. Plus, the court gets involved, and the court costs money. A lot of money.

But here’s the thing—having an old will is almost as bad as having no will. Let’s say you wrote a will in 1995 when you lived in New York. You named your first husband as executor. You left everything to your kids from your first marriage. Then you moved to Florida, got remarried, had more kids, and made some serious money. But you never updated your will. When you die, that 1995 will controls. Your new spouse gets nothing. Your new kids get nothing. That’s why consulting Florida probate and estate attorneys can be crucial to ensure your estate plan reflects your current situation and wishes.

You need to review your will every five to ten years, especially if:

• You moved to Florida from another state
• You got married or remarried
• You had kids or grandkids
• Your financial situation changed significantly
• Someone you named in your will passed away
• You acquired real estate or a business
• Your relationship with family members changed dramatically

If any of these happened, your will probably needs updating. Life changes. Your documents should change too.

Mistake #2: Not Following Florida’s Specific Will Requirements

Florida has rules. Specific rules. Not suggestions. Rules.

If you don’t follow them, your will might not be valid, and you’re basically back to having no will at all. Let’s talk about what Florida actually requires.

A written document is necessary when expressing your last wishes. It can be in your own handwriting or typed—either is fine—but it must be in writing. Recording a voice memo on your phone and referring to it as a will is not acceptable. It also must be your own signature at the very least. There are people who think that if they sign it somewhere in the middle or get someone else to sign it, it would work. No. Your signature should be at the bottom, and it must be your real signature.

Then you need two witnesses. Not one. Not three. Two. And these witnesses need to be present at the same time while you sign. They watch you sign. Then they sign it too, right there in front of you. They need to be at least eighteen years old and of sound mind. They also can’t be beneficiaries in your will. You can’t have your sister be a witness if you’re leaving money to your sister. 

Here’s where people trip up: They think they can grab anyone. Your neighbor. Your friend from church. Your accountant. They can be witnesses, sure, but there’s a catch. If your will ever gets challenged in court, the court might want to talk to those witnesses. They need to confirm they saw you sign it and that you seemed like you were in your right mind. If you can’t track down your witnesses, or if they’ve moved to Alaska, or if they’ve passed away themselves, you’ve got a problem.

Florida actually has something called a “self-proving will.” It’s a little extra step where you sign an affidavit in front of a notary with your witnesses. This basically tells the court, “Yep, this is legit,” without needing to hunt down witnesses later. It’s a smart move.

The basic checklist:

• Written document (handwritten or typed)
• Signed at the end by you
• Signed by two witnesses who were present
• Both witnesses watched you sign and signed in front of you
• Witnesses weren’t beneficiaries in the will
• Ideally notarized to make it self-proving

Get these wrong, and your whole will might be worthless.

Mistake #3: Unclear Instructions

You settle into a spot pen poised and think, “I’ll bequeath the house to my kids.” It sounds straightforward right?. You haven’t specified which children. With four offspring, on the table you have to wonder: do they each receive a slice? Does one child get the right to live in the home while the others take its cash equivalent?. If one of those children predeceases you does that share pass down to his or her kids or is it redistributed among the surviving siblings?

It happens often. Folks think they’re being perfectly clear. Their words end up vague. Then your family gets dragged into a courtroom squabbling over what you meant and ends up shelling out thousands, in fees for something a quick thirty‑second explanation would have cleared up.

• Here’s a real‑life scenario: A mother leaves her jewelry collection to “my daughter Margaret.” That sounds straightforward—until you realize she actually has two daughters named Margaret: Margaret Anne and Margaret Sue. Which of them is meant to receive the heirloom. Should they divide it? No clear answer emerges. The sisters are now, at odds. Margaret Anne has already hired an attorney.
• Another mistake: you list “my estate” as the IRA’s beneficiary. In every case that’s n’t what you intended. An IRA is subject, to inheritance rules that spell out who may inherit it and how the money must be dealt with. When it goes to your estate those rules become tangled and pricey. You probably meant to name a person.
• Be specific: Give descriptions. For example write “my house is located at 123 Oak Street, in Miami, Florida” of the vague “my house.” Say “my daughter Margaret Anne Jones, who was born in 1985 and currently lives in Tampa” than simply “my daughter Margaret.”. Refer to “my Fidelity IRA account with account number 12345” of the generic “my retirement accounts.”

Ruminate, on the eventuality in which the intended beneficiary meets death prior to the testator’s demise. Envision having set aside a lump‑sum legacy, for your son only to be confronted with the reality that he has already passed on. The immediate question then is: where does that money go? Your will ought to spell out the fallback. Does it pass to his children. Does it revert to your children? Florida law provides default intestacy provisions. Those automatic rules might not reflect what you truly intend.

Mistake #4: Forgetting About Assets That Don’t Go Through Your Will

You write a will assigning items, to specific people. Then after you die some of your stuff never makes it through the will it ends up somewhere entirely different.

Here’s the bottom line: a bank account that lists a payable‑on‑death beneficiary sidesteps your will entirely. Life‑insurance policies work the way—once a beneficiary is designated the payout goes to that person never passing through probate. And retirement accounts—IRAs, 401(k)s—are no different; naming a beneficiary means those assets also bypass your will. Yep that’s how it plays out.

Imagine an IRA sitting at $500,000 with the wife named as beneficiary back, in 2005. Forward: the account holder has. Assuming the will controls everything lists the new spouse as beneficiary. The kicker is that the IRA’s own beneficiary designation outranks any will so the first wife ends up with the $500,000. The will has no authority, over that account. Meanwhile the new spouse inherits whatever else remains and the second marriage is probably headed for a breakup.

This scenario repeats itself with regularity. It’s heartbreaking precisely because it’s entirely preventable. When you get married, go through a divorce welcome a child or simply revise your thoughts, about who should receive your assets you need to update every beneficiary designation—not your will.

Mistake #5: Naming the Wrong Person as Executor (Or Not Thinking About It at All)

Your executor is, for all purposes the person who takes over and runs the show once you’re gone. They pay your bills. They collect your money. They distribute your stuff to the people in your will. They handle all the paperwork with the court. It’s a big job.

Some individuals put forward their spouse. Some point, to their child. Some settle on a friend. Yet the majority of people seldom pause to assess whether the designated person genuinely possesses the qualifications demanded by the job.

Your executor should be someone who is:

• Organized and detail-oriented
• Trustworthy
• Willing to do the work
• Living in Florida (or willing to travel to Florida to handle things)
• Not too old or in poor health themselves
• Someone the beneficiaries won’t fight with constantly

That last one matters more than people think. If you name someone your kids hate, your kids will probably fight with them the whole time. It creates drama and costs money.

You don’t have to name a family member. You can name your accountant. You can name a lawyer. You can name a professional executor or a bank. Some people name co-executors so they can balance each other out. There’s no rule that says it has to be your oldest kid.

Also, if the person you named dies before you do, or moves away, or becomes unable to do the job, you need to update your will. Don’t just assume someone will step in and figure it out.

The Real Cost of Getting This Wrong

I know these mistakes might seem like little things. But they’re not. When probate gets messy in Florida, it’s expensive and it takes forever.

A straightforward, uncontested probate takes about six months to a year. That’s if everything is clear and nobody fights about anything. If your will is unclear, or if there are challenges, or if assets are confused about where they should go? You’re looking at two to three years minimum. During that time, your family is paying court costs, lawyer fees, and it’s all coming out of your estate. That money could have gone to your family. Instead, it goes to the court system.

We’re talking thousands of dollars sometimes. In complicated situations, tens of thousands. For problems that could have been prevented with a little bit of planning.

What You Should Actually Do

Don’t worry, it’s actually simpler than it sounds. You don’t have to bring in an estate attorney just to get everything sorted properly. You can use online will services if your situation is straightforward. If your estate is more complex, you’ve got a business, significant real estate, blended family complications—yeah, spend the money on a lawyer who knows Florida probate law. It’s worth it.

Take these steps today:

• Write a will (or update the one you have)
• Make sure it follows Florida’s rules exactly
• Be specific about what goes where and to whom
• Check all your beneficiary designations on accounts and insurance
• Name an executor who actually makes sense for your situation
• Consider a living trust if you want to avoid probate altogether
• Tell your family where your important documents are
• Review everything every five to ten years or when your life changes

Your family doesn’t need you to be perfect. They just need you to not leave them with a mess. A little bit of planning now saves them heartache and money later. That’s not morbid. That’s love.