Category: Estate Planning & ...

Owning a Florida LLC or closely held business adds a layer to estate planning that many standard wills and trusts do not cover. Your plan might say who inherits your ownership, but your operating agreement can control who steps into your shoes as a “member” (an owner with voting/management rights).

Florida law also treats a member’s death as a dissociation event unless the governing documents address what happens next. This post explains how to line up your estate documents with the business documents, so your family and co-owners do not face avoidable disruption.

Know What Transfers at Death (And What Does Not)

Florida’s LLC statute distinguishes a “transferable interest” from full membership rights. A transferable interest generally tracks the right to receive distributions, not the right to manage the company.

That distinction matters because a beneficiary who inherits an interest might receive money but still lack authority to vote, access information, or run day-to-day operations unless the operating agreement allows admission as a member. The operating agreement binds members and can bind transferees as well, so the document can shape outcomes even when someone never signed it.

Build Transfer Restrictions and Succession Rules That Match Your Estate Plan

Many agreements include transfer restrictions; for example, requiring approval before a new owner joins. Florida law supports these restrictions and can treat a transfer that violates them as ineffective when the person has notice of the restriction.

You can reduce friction by coordinating:

• Operating agreement succession language: Admission standards for heirs, valuation method, and buyout triggers.
• A buy-sell structure: Who can purchase the interest, timelines, and funding (often insurance).
• Your will or trust: Who receives the interest and who carries authority to act quickly.

Florida law also lets a deceased member’s legal representative exercise the member’s rights to settle the estate, including any power the member had to give a transferee the right to become a member. Clear documents make that authority easier to use.

Call Us to Coordinate the Documents Before A Crisis

Wickersham & Bowers helps Florida clients build estate plans using tools like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and we also guide families through probate when needed. If you own an LLC or closely held business, we can review your operating agreement alongside your estate plan and flag gaps that could cause delays or disputes. Call us at 386-252-3000 or fill out our contact form.

Most families don’t expect a legal fight after losing someone, yet many disputes start with something surprisingly simple: unclear beneficiary language. A will or trust might look fine on paper, but once people start applying it to actual property, gaps appear. Those gaps often turn into full-blown lawsuits.

Where Ambiguity Creeps In

Most of these issues come from shortcuts, such as using old templates, relying on vague descriptions, or assuming everyone will “just know” what the person intended. For example, if the decedent had written “the family home” but owns more than one property, which one transfers? Similarly, if they say, “divide equally among my children,” does that include stepchildren, estranged children, and a child who passed away?

Blended families run into this all the time. A phrase that once fit the family may not fit it years later. If the document never gets updated, the wording stays frozen while the family situation keeps changing.

How Courts Approach These Disputes

When a dispute lands in court, judges start with the written document. They try to honor what’s on the page, not what family members believe the decedent “would have wanted.” If the language is unclear, courts sometimes look at outside evidence, including drafts, notes, and emails, but only to interpret the wording, not to rewrite it.

If the ambiguity is severe enough, a court may set aside the unclear provision entirely. When that happens, the asset follows default probate rules, which can send property to people the decedent never intended to benefit.

How to Reduce the Risk Before It Starts

Most of these problems are avoidable:

• Use full legal names
• Specify addresses
• List account numbers when possible
• Lay out what happens if a beneficiary dies first or chooses not to inherit
• Update the plan whenever major life events occur

Working with an attorney who drafts with real-world disputes in mind can save surviving family members from stress, cost, and conflict later.

Talk With Our Team

At Wickersham & Bowers, we help clients put together estate plans that hold up when families need them most. If you’d like to review or update your documents, call 386-252-3000 or reach us through our contact form. We’re here to help you protect your plans and your family’s peace of mind.

Under Florida law, a surviving spouse cannot be wholly disinherited by the deceased spouse. Florida’s elective share law provides a recourse for a surviving spouse to elect to take a certain percentage of the decedent’s estate, even if the will or trust itself left the surviving spouse with nothing. 

This is particularly important in second marriages and blended families because children from prior relationships and new spouses often have competing expectations. A surviving spouse who has been disinherited may rely on the elective share to maintain financial security and avoid ending up destitute.

How Elective Share Works

Florida sets the elective share at 30 percent of what it calls the “elective estate.” This estate includes the probate estate, the homestead, and many non-probate transfers such as pay-on-death accounts, jointly held property, and assets held in a revocable trust. In some situations, property a person transferred during their lifetime can still count if they kept control or the ability to change the asset.

Once a surviving spouse chooses to make an election, the personal representative must place a value on every asset included in the elective estate and determine the spouse’s 30 percent share. Because this calculation comes first, other heirs may receive less than they expected, even if the will or trust says otherwise.

The timing rules are strict. A spouse must file the election within six months of receiving the notice of administration or within two years of the death, whichever comes first. Courts can extend the deadline, but only when the spouse shows good reason. Since the timeline starts running as soon as notice is served, a surviving spouse should contact an attorney as early as possible.

We Can Help You Protect Your Family’s Future

Florida’s elective share can reshape an estate plan in ways many people don’t expect. When it isn’t addressed early, it can create tension between a surviving spouse and other family members. Good planning helps prevent those problems and keeps everyone on the same page.

At Wickersham & Bowers, we work with Florida families to create wills, trusts, and agreements that hold up when it counts. To review or update your plan, give us a call at 386-252-3000 and schedule a time to talk.

Florida law protects surviving spouses from being disinherited. Even if a will leaves everything to the decedent’s children or a charity, the surviving spouse can take an “elective share” of the estate. 

The elective share is now at 30 percent of the deceased’s elective estate, which includes probate assets, as well as many non-probate assets, such as property held in a revocable trust, cash value of life insurance policies, joint accounts, and certain gifts made within a year of death. 

This broad definition means that spouses may claim a portion of assets that would otherwise pass outside of probate.

Who Can Elect and When

The surviving spouse must formally elect to take this share. Under Florida law, the election must be filed within six months of receiving the notice of administration of the estate or two years after death, whichever comes first. 

Failing to file by the deadline waives the right. Because the elective share may be more than what a spouse would otherwise receive under a will, it’s an important safeguard against intentional or accidental disinheritance.

How the Share Is Calculated

Florida’s elective share statute differs from common‑law dower laws because it looks at the elective estate rather than the probate estate. The elective estate includes assets in trusts, jointly held property, payable‑on‑death accounts, and certain property transferred shortly before death. 

When calculating the 30 percent share, the executor must value these assets and account for any gifts or property distributions the surviving spouse already received. If the estate lacks liquid funds, property may need to be sold to satisfy the elective share.

Practical Considerations

For couples in second marriages or with blended families, it is important to talk about the elective share. A well-drafted prenuptial agreement can waive elective share rights, but waivers must be in writing. 

At the Law Office of Wickersham & Bowers in Daytona Beach, we offer personalized estate planning services that reflect your goals and relationships. If you are creating or revising a will or have questions about the elective share after a loved one passes, our experienced team can guide you through the process. 

Call us at 386-252-3000 or complete our intake form to schedule a consultation.

When Congress doubled the federal estate and gift tax exemption in 2017, many families gained a rare planning window. That exemption, however, is scheduled to fall by half on January 1, 2026. 

For high-net-worth couples in Florida, the next two years may be the last chance to shelter millions of dollars from future estate taxes. One of the most flexible tools available is the Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT), but it comes with technical traps that must be avoided.

What a SLAT Does for Couples

A SLAT allows one spouse to transfer assets into an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the other spouse and, usually, their children. The assets and their future growth are removed from the donor spouse’s taxable estate. 

At the same time, the couple can still enjoy indirect access to the wealth through the beneficiary spouse. When designed correctly, this structure preserves today’s high exemption while providing a safety net for the family.

The Reciprocal Trust Doctrine Risk

Couples often try to “match” each other by creating two SLATs, one in each direction. If the trusts look too similar, though, the IRS may apply the reciprocal trust doctrine. Under this rule, the government can treat each spouse as if they had set up a trust for themselves, pulling the assets back into their estates. 

To reduce this risk, the two SLATs must differ in various ways, including: 

• Appointing different trustees
• Using different distribution standards
• Funding them at different times
• Giving different family members priority as beneficiaries

Gift-Splitting and Other Hidden Pitfalls

Another issue arises when couples attempt to split gifts to maximize their exemptions. Federal law allows spouses to “split” a gift to third parties, but not to each other. If the beneficiary spouse holds withdrawal rights or a power of appointment, the IRS may disallow gift-splitting entirely. 

For families in Florida, additional rules matter as well. State law restricts how homestead property can be moved into a trust without spousal consent, and the elective share statute still protects a surviving spouse’s minimum interest.

How to Protect Your Options Before 2026

At The Law Office of Wickersham & Bowers, we guide Florida families through advanced estate planning tools like SLATs and help avoid costly mistakes. If you are considering major gifts before the 2026 sunset, call us at 386-252-3000 to schedule a consultation and secure your family’s future.

Most people assume a “fair” inheritance means an equal split. Families in Florida, especially blended ones, often face situations where equal just isn’t right. For example, you could have a child who has been your caregiver for years. Or maybe you have a stepchild you consider your own, even though the law says otherwise. In such a case, rather than playing favorites, you need to ensure your plan fits the people in your life.

When Fair and Equal Don’t Match

You might have one child with a disability who will need lifelong support, while another is financially secure and debt-free. In those cases, leaving the same amount to both might actually feel unfair. 

Florida law gives you the freedom to divide assets however you want, as long as it’s in a valid will or trust. The tricky part is making sure the decision is clear enough to hold up in court and to your family.

Put It in Writing (and Make It Strong)

If you don’t put it in writing, Florida’s intestacy rules take over. That usually means equal shares to genetic and adopted children, and nothing for stepchildren unless they were adopted. That’s fine if it’s what you want. 

However, if it’s not, you need documents that spell it out. A trust can even control how and when someone gets their share. That can protect against waste, bad spending habits, or creditors.

Don’t Split the Unsplittable

A house, a small business, or even a valuable piece of land are things you can’t cut into equal pieces without a fight. Giving such an asset to one heir and balancing the others with cash or other property is often the cleaner route. 

Some families use buy-sell agreements or a right of first refusal so one person can buy out the rest at a fair price. That’s less emotional than fighting over a kitchen table.

Start the Conversation Early

Unequal inheritances tend to go over better when they don’t come as a surprise. You don’t have to give every detail, but you need to set expectations to prevent hurt feelings later. If the talk feels tense, bring in a lawyer or mediator to keep things on track.

If you’re thinking about an unequal inheritance, the Law Office of Wickersham & Bowers can help you structure it so it meets your goals and reduces the risk of conflict. Call us at (386) 252-3000 to get started.