Palm Beach is home to closely held companies, family enterprises, marinas, restaurants, professional practices, and real estate holding entities. When you have spent years building a business, your estate plan is not just about who inherits your house. It is about who keeps the lights on, who signs the payroll, and who holds your ownership interest the morning after something happens to you. Our firm builds Florida estate plans through the lens of business owners and succession planning, so the company you built outlives the paperwork problem.
Why Succession Planning Is Different for Owners
A typical estate plan moves cash, a home, and personal property. An owner’s plan also has to move control. If your operating agreement says membership interests pass under your will, then your business interest may sit in Florida probate for months while a partner, lender, or key employee waits for authority. We coordinate your governing documents, your trust, and your buy-sell terms so management transitions cleanly rather than freezing.
Core Florida Documents We Prepare
Every plan rests on Florida fundamentals: a will executed under Florida Statutes 732.502, a revocable living trust governed by Florida’s Trust Code (Chapter 736), a durable power of attorney under Chapter 709, a designation of health care surrogate, and a living will. For owners we add entity-level provisions, succession instructions, and funding so the trust actually holds the membership units or shares.
Avoiding Probate on the Business Interest
Florida probate is governed by Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Probate Code. Smaller or older estates may qualify for summary administration; most require formal administration with a personal representative. A funded revocable trust lets your ownership interest pass outside probate, which matters when a business cannot afford to wait on a court appointment to make decisions.
Homestead and the Owner’s Residence
Florida’s constitutional homestead protection shields your primary residence from most creditors and restricts how it can be devised if you have a spouse or minor child. Owners often assume the home is a business asset they can freely will away; under Florida law it frequently is not. We map homestead rules into your plan so a well-meaning transfer does not get voided.
Spousal Rights You Cannot Plan Around
Florida’s elective share statute (Section 732.2065) entitles a surviving spouse to 30% of the elective estate, which can include business value and certain transfers. Succession plans that ignore this can collapse when a spouse asserts rights. We design around the elective share deliberately, often using marital agreements, trusts, or insurance to fund liquidity.
Talk to a Florida Attorney
This page is general information, not legal advice. Florida estate and business succession law is fact specific, and the wrong document can undo years of planning. Consult a licensed Florida attorney before you act, and contact our Palm Beach office to build a plan that protects both your family and the company you spent a lifetime growing.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of Florida estate planning. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles Article 81 guardianship in New York.