Bringing home a new baby changes everything, including your legal priorities. Suddenly there is a small person who depends entirely on you, and Florida law gives parents specific tools to protect a child if the unthinkable happens. This page is a practical checklist written for new parents in Miami who are creating their very first estate plan. It connects the documents to the real questions keeping you up at night.
Name a Guardian for Your Children
The most urgent task for new parents is naming who would raise your child if both parents were gone. You do this through your Florida will. While a court makes the final appointment, judges give serious weight to a parent’s nomination, so this is your opportunity to choose family or friends you trust rather than leaving it to a stranger’s judgment. Talk to your chosen guardian first so they are prepared.
Do Not Leave Money Directly to a Minor
A child cannot legally control an inheritance, and leaving assets outright can trigger a court-supervised guardianship of the property until age eighteen, followed by a lump sum that an eighteen-year-old may not be ready to manage. Instead, most Miami parents create a trust, either inside the will or as a separate revocable trust under Chapter 736, that lets a trustee pay for the child’s needs and release funds at ages you choose.
Check Your Beneficiary Designations
New parents often have life insurance and retirement accounts. These pass by beneficiary designation, not by your will. Naming a minor child directly as a beneficiary creates the same court-guardianship problem. Coordinating those designations with your trust ensures the money lands where a responsible adult can manage it for your child.
Understand Florida Homestead Protections
If you own a home in Miami-Dade, Florida’s homestead protections (Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution) restrict how you can leave the property when you have a spouse or minor child. You cannot freely devise the homestead away from them. Knowing these limits up front helps you build a plan the court will actually enforce.
Consider a Lady Bird Deed
For some young families who own their home, a Lady Bird deed, formally an enhanced life estate deed, can be a useful tool. It lets you keep full control of your Florida home during your lifetime, including the right to sell or mortgage it, while passing it automatically to your chosen beneficiary at death without probate. It is not right for every family, especially given homestead and future-planning concerns, so it should be evaluated carefully.
Plan for Incapacity, Not Just Death
Round out your plan with a durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate, and a living will. These ensure that if a parent is hospitalized, the other parent can manage finances and medical decisions without going to court.
Consult a Florida Attorney
This checklist is general information, not legal advice for your family. The right combination of guardianship nominations, trusts, deeds, and directives depends on your specific situation. Please consult a licensed Florida attorney in Miami to build a plan tailored to your children and assets.
For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of Florida estate planning. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles how a will is contested in New York.
