How Much Does a Will Cost in Florida in 2026?

How much does a will cost in Florida? Anywhere from nothing to a few thousand dollars, and the gap comes down to who drafts it.

A free template off the internet runs $0.

A simple will drawn up by a Florida attorney usually lands between $300 and $800.

A full estate plan, with a will plus your power of attorney and health care documents, commonly runs $1,000 to $2,000 or more.

But here’s the part that trips people up: Florida tosses out many homemade wills on a technicality, and the two-witness rule is where most of them fall apart.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and costs are subject to change, so confirm the current details with an attorney.

How Much Does a Will Cost in Florida?

Where you land in that range comes down to how tangled your estate is.

A snowbird with one condo in Naples and a paid-off car keeps things simple.

A bare template covers a life that plain.

Add a second marriage, a business, or an heir who can’t manage money, and you’re paying an attorney to sort it out.

Complications add up.

That’s the difference between a free form and a full estate plan.

Free and Online Wills

The cheapest Florida will is the one-page form you fill out yourself, and it starts at zero.

Blank templates float around the internet, so a basic form costs you nothing but an afternoon.

Step up to an online service like LegalZoom or Trust & Will, and a bare-bones will often runs about $99, with most landing between $50 and $200.

You save up front.

The catch is that a cheap will only helps if it’s signed the right way, and that’s where do-it-yourself Floridians run into trouble.

Hiring an Attorney

A Florida attorney charges more for a simple will because you’re paying for more than the typing.

A straightforward will for one person with modest assets usually runs a flat $300 to $800.

That fee covers the drafting, the signing, and getting the witnesses and notary lined up correctly.

Think of it as insurance.

For a couple or an estate with a few moving parts, the fee rises from there, and many lawyers quote one flat rate once they’ve heard the details.

What a Full Plan Costs

Most Florida attorneys nudge you toward a package instead of a lone will.

The standard bundle pairs your will with three other documents: A durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate designation, and a living will.

The durable power of attorney lets someone handle your money if you can’t.

The health care surrogate names who makes your medical calls, and the living will spells out your wishes if you land on life support.

Four documents, one fee.

That package commonly runs $1,000 to $2,000, and adding a living trust can push a full plan to $2,500 or more.

What Drives the Cost

What you pay for a Florida will tracks three things: How complex your estate is, how big it is, and who drafts it.

A blended family, a small business, a child with special needs, or property in another state each adds hours to the bill.

Size matters too, since the bigger the estate, the more tax planning it needs.

And a Miami firm charges more than a solo lawyer in a small Panhandle town.

Simple stays cheap.

A will is one more Florida expense that’s easy to put off, right alongside the state’s other hidden costs.

The Two-Witness Rule

Florida won't honor your will unless you sign it the exact way the law lays out.

State law wants your will in writing and signed at the end by you.

Two witnesses have to watch you sign, then sign it themselves, in your presence and in each other's.

Miss a step, and the whole thing collapses.

No witnesses, no will.

That's why so many printed-at-home wills fail, since the paper looks official but nobody witnessed the signing right.

Making It Self-Proving

A Florida will is valid without a notary, but skipping the notary hands your family a headache later.

You can make a will self-proved by adding a notarized statement signed by you and both witnesses.

That statement lets the court accept your will without tracking down your witnesses years down the road.

Sign it once, skip the search later.

The two witnesses are what make a will valid, not the notary.

Signing a Will Online

Florida is one of a handful of states that lets you sign a will entirely online.

Since 2020, you can execute an electronic will over a live video call with a Florida notary and two witnesses watching.

The session records your identity check and the signing from start to finish.

All from your couch.

That online route comes with extra rules, including a qualified custodian who holds the electronic file, so it isn't always the simplest path.

Handwritten and Oral Wills

A will you scrawl by hand at the kitchen table usually isn't worth the paper in Florida.

A handwritten will with no witnesses, called a holographic will, gets no legal standing in Florida, even if you signed it in a state that allows them.

An oral, deathbed will counts for nothing either.

Spoken wishes don't stick.

One exception saves a handwritten will: Sign it in front of two witnesses, and Florida treats it like any other valid will.

Dying Without a Will

Skip a will altogether, and Florida writes your will for you, but you won't love the terms.

State law, called intestate succession, decides who gets what when there's no will.

If you're married with only shared kids, your spouse inherits everything.

But if you or your spouse has a child from another relationship, your spouse takes half and the kids split the rest.

The state's plan, not yours.

Your family also lands in probate either way, a months-long court process that costs time and fees you could have avoided with a clear will.

FAQ

A few quick answers Floridians search for about will costs and the rules behind them.

How much does a will cost in Florida?

It ranges from $0 for a do-it-yourself template to $300 to $800 for a simple attorney-drafted will. A full estate plan with added documents commonly runs $1,000 to $2,000 or more.

Does a will have to be notarized in Florida?

No. A Florida will needs two witnesses to be valid, not a notary. A notary is only used for the separate self-proving affidavit, which speeds up probate.

Is a handwritten will legal in Florida?

Not on its own. A handwritten will with no witnesses, known as a holographic will, is invalid in Florida. It only works if you sign it in front of two witnesses like any other will.

Can you make a will online in Florida?

Yes. Florida allows electronic wills signed over a live video call with a Florida notary and two witnesses, using remote online notarization.

What happens if you die without a will in Florida?

State intestate succession law decides who inherits. A surviving spouse takes everything if all children are shared, and otherwise splits the estate with the children, all through probate.