An online or AI-drafted will can be valid in Florida, but only if it’s signed the way Florida law requires, with two witnesses who watch you sign and then sign in front of you and each other. These wills usually fail at the signing, the self-proving affidavit, or homestead rules. For most families, a lawyer is worth it.
This article is general information about Florida law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Talk with a Florida estate planning attorney about your own situation before you rely on any document.
Why shouldn’t you trust AI with your Florida will?
People call our office and say, “I want a trust.” We ask why. Sometimes the reason is something a chatbot told them, and it’s something a trust can’t actually do.
AI is useful for plenty of things. But it didn’t go to law school, and it doesn’t know Florida law. It will hand you a will that looks correct, and your family finds out whether it holds up in probate, when you’re no longer around to fix it.
The wording is rarely the problem. The trouble shows up in how the document gets signed, what’s attached to it, and what it tries to do with your house.
Is an online will valid in Florida?
It can be. Under Fla. Stat. 732.502, every Florida will must be in writing and:
- Signed by you at the end (or by someone else in your presence and at your direction).
- Signed or acknowledged in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses.
- Signed by both witnesses in your presence and in the presence of each other.
Print a template, sign it alone at the kitchen table, and have two neighbors sign it the next day: You still don’t have a valid will. A handwritten will is held to the same rules. A will is only valid if it is properly witnessed and executed, and most handwritten wills are not properly witnessed.
Florida does allow electronic wills. Under Fla. Stat. 732.522, remote witnessing counts only when it happens through a supervised online notarization session that meets Florida’s notary rules. Typing your name into a PDF and emailing it around does not meet that standard. If you want to know who can serve as a witness, we’ve written about whether a notary can witness a will in Florida.
Already signed a will you made online? Book a consultation and bring it with you. We’ll tell you whether it was executed correctly.
What goes wrong when an AI or template will reaches probate?
These are the three failure points we look for first when someone brings us a will they made online.
1. The signing was done wrong. If the witnessing requirements weren’t met, the document isn’t a valid will. Your property then passes under Florida’s default rules, the same as if you’d never written anything. Our guide to who inherits when someone dies without a will in Florida shows how different that result can be from what you intended.
2. There’s no self-proving affidavit. Under Fla. Stat. 732.503, you and your witnesses can sign sworn statements in front of a notary when you sign the will. A self-proved will can be admitted to probate without further proof (Fla. Stat. 733.201). Without it, someone generally has to swear to the will’s execution before the court, and if the witnesses can’t be found years later, your family has more steps ahead of them. Here’s more on whether a will needs to be notarized in Florida.
3. The will tries to leave your house to the wrong person. Under Fla. Stat. 732.4015, if you’re survived by a spouse or a minor child, your homestead can’t be left by will, except to your spouse when there’s no minor child. A generic will leaving the house to your adult children while your spouse is living runs straight into that rule. When the gift fails, Fla. Stat. 732.401 steps in: the spouse takes a life estate with the rest going to your descendants, or elects a one-half interest within 6 months of the death. If homestead is on your mind, read whether homestead property is a probate asset.
Is a will enough if you have minor children?
Usually not, and this is where a template does the most damage. A will can name a guardian, but it doesn’t keep your children’s inheritance out of court. Florida lets parents handle property a child receives from an estate without a court appointment only while the total stays at or under $15,000 (Fla. Stat. 744.301). Above that, a guardianship of the property may be needed.
Any family with minor children will typically want a trust to avoid the need for a guardianship. A revocable living trust lets you pick who manages the money and when your kids receive it. No chatbot is going to ask you those questions.
For the bigger picture, see what happens to your child if you die.
Online will vs. lawyer: what’s the real difference?
| Question | Online or AI will | Florida estate planning attorney |
|---|---|---|
| Who makes sure it’s signed correctly? | You | Your attorney can oversee the signing |
| Self-proving affidavit? | Only if you know to add it and get it notarized | Your attorney can add it at the signing |
| Homestead and blended-family rules? | Up to you to catch | Reviewed against your family and your property |
| Kids’ inheritance? | Usually a will only | Trust options discussed |
| Someone to call later? | Not usually | The firm that drafted it |
The price of an online will looks low because you’re doing the legal work yourself. At PTM, simple estate plans generally run $1,000 for a single person and $2,000 for a married couple. Current details are on our estate planning page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do online wills hold up in court?
They can, if they were signed with Florida’s formalities: signed at the end by you, in front of two witnesses, who each sign in front of you and each other. An online will that skipped any of those steps is not a valid will in Florida.
Can I write my own will in Florida without a lawyer?
Yes. Florida doesn’t require a lawyer to write a will. It does require proper execution under Fla. Stat. 732.502, and it limits who can receive your homestead. Most problems with do-it-yourself wills come from those two areas, not from the wording.
What makes a will invalid in Florida?
The most common reason is improper execution: fewer than two witnesses, witnesses who weren’t present when you signed, or witnesses who didn’t sign in front of each other. A handwritten will that wasn’t properly witnessed is not valid in Florida.
In Florida, does a will automatically avoid probate?
No. A will tells the probate court who should receive your property, but assets titled in your name alone still generally go through probate. Tools like a funded revocable trust or beneficiary designations are how Florida families keep assets out of probate.
Have a Florida attorney look at your will
If you already made a will online, don’t throw it away and don’t assume it’s fine. We’ll check how it was signed, whether it’s self-proved, how it treats your home, and whether a trust makes more sense for your family.
For estate planning, the initial consultation is a full hour with an attorney for $100. It’s a working meeting, not a sales call, and you talk directly with Blake Moore or Allison Carter. We’re based in Gainesville and work with families in all 67 Florida counties by phone, email, and Zoom.
Call (352) 554-5576 to schedule, book a consultation online, or contact PTM.
You can also learn how we draft a Florida last will and testament.
