Can You Set Up a Trust Without an Attorney?

Yes. In Florida, you can set up a revocable living trust without an attorney if the document meets the Florida Trust Code and you properly fund it.

The law requires specific elements and, for any terms that act like a will, Florida’s will-signing formalities.

What Florida Law Actually Requires

A trust is valid only if the settlor has capacity, shows intent, names a definite beneficiary (or a valid charitable/other permitted purpose), and gives the trustee real duties. The same person cannot be the sole trustee and the sole beneficiary for all purposes.

If your revocable trust says what happens to property at your death, those “testamentary aspects” are invalid unless you execute the trust with the same formalities as a will: signed by you in the presence of two attesting witnesses, who sign in your presence and in each other’s presence.

Minimum DIY Steps That Must Be Right

• Choose the trust type (most DIY trusts are revocable) and state the purpose, beneficiaries, and trustee powers clearly.
• Sign with two witnesses present together; a notary is not legally required for the trust itself, but many institutions expect it.
• Prepare and sign a pour-over will with two witnesses to catch unfunded assets.
• Fund the trust: retitle bank and brokerage accounts, record deeds for real estate, and update beneficiary designations where appropriate.
• Use a certificate/affidavit of trust for banks and title companies, and keep the full trust private.
• Keep records of what has been transferred; the trust does nothing for assets left outside it.

Real Estate and Mortgages

Transferring a home subject to a mortgage into your revocable trust generally does not trigger a due-on-sale clause if you remain a beneficiary and occupancy rights don’t change. That protection is in the federal Garn-St. Germain Act.

To move Florida real estate, you must record a deed executed with two witnesses and a notary; the deed, not the trust, must meet recording formalities. Title companies and clerks will reject deeds that miss these steps.

Where DIY Works

A basic, revocable “avoid-probate” plan for a single person or a married couple with aligned beneficiaries and uncomplicated assets is usually feasible. In our experience, those plans succeed when the trust is executed with will formalities and every key asset is actually retitled.

The Most Common DIY Failures We See

Our clients often assume a signed trust controls everything; it does not until accounts and deeds are moved. The other frequent miss is failing to coordinate beneficiary designations with the trust, which can override your plan.

Ambiguous successor-trustee powers and distribution terms cause post-death disputes and delays. Sloppy execution—missing a witness, witnesses not together, or unclear dates—invites challenges to the trust’s testamentary provisions.

Homestead and Family Complications

Florida’s homestead rules can override your trust if a devise violates a surviving spouse’s rights or you have minor children. If a homestead isn’t devised as allowed, a life estate for the spouse with remainder to descendants can arise by statute, regardless of your document.

Spousal waivers and marital agreements can change these outcomes, but they must be done correctly and with required disclosures. DIY forms frequently miss those nuances.

Irrevocable, Tax-Sensitive, or Benefit-Sensitive Trusts

Do not DIY irrevocable asset-protection trusts, special-needs trusts, Medicaid planning trusts, insurance trusts, or charitable split-interest trusts. These instruments carry tax status, creditor-protection, and benefits-eligibility consequences that turn on technical drafting and administration.

Florida trusts are revocable by default unless the document says otherwise—another reason template language can misfire when a client intends something irrevocable.

Execution Logistics

Use two simultaneous witnesses for the trust and the pour-over will to satisfy Florida’s testamentary-formalities rule. A notary acknowledgment (and a separate self-proving affidavit for the will) is practical even if not strictly required for trust validity.

Funding Checklist Highlights

Bank and brokerage accounts should be retitled to the trustee of your trust, not to you individually. Life insurance and retirement accounts typically use beneficiary designations coordinated with the trust rather than ownership changes.

For real estate, record the deed to the trustee and keep evidence of transfer with your trust binder; most problems we see later trace to missing deeds or incomplete funding.

When to Get Help Even If You DIY

Blended families, second marriages, closely held businesses, out-of-state property, or beneficiaries with creditor or disability issues warrant legal review. In our experience, a short review tends to be far cheaper than fixing a defective trust after death.