Does a Beneficiary Designation Override a Will in Florida?

Several Florida statutes direct these assets to the named beneficiary. Section 222.13 provides that life insurance on a Florida resident inures exclusively to the benefit of the person designated in the policy. When the policy is payable to the insured or the insured's estate, the proceeds become part of the estate and are administered through probate.

Section 655.82 covers payable on death accounts at financial institutions. On the death of the last surviving party, the account belongs to the surviving beneficiaries in equal and undivided shares. For securities, section 711.507 passes ownership to the beneficiary who survives all owners, and section 711.509 states that this transfer is not testamentary. If no beneficiary survives, the security belongs to the owner's estate.

Because these transfers happen outside the will, a will that leaves everything to one person does not change a beneficiary form that names someone else. Divorce is a special case, since section 732.703 can void a designation of a former spouse.

Life insurance is covered in whether life insurance is part of a Florida probate estate, and bank accounts in how a pay-on-death bank account works. Retirement accounts and employer plans are also governed by plan documents and federal law, which this answer does not address.