Does Divorce Revoke a Will or Trust in Florida?

Section 732.507(2) addresses wills. Any provision of a will executed by a married person that affects the spouse becomes void when the marriage is dissolved, and the will is administered and construed as if the former spouse had died at the time of the dissolution. Section 736.1105(2) applies the same rule to revocable trusts.

Both statutes list three exceptions. The rule does not apply to a provision executed after the divorce, to a document that states a specific contrary intention, or where the dissolution judgment expressly provides otherwise. Both sections apply to decedents who die on or after June 29, 2021.

Beneficiary designations outside a will or trust are covered by section 732.703. A designation of a former spouse on assets such as life insurance, an IRA, a payable on death account, or a transfer on death account is generally void if it was made before the divorce. That section has its own exceptions, including controlling federal law, a designation signed after the divorce that expressly names the former spouse, and assets that a divorce order requires the decedent to maintain for the former spouse or children.

Marriage, the birth of a child, and adoption do not revoke a will or revocable trust under the same statutes. A new spouse or child may still have rights under other sections of the Probate Code. Updating documents after a divorce is covered on Easler Law PLLC's wills and trusts services page.