Published October 26, 2026.
I want the day you sign your estate plan to feel reassuring. You have made important choices. This is your opportunity to ask any remaining questions, confirm that the documents reflect your wishes, and understand what happens next.
At Verras Law, our usual practice is to sign Florida estate planning documents in person at our Palm Harbor office. Our team coordinates the witnesses, notarization, and other formalities each document requires, with careful attention to Florida’s exacting signing requirements.
Consultations are available in Palm Harbor, in Tampa or St. Petersburg by appointment, or by Zoom or teleconference. Our Tampa and St. Petersburg locations are for consultations only. We consider an alternative signing arrangement only in extraordinary circumstances, after reviewing the client’s needs and the documents involved.
Time to understand what you are signing
Estate planning involves personal decisions. You may want to talk through a provision again, confirm the choice of an alternate trustee, or ask how a particular instruction will work in practice.
An appointment in our office gives us a comfortable setting for that conversation. We can review the documents together and pause whenever a question deserves more attention. There is also an opportunity for a private conversation when that would be helpful.
My parents taught me in their restaurant to pay attention to the details that help people feel welcome and at ease. That is the approach I bring to my law practice.
Each document has its own requirements
An estate plan may include a will, a trust, a power of attorney, and health care directives. Their signing requirements differ.
A Florida will ordinarily needs at least two witnesses, with specific rules about signing in one another’s presence. A will can also be made self-proved through acknowledgments and witness affidavits before an authorized officer. A Florida power of attorney requires two witnesses and an acknowledgment before a notary or other authorized officer.1
For someone whose legal home is Florida when the trust is signed, the provisions of a revocable trust that distribute property at or after death generally require the same signing formalities as a will.1
Bringing the necessary people together allows our team to coordinate those details for the complete set of documents. You can ask questions while we attend to the signing process.
What Florida permits online
Florida permits electronic wills and certain remote signing procedures. A video call or an electronic signature alone, however, does not satisfy all the applicable requirements.2
There are separate questions to consider: How is the document signed? Where are the witnesses? How is any required notarization performed? The answer depends on the document and the circumstances.
A particularly important example involves powers of attorney. For someone whose legal home is Florida when the document is signed, using a remote witness prevents a power of attorney from granting certain estate planning powers, including the authority to make gifts or change beneficiary designations. The concern is the remote witness; remote notarization is a separate question.3
That distinction matters when we are preparing a document intended to let a trusted person help you later. We want the signing method to preserve the authority you have chosen to give.
When extraordinary circumstances call for another arrangement
If illness or another extraordinary circumstance makes a visit to Palm Harbor impracticable, please speak with us. We will consider whether a suitable alternative can be arranged for your situation.
An alternative still has to meet the requirements for each document. Some circumstances require witnesses to be physically present even when technology is used for another part of the process. Florida also places special limits on remote witnessing for people who meet its definition of a vulnerable adult.4
Please discuss the circumstances with us before booking an online signing or making separate arrangements. That gives us the opportunity to consider the complete plan and explain what is appropriate.
Leaving with a clear understanding of the next steps
The signing appointment is also a useful time to talk about what follows. Depending on your plan, there may be accounts to coordinate with a trust, copies to share, or instructions to discuss with the people you have chosen to help you.
Our transparent, flat fees for preparing your estate planning documents include witnessing, notarization, duplication, scanning, and delivery of paper and PDF copies of your signed documents. They also include permanent storage of your originals in the fire-resistant and flood-resistant safes at our Palm Harbor office. There is no additional charge for any of these services.
If you are ready to begin, contact our office to arrange a consultation. We can meet in person or by Zoom or teleconference, then help you prepare for your signing appointment.
For an overview of consultations and signing appointments, see How We Work.
Sources
Legal authorities reviewed October 26, 2026. Statutory references are to the 2026 Florida Statutes.
- Signing formalities. Will execution and self-proof, power of attorney execution, and testamentary provisions of a Florida domiciliary’s revocable trust. Fla. Stat. section 732.502(1)(b)-(c); section 732.503(1); section 709.2105(2); section 736.0403(2)(b).
- Electronic wills and remote signing. Requirements for electronic wills, online notarization, and electronic witnessing. Fla. Stat. section 732.522(1)-(2); section 117.265(2), (4); section 117.285.
- Powers affected by remote witnessing. Limits on specified powers for a Florida domiciliary’s remotely witnessed power of attorney, including gifts under (1)(c) and beneficiary designations under (1)(e). Fla. Stat. section 709.2202(1), (6).
- Electronic witnessing safeguards. Screening, physical-witness requirements, and vulnerable adult restrictions for specified documents. Fla. Stat. section 117.285(5)(a)-(c), (g), (k).