Estate Planning for Canadian Snowbirds with Florida Property

Why Canadian Snowbirds Need a Cross-Border Estate Plan

If you’re a Canadian who owns property in Florida or has a U.S. account, your estate plan may not fully cover what happens at death. Florida law treats those assets separately. That means your family might need to navigate two different legal systems: your home province and the Florida probate courts.

It doesn’t matter that your Will is valid in Canada. It doesn’t matter that your executor is ready. If the Florida-based assets are in your name alone, they may require local probate before anything can be transferred or sold.

This page isn’t legal advice. It’s a walk-through of how Florida probate works and how Canadians with U.S. property often choose to handle it.

When Florida Probate Is Triggered (And Why It Matters)

Like Ontario, Florida probate is typically required when a person dies owning Florida-based assets in their name alone—no joint owner, no beneficiary, no corporation, no trust.

For Canadian snowbirds, that usually means: a Florida house or condo in your name, or a U.S. bank or investment account without a named beneficiary (payable-on-death designation).

Even if probate has started in Canada, Florida likely won’t recognize that process alone as valid enough for dealing with Florida property. A separate local court process in Florida is typically required.

Florida probate is court-supervised and takes time and is typically more involved than Ontario probate (but there is no probate tax in Florida). It involves formal court filings, appointment of a local personal representative, creditor notice periods, and detailed procedures under Florida law. Most formal probates take close to a year. Legal fees and court costs are usually based on the value of the Florida assets.

Some people accept this. Others choose to plan in a way that limits the need for it. There is no right answer for everyone. But understanding when probate gets triggered is the first step.

What Happens If A Snowbird Only Has A Canadian Will?

Many people choose to rely solely on their Canadian Will to cover their Florida assets too. 

In most cases, that's ok. As long as the Will is not  geographically restricted, not a handwritten holographic will, and is valid in your home province where you made it, Florida law generally accepts it. 

Here's how the process works if you only have one Will and your executor has to deal with your Florida assets:

1. Local provincial probate - A court probate certificate is issued in your home province for your Canadian Will.

2. Your executor hires a Florida attorney and they use that provincial probate certificate to apply again for Florida probate. This is called an "ancillary" administration. Florida generally recognizes any foreign probate certificate as long as the Will is valid in the province it was made (if it wasn't a handwritten will). Once you have Florida probate, you can use that to deal with the Florida assets.

Note that this cannot happen simultaneously, because the Florida probate requires the Ontario probate. So this may double the estate settlement time.

Alternative: Separate Florida and Ontario Wills

Some snowbirds instead choose to create a separate Will for their Florida property. This Will is limited in scope and only applies to U.S. assets. It’s usually drafted by a Florida attorney to meet Florida law and structured not to interfere with the Canadian Will. This approach can help streamline the probate process in both jurisdictions.

So you end up with two Wills: (1) A Canadian Will covering your worldwide assets except Florida (or just your Canadian assets), and (2) a Florida Will covering just the Florida/US assets. There can be no overlap. This allows local probate to happen simultaneously and is usually a much cleaner option since you're not asking a Florida court to accept a Canadian Will. But it is extremely important that the two Wills are well-drafted to cover just the specific assets it needs to.

Ultimately, there's no single right structure - either one Will or two. What matters is clarity. Two Wills can work well if they are coordinated carefully. One poorly drafted Will that doesn’t meet local requirements can create delays.

Methods That Often Avoid Florida Probate

Some Canadians take steps during life to arrange their Florida assets so that probate isn’t required. The best way to figure out if this applies to you is to speak to a Florida-based attorney.

One is the Lady Bird deed. This is a Florida-specific real estate deed that allows the owner to retain full control while naming someone to receive the property at death. The transfer doesn’t happen until death, and the owner can still sell or revoke the arrangement during life. 

Another approach is naming a beneficiary on U.S. accounts. Most U.S. banks and brokers allow for payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designations. When set up correctly, these allow the funds to pass directly to the beneficiary without court involvement.

Joint ownership is also sometimes used, particularly between spouses. When a property or account is held jointly with rights of survivorship, the surviving owner typically receives full ownership automatically. This works on the first death but doesn’t eliminate probate on the second.

Some Canadians hold Florida real estate through a corporation or trust instead. In those cases, the property may fall outside their personal estate

Each of these tools has pros and cons. None of them skip tax. But they often change whether the Florida courts need to be involved.

Can Your Canadian Executor Act in Florida?

Florida doesn’t allow just anyone to act as a personal representative for your Florida assets. If your executor lives in Canada and is not closely related to you, they may not be eligible to serve.

Under Florida law, a personal representative must be either a Florida resident or an eligible family member. That includes spouses, children, parents, siblings, and other blood-line relatives. A friend, colleague, or more distant relative who lives outside the U.S. won’t qualify.

If your chosen executor doesn’t meet the Florida requirements, your family may need to appoint someone else. That adds complexity and cost. If you’re making a Will and expect there may be Florida assets involved, it may be worth ensuring that at least one of your executors also qualifies under Florida law.

Florida Tax and Legal Traps That Often Get Missed

Florida itself doesn’t charge estate tax. But owning U.S. assets as a Canadian can raise issues with U.S. federal estate tax. Executors should be prepared to deal with both Canadian and U.S. tax filings in many cases.

If the total value of your U.S. assets is over $60,000, your estate will likely be required to file a U.S. estate tax return. Whether any tax is actually owed depends on the size of your worldwide estate and whether the Canada–U.S. tax treaty applies. Even if there’s no tax owing, the filing is still mandatory.

If your Florida property is sold after death, the sale may be subject to a withholding under U.S. tax law. The IRS often requires up to 15% of the gross sale price to be held back, pending proper tax filings and depending on exemption eligibility. This is known as FIRPTA. Your executor or heirs may eventually recover that money, but it can take time.

There’s also the issue of gift tax. Adding someone to a Florida deed or U.S. account may seem like an easy way to avoid probate, but it can trigger unintended tax consequences. From a U.S. perspective, it might be treated as a gift. From a Canadian perspective, it could be a deemed disposition. Make sure you get cross-border tax advice before doing anything.

What To Do As A Canadian Snowbird With Florida Property

1. Start by understanding how your Florida assets are held. If your name is on the deed or the account, and there’s no joint owner or named beneficiary, Florida probate will likely be required when you die. That’s true even if your Will is valid and already being probated in Canada. This is when you may want to start speaking to a Florida attorney about your options.

2. Review your existing Will (if you have one) to see who’s named as executor. Under Florida law, the person who handles your estate there must either be a Florida resident or a close relative. If your executor doesn’t qualify, your family may need to appoint someone else locally.

3. Think about whether you want to use a single Canadian Will to cover all your assets, including Florida, or create a separate Florida-only Will to deal with U.S. property. Using one Will may be simpler in some cases. A separate Florida Will is often used when there’s real estate or when cleaner jurisdictional separation is helpful. Ask a Florida lawyer for their opinion on it. If you're keeping just one  Canadian Will, a U.S. lawyer can confirm whether it meets Florida's standards.

4. Decide whether your structure needs to change. That might mean adding a Lady Bird deed for Florida real estate, using beneficiary designations for U.S. accounts, or keeping the assets in your Will and accepting the probate process. The right answer depends on what you own, how it’s titled, and how much complexity you’re willing to hand off.

5. Make sure your Will—or Wills, if you’re using two—are drafted by someone who knows how to coordinate cross-border structures properly. If you're doing two Wills - one in each country - make sure they are carefully drafted and do not overlap.

Final Takeaway

If you’re a Canadian with Florida property, your Will needs to account for what happens across the border. That doesn’t mean you need to restructure everything. But it does mean being clear on what you own, how it’s held, and whether your current plan holds up.

I don’t provide U.S. legal or tax advice. But if you’re looking to create a Canadian Will—including one that deals with U.S. assets—I can help make sure it’s properly built for what you actually own, including assets outside Canada.

If you’re making a Canadian Will and own Florida property, contact me.
I can help ensure it’s properly structured from this side—without overstepping into the U.S. system.