Estate Planning & Real Estate · What Every Pennsylvania Snowbird Needs to Know
Owning property in both Pennsylvania and Florida does not create two separate legal lives. It creates one legal life with two states competing to govern it. Pennsylvania imposes inheritance tax on most transfers under 72 P.S. § 9101 et seq. while Florida does not, and that difference alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars depending on which state successfully claims domicile. How your deeds are titled, where your trust is governed, which state you call home, and what your estate plan says about all of it will determine what happens to your property when you die, become incapacitated, or decide to sell. The decisions that matter most are the ones made before either state has reason to get involved.
The pattern is consistent. A couple owns a home in Allegheny County and a condominium in Florida. The estate plan was drafted in Pittsburgh years before the Florida property was purchased. The will makes no mention of Florida. Nobody told the estate planning attorney about the second property. One spouse dies. The family opens a Pennsylvania estate — and then discovers they also need to open a Florida one.
Two properties in two states require one estate plan that accounts for both — not two separate plans assembled after something goes wrong. The time to coordinate is before a death, not after one.
If you own property in both Pennsylvania and Florida and want to confirm your estate plan covers both, call 412-351-4422 or schedule a consultation. Stephen H. Lebovitz is licensed in both Pennsylvania and Florida.
Property in two states requires coordinated title planning across both jurisdictions. Without it, each property triggers separate probate in its own state.
The pattern among Pennsylvania snowbirds is consistent. A couple spends thirty years in Allegheny County, raises a family, and buys a condominium or home in a Florida coastal community for the winter months. Over time, they spend more months in Florida than in Pennsylvania. They begin to think of themselves as Florida residents. Their cars are registered in Florida. Their doctors are in Florida. Their neighbors are in Florida.
Their estate plan is still the one their Pittsburgh attorney drafted years before they bought the Florida property. The will leaves everything to the surviving spouse and then to the children in equal shares. There is no trust. There is no pour-over provision. There is no domicile declaration. The Florida property is not mentioned because it did not exist when the documents were signed.
When one spouse dies, the family discovers that the Florida property cannot be transferred without a Florida probate proceeding, because the deed is in the decedent’s individual name and no beneficiary designation or trust ownership was ever established. Pennsylvania opens its own estate. The family is now running two probate proceedings in two states simultaneously, paying two sets of attorneys, satisfying two courts, and waiting twice as long to distribute property the decedent believed was already organized.
The estate plan was not wrong. It was simply never updated to account for a property purchased years after it was drafted, in a state with different rules, under circumstances that had materially changed.
Domicile is the legal concept that determines which state governs your estate at death, which state can impose inheritance or estate tax, and which state’s intestacy law applies if you die without a valid will. You can own property in ten states but you can only have one domicile at a time.
Pennsylvania and Florida both want to be your domicile if you spend significant time in each. Pennsylvania imposes an inheritance tax on transfers to most beneficiaries under 72 P.S. § 9101 et seq. Florida does not. The financial difference between dying as a Pennsylvania domiciliary and dying as a Florida domiciliary — on an estate that includes appreciated real estate, retirement accounts, and other accumulated assets — can reach tens of thousands of dollars in tax liability.
Establishing Florida domicile requires more than spending winters there. Courts and taxing authorities look at where you are registered to vote, where your driver’s license is issued, where your vehicles are registered, where your primary bank accounts are maintained, where your physician and other regular service providers are located, and most importantly, what you have declared in writing. A signed declaration of domicile filed with a Florida county clerk is the clearest evidence available, but it is not sufficient on its own if the rest of the record still points to Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Revenue audits domicile claims, particularly when a decedent claimed Florida residence but maintained substantial Pennsylvania ties. If Pennsylvania successfully asserts domicile, the entire estate — including the Florida property — may be subject to Pennsylvania inheritance tax. The Pennsylvania rate on transfers to children is 4.5 percent. On transfers to siblings it is 12 percent. On transfers to all others it is 15 percent. Transfers to a surviving spouse are exempt.
Real property in Florida passes according to Florida law regardless of where the owner was domiciled at death. If the property is titled in one person’s individual name, it must go through Florida probate before it can be transferred to heirs. Florida probate is a court-supervised process that takes a minimum of several months and typically longer if there are any complications, creditor claims, or family disputes.
Florida offers several mechanisms to avoid probate on real property. The most common for snowbirds are joint tenancy with right of survivorship, enhanced life estate deeds (sometimes called Lady Bird deeds), and ownership through a revocable living trust.
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship means that when one co-owner dies, the surviving co-owner takes full ownership automatically, without probate. This works efficiently for a married couple but creates complexity on the death of the survivor, when the property must still pass through the surviving owner’s estate unless other arrangements are in place.
Florida’s enhanced life estate deed allows the owner to retain full control of the property during their lifetime — including the right to sell, mortgage, or encumber it without the remainder beneficiary’s consent — while designating who receives it at death without probate. Pennsylvania has no equivalent instrument and no transfer on death deed. For Pennsylvania real property, the primary probate avoidance tools are joint tenancy with right of survivorship and revocable living trust ownership.
Trust ownership is the most flexible solution for clients with property in multiple states. A properly drafted revocable living trust holds title to both the Pennsylvania property and the Florida property. At death, both properties transfer according to the trust terms without probate in either state. The trustee administers the trust privately, without court supervision, and distributes assets on a timeline the grantor controlled through the trust document.
Illustrative example: What actually happened: A retired Allegheny County couple purchased a condominium in Sarasota County, Florida for approximately $340,000 in 2017. They titled it in the husband’s name alone for mortgage qualification purposes and never retitled it after the mortgage was paid off. The husband died in 2022 with a Pennsylvania will leaving everything to his wife. The wife’s Pennsylvania attorney filed the will in Allegheny County and handled the Pennsylvania estate without difficulty. Then the family discovered the Florida condominium. Because Florida does not allow a foreign will to transfer real property automatically, a Florida ancillary probate proceeding was required. The process took eleven months, cost approximately $6,800 in Florida legal and court fees, and required the wife — then 74 years old — to execute multiple Florida-specific documents and authorize a Florida attorney to act on her behalf. The outcome was never in doubt. Only the time and cost were in question. A Lady Bird deed executed in 2017 would have cost under $500 and eliminated the proceeding entirely.
Florida’s homestead law is among the most protective in the country for primary residences — and among the most restrictive on how those residences can be transferred at death. If a Florida property qualifies as a homestead, the owner cannot freely devise it to whomever they choose if they have a surviving spouse or minor children.
A Florida homestead occupied as a primary residence passes to the surviving spouse as a life estate with a remainder to the owner’s descendants if the owner dies with a surviving spouse and any descendants. The spouse does not receive fee simple ownership. The descendants — typically adult children from a prior marriage — receive a remainder interest that vests at the spouse’s death. Neither party can sell or encumber the property without the other’s consent during the life estate period.
For snowbirds who do not occupy the Florida property as their primary residence, the homestead devise restrictions generally do not apply. But the homestead tax exemption applies only to properties that qualify as a primary residence. A snowbird who claims the Florida homestead exemption for tax purposes while maintaining Pennsylvania domicile is making a representation to Florida authorities that may be inconsistent with their Pennsylvania tax filing position.
The Save Our Homes cap limits annual increases in assessed value for homestead properties to three percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. When a homestead property is sold or transferred, the cap resets to full market value for the new owner. This benefit is personal to the qualifying owner and does not transfer through a trust, joint tenancy, or Lady Bird deed unless the successor owner re-establishes homestead eligibility.
A Pennsylvania will is valid in Florida and vice versa, provided it was executed in accordance with the law of the state where it was signed. The will does not need to be re-executed when property is acquired in another state. What the will cannot do is avoid probate in Florida for Florida real property. Probate avoidance requires title planning, not testamentary planning.
A revocable living trust governed by Pennsylvania law can hold Florida real property. What is required is that the Florida property be properly transferred into the trust by deed — a Florida deed, prepared and recorded in the Florida county where the property is located, conveying title from the individual owners to the trustee. This deed must comply with Florida’s execution requirements, which differ from Pennsylvania’s in several respects, including notarization and witness requirements.
If the trust was created years ago and the Florida property was purchased afterward, the property is almost certainly not in the trust unless someone took deliberate steps to add it. The trust does not automatically capture after-acquired property. Each new property requires its own deed into the trust.
Powers of attorney present a related issue. A Pennsylvania durable power of attorney is generally recognized in Florida, but Florida has its own statutory power of attorney form, and some Florida financial institutions and county recorders will not accept a non-Florida form without additional verification. A snowbird who becomes incapacitated in Florida without a Florida-compliant power of attorney may leave their family unable to manage Florida financial accounts or execute Florida real estate documents without court involvement.
How is the Florida property titled? If it is in one individual’s name, it will require Florida probate at that person’s death. If it is in both names, the form of co-ownership matters — tenants in common creates probate exposure on each owner’s death, while joint tenancy with right of survivorship does not. If it is in a trust, when was it deeded into the trust and has anything changed since?
What does the estate plan say about the Florida property specifically? If the will or trust was drafted before the Florida property was purchased, it may not address that property at all. The plan should be reviewed with both properties in mind.
What state is your domicile and is that reflected consistently across your legal documents, tax filings, voter registration, and driver’s license? Inconsistency is the primary basis on which Pennsylvania asserts domicile over a claimed Florida resident.
Is your power of attorney recognized in Florida? If not, a supplemental Florida document may be advisable, particularly for clients who spend extended periods there or who have Florida bank accounts and brokerage assets.
Does your health care directive cover decisions that may need to be made in Florida? Florida’s health care surrogate and living will statutes differ from Pennsylvania’s advance directive framework. A Florida-compliant health care document is recommended for anyone receiving regular medical care in the state.
Frequently Asked Questions
For Florida-specific documents — deeds, Lady Bird deeds, Florida powers of attorney, and Florida health care directives — work involving Florida real property should be reviewed or prepared by someone licensed in Florida. An attorney licensed in both Pennsylvania and Florida can coordinate the planning across both states without requiring you to engage two separate firms.
A valid Pennsylvania will is recognized in Florida, but it does not avoid Florida probate for Florida real estate. Florida real property titled in the decedent’s individual name must pass through Florida ancillary probate regardless of what the will says. Probate avoidance requires title planning — a Lady Bird deed, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or trust ownership — not testamentary planning.
Not automatically. Domicile is determined by intent and conduct, not time alone. Courts and taxing authorities look at where you vote, where your license and vehicle registrations are, where your primary banking and medical relationships are, and what you have declared in writing. If you want Florida domicile for estate planning and tax purposes, those records need to be consistent with that position.
A Lady Bird deed, formally called an enhanced life estate deed, allows a Florida property owner to retain full control during their lifetime while designating a beneficiary who takes title automatically at death, without probate. Pennsylvania has no equivalent instrument and no transfer on death deed. For Pennsylvania real property, the primary probate avoidance tools are joint tenancy with right of survivorship and revocable living trust ownership.
Only if the Florida property was deeded into the trust by a properly executed and recorded Florida deed. A trust does not automatically capture property acquired after it was created. If you purchased the Florida property after your trust was drafted, it is almost certainly not in the trust unless you specifically had a Florida deed prepared to transfer it. Reviewing the current vesting deed for the Florida property will confirm whether the trust holds title.
Florida’s homestead exemption reduces the assessed value of a primary residence for property tax purposes and caps annual assessment increases. It applies only to properties that qualify as the owner’s primary residence. If the Florida property is your primary residence and you have a surviving spouse or minor children, Florida’s homestead devise restrictions may limit your ability to leave the property freely to whomever you choose at death. These restrictions do not apply to properties that do not qualify as a primary residence.
Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A. · Pittsburgh Estate Planning and Real Estate Attorneys Since 1933. Serving Allegheny County and southwestern Pennsylvania.
This page is part of our Estate Planning and Probate and Real Estate practices. For avoiding probate on Pennsylvania property, see trusts in Pennsylvania. For what happens to real estate when a Pennsylvania owner dies, see does real estate go through probate in Pennsylvania.
Estate Planning & Real Estate · Pittsburgh
If you own property in Pennsylvania and Florida and your estate plan was drafted before the Florida property was purchased, it almost certainly does not address both. The review takes less time than the probate proceeding it prevents. Call 412-351-4422 or schedule a consultation with Lebovitz & Lebovitz, P.A.
Two properties in two states do not require two estate plans. They require one plan that accounts for both states, drafted before either state has a reason to get involved. The deed, the domicile declaration, and the trust all need to reflect the same intent. When they do not, the gap between them is where the probate proceeding opens.
