MELBOURNE, FL – August 24, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –

Lacey Rezanka, an estate planning law firm located in Melbourne, Florida, has published a new educational resource examining seven misconceptions about estate planning. The article, titled “Estate Planning Myths That Cost Florida Families Thousands,” addresses beliefs about wills, probate, powers of attorney, spousal inheritance rights, and Florida homestead law that the firm encounters in its estate planning and probate practice across Brevard County.

The resource opens with the belief that a will avoids probate. Under the Florida Probate Code, probate is the court proceeding through which a will is proved and assets held in a decedent’s individual name are retitled to beneficiaries, so a will-based plan initiates probate rather than bypassing it. A properly funded revocable trust, not a will, is the instrument Florida law provides for probate avoidance. A related misconception holds that planning matters only to the wealthy. The federal estate and gift tax exemption for 2026 is $15 million per individual, or $30 million for a married couple electing portability, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Internal Revenue Service Revenue Procedure 2025-32, so federal estate tax is not why most Florida families plan. The estate planning and elder law practice at Lacey Rezanka prepares wills and trusts for clients in Melbourne, Viera, and Rockledge, and its probate and trust administration practice handles the resulting proceedings for families in Palm Bay and Merritt Island.

The Caring.com 2025 Wills and Estate Planning Study reported that 24 percent of Americans had a will in 2025, down from 32 percent in 2024. Absent documents, Florida statutes decide the outcome. Section 732.102 of the Florida Statutes provides that a surviving spouse in a blended family receives one half of the intestate estate and the decedent’s descendants receive the other half, and Florida’s elective share statute permits a surviving spouse to claim 30 percent of the elective estate even where a plan exists. Lacey Rezanka addresses both provisions through its estate planning practice for blended families in Indialantic and Satellite Beach, and through its probate and trust litigation practice for contested estates in Cocoa and Titusville.

Florida homestead law receives extended treatment. A married owner cannot convey homestead property without the joinder of a spouse, and Section 732.401 provides that homestead passing at death to a surviving spouse and descendants creates a life estate in the spouse with a vested remainder in the descendants. The resource also explains why downloadable templates fail under Florida law. Section 732.502 requires two attesting witnesses who sign a will in the presence of the testator and of each other, Section 732.503 permits a self-proving affidavit that allows a will to be admitted to probate without locating those witnesses later, and Section 709.2109 terminates a durable power of attorney at the principal’s death. The real estate law practice at Lacey Rezanka handles homestead transfers and residential closings for property owners in Melbourne and Cape Canaveral, and its Medicaid planning practice serves families in Rockledge and Suntree.

Stephen J. Lacey, Esq., Managing Member of Lacey Rezanka, wrote the resource. Admitted to The Florida Bar in 2003, Lacey has more than 20 years of Florida legal experience and holds an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida. “The belief that a will keeps a family out of probate is the one that comes up most often, when the definition of probate is the proving of a will,” Lacey said. “The second is the assumption that Florida law will do what a married person would have wanted. Intestacy, the elective share, and homestead descent each operate on their own terms, and a plan drafted in another state will rarely account for them.”

Lacey Rezanka is located at 6013 Farcenda Place, Suite 101, Melbourne, Florida 32940, and provides estate planning, Medicaid planning, probate and trust administration, and real estate representation to clients across Brevard County, including Melbourne, West Melbourne, Palm Bay, Viera, Suntree, Rockledge, Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral, and Titusville, and in Indian River County. Consultations are held at the Melbourne office and by video conference.

For more information about estate planning and probate representation at Lacey Rezanka in Melbourne, Florida, the resource is available at llr.law. Lacey Rezanka continues to publish client education materials on estate planning, elder law, probate, and real estate topics for families across Brevard County and the Space Coast.

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For more information about Lacey Rezanka, contact the company here:

Lacey Rezanka
Lacey Rezanka
321-608-0890
info@llr.law
6013 Farcenda Pl, #101, Melbourne, FL 32940

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