When two spouses sit down to plan their estate together, one of the first questions that comes up is whether they need one will for both of them or two separate ones. The joint will vs separate wills question in Florida has a fairly clear answer in practice, even though both options sound reasonable at first glance. A joint will — a single document signed by both spouses — is legally possible in some form, but it's rarely used in Florida and tends to create more problems than it solves. Separate, individually signed wills — often mirrored in content — are the far more common approach for married couples, and generally for good reason.
Joint Wills vs. Separate Wills in Florida
A joint will combines both spouses' wishes into a single document, signed by both of them, that is meant to govern both estates. A set of separate wills, by contrast, is exactly what it sounds like: each spouse signs their own individual will, even if the two documents are planned together and end up looking a lot alike. Florida law doesn't prohibit a joint will outright, but it also doesn't treat the format as a special category with its own rules — a joint will is still just a will, subject to the same execution requirements as any other, including signing in the presence of witnesses. The practical difference shows up less in whether a joint will is allowed and more in how well it functions once one spouse passes away.
Why a Joint Will Tends to Cause Problems
The core issue with a joint will is flexibility — or the lack of it. Once one spouse dies, the surviving spouse is often left holding a document that was written to reflect two people's wishes, but that may now need to be changed to reflect a single person's circumstances, which can shift substantially after a spouse's death. A joint will can also raise genuine questions about whether the surviving spouse is free to revise their own estate plan afterward, particularly if the document's language suggests the two spouses intended their combined wishes to be fixed and unchangeable. Courts and probate administrators generally still need to work out which parts of a joint will apply to which spouse's estate, which can add complexity and delay at exactly the time a family is already dealing with loss. None of this means a joint will is automatically invalid — it just tends to create ambiguity that a set of separate wills avoids from the outset.
Why Separate, Mirrored Wills Are the Standard Approach
Separate wills solve the flexibility problem simply by being separate. Each spouse has full control over their own document, can revise it independently as circumstances change, and isn't bound by language written jointly years earlier. In practice, many married couples' separate wills still look quite similar to one another — each spouse often names the other first for the role of personal representative, with the same backup named second, and the overall structure tends to mirror the other spouse's document closely. That similarity is a matter of practical coordination, not a legal requirement, and it's part of what tends to change when a married couple plans together rather than individually. The broader pattern of mirrored-but-separate documents for spouses is covered in more depth in Estate Planning for Married Couples in Florida: What Changes?, which looks at how marriage affects document structure, role selection, and homestead property more generally.
What Doesn't Change Based on the Format
Regardless of whether a couple considers a joint will or two separate ones, the basic requirements for a valid will in Florida stay the same. A will generally needs to be in writing, signed by the person making it, and signed by two witnesses who watch the signing take place. Separate wills don't get an exception from these requirements just because they're planned alongside a spouse's document, and a joint will doesn't get special treatment either. What changes between the two formats isn't the legal bar for validity — it's how the resulting document behaves once circumstances change, particularly after one spouse has died.
A Few Situations Where the Question Comes Up More Often
Couples sometimes consider a joint will because it feels simpler — one document, one signing, one set of instructions instead of two. That instinct makes sense, but it tends to undervalue how much can change after a spouse's death: a surviving spouse may remarry, may need to update beneficiaries, or may simply want the freedom to revise their own plan without reference to a document that was written for two people. Separate wills preserve that freedom by design. A couple weighing the two formats is generally better served by understanding that the convenience of a single document is traded for a meaningful loss of flexibility down the road.
Putting Separate, Coordinated Wills in Place
For most married couples in Florida, the practical answer to the joint will vs separate wills question is to use separate wills that are planned and drafted together, rather than a single combined document. This approach keeps each spouse's estate plan independent and revisable while still letting the couple coordinate roles and backups so nothing is left mismatched between the two documents. SunstateDocs' Married Couple Estate Planning Bundle walks each spouse through the same guided intake and generates a separate, coordinated will for each partner under a single checkout, rather than a single joint document for both.
This article is general information, not legal advice. SunstateDocs is not a law firm.