The story is as old as Florida orange groves and as modern as a digital wallet. A retired farmer looks across his land, proud of what he’s built. One child stayed home, helping run the family business; the other went off to Miami. He shrugs when asked about his estate plan: “My kids are smart. They’ll figure it out.”

That, right there, is the setup for a family feud that could rival Succession.

At Welch Law in Jupiter, we’ve seen it all:  the well-meaning parents who believe “keeping it simple” means skipping the hard conversations and the proper planning. But when the time comes, simplicity vanishes. Lawyers get called. Siblings stop speaking. Generations of work can be lost overnight.

Let’s talk about why “letting the kids figure it out” isn’t a plan — it’s a problem.

1. Life Happens Before Death Does

Before anyone worries about who inherits the farm, the family might face something much more immediate: long-term care. A stroke, dementia, or an accident can wipe out a lifetime of savings faster than a summer storm blows through Jupiter.

Without proper planning, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and asset transfer strategies, your family’s financial stability hangs in the balance.

For married couples, a durable power of attorney allows the healthy spouse to move assets or property as needed, protecting the home and savings. While Medicaid imposes a five-year look-back on most asset transfers, spousal transfers are exempt. That’s crucial. Without this flexibility, your estate could evaporate before your family ever sees it.

2. A Health Care Proxy Is Not Optional

Imagine being unable to speak for yourself. Who makes your medical decisions? Without a healthcare power of attorney, the answer may be the state, not your family.

In Florida, this simple document lets you appoint a trusted person (often the spouse or an adult child) to make health and medical decisions when you cannot. For our farmer, that likely means naming the child who’s nearby and knows his daily routine. Quick action matters when health declines so empower the right person before crisis strikes.

3. The Surviving Spouse Trap

When one spouse passes, the surviving spouse often inherits everything. That’s fine, until they need nursing care. If the surviving spouse burns through all available assets paying for care, the next generation could find themselves asset-rich but cash-poor.

We see this often with family farms and small businesses: the land or company has value, but the liquidity just isn’t there. The child inheriting the business suddenly faces impossible choices:  take on debt, sell land, or walk away from a legacy.

Proper estate planning, using trusts and asset protection strategies, ensures that liquidity and control stay balanced.

4. “Fair” Doesn’t Always Mean “Equal”

Estate planning isn’t about splitting the pie evenly, it’s about dividing it wisely.

If one child has spent decades maintaining the family farm or running the business, that labor has value. But when another child lives elsewhere, parents often feel torn between fairness and recognition.

The solution? Transparency and planning.

Florida law allows creative structures such as giving one child the business interest and the other financial assets, or using life insurance to equalize inheritances. But without documentation, what starts as love can turn into litigation.

5. The Valuation Mirage

Here’s a tough question: If the farm was worth $500,000 when your son started working there but $3 million when you pass away, who gets what?

If preservation land, development rights, or agricultural restrictions come into play, the math gets even more complicated. A professional appraisal, done now, not after death, helps determine fair value. Otherwise, your family’s lawyers will spend years in court trying to define it for you.

6. Preservation, Easements, and the Florida Factor

Florida landowners face unique challenges from conservation easements to county zoning rules. Deeding part of the property to preservation can change its taxable value and its marketability. Selling development rights may sound simple, but it can affect your children’s inheritance for generations.

Without a plan, your heirs could be saddled with property they can’t afford to maintain or sell. A Florida-based estate planning attorney will help evaluate whether preservation or partial sale strategies make sense, and how to balance them with your long-term family goals.

7. Family Businesses Deserve Business Plans

Whether you own a farm in Martin County, a marine repair shop in Jupiter, or a family restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens, the same rule applies: family businesses need succession plans.

Without them, chaos is guaranteed. Who’s in charge after you? How are profits divided? Can one child sell their share? Will outside investors be allowed in? These are all decisions best made while you’re alive and well.

8. Don’t Confuse “Harmony” With “Planning”

The Florida families we help love each other deeply but love doesn’t survive ambiguity. When parents pass without a plan, siblings are left to untangle everything. Grief mixes with money, resentment, and emotion.

As Don Draper once said: “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”

Estate planning does exactly that, it changes the conversation from “Who gets what?” to “How do we protect what matters?”

9. The Welch Law Approach

At Welch Law, PLLC, we help Florida families protect legacies built over lifetimes. From farms and waterfront homes to businesses and cryptocurrency, we design plans that reflect your reality and your values.

If you’ve told yourself your kids can “figure it out,” it’s time to rewrite that story. Let’s build a plan that makes sure they never have to.

Ready to talk about your family’s future?

By:  Edward J. Welch, Esq. ||| Estate Planning | Wills | Trusts | Asset Protection | Welch Crypto Trust™

If you would like to discuss your legacy options with an estate planning attorney in Jupiter or Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, schedule a complimentary call with Edward J. Welch at Welch Law, PLLC.  At Welch Law, WE WANT TO DRAFT YOUR LEGACY!

Reference: Tri-State Alert (Oct. 3, 2025) “If you’re relying on your kids to ‘just figure it out’ after you’re gone, here’s your wake-up call”