Estate Planning in Winter Garden: the Local Picture
Winter Garden has a median age of 40 and 14 percent over 65, younger than the state average. Planning needs among the 47,872 residents center on growing families. A median home value of $476,000 in Orange County means a lady bird deed can protect nearly half a million dollars from probate.
Winter Garden’s median age is around 40, and the median home value is about $476,000. A home at that value sits well above Florida’s $150,000 summary-administration threshold, raised from $75,000 on July 1, 2026, so without planning it can pull your family into a full, months-long probate. The fix is to coordinate the home, the will or trust, and any deed together, so the house passes the way you intend.
What a Complete Plan Covers
Three documents come up in nearly every Winter Garden consult, the will, the trust, and the power of attorney. Your last will and testament directs what you own, a living trust can skip probate entirely, and a durable power of attorney lets someone act for you if you cannot.
An estate plan is a coordinated set of documents, not one piece of paper. It takes a will or a revocable living trust to direct your property, a durable power of attorney so someone can act if you can’t, and a health-care surrogate, living will, and HIPAA authorization for medical decisions. Homeowners often add a lady bird deed on the homestead. See the full estate-planning guide →
Keeping a Winter Garden Home Out of Probate
Your Florida homestead carries special rules. It generally can’t be left freely in a will if you have a spouse or minor child, and it passes outside the will by its own path. A funded revocable trust or a lady bird deed keeps the home out of probate while you keep full control during life. See Orange County probate → or find the right deed →
Serving Winter Garden and Orange County, wherever you are.
A free consultation maps your plan and quotes a flat fee. No office visit required.
Book a free consultationKeeping Your Homestead Exemption With the Home in a Trust, Orange County
A home that moves into your revocable trust keeps its Florida homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes cap when the trust gives you the right to live there for life. The firm writes the deed and the trust that way. The exemption does not move by itself, and the county Property Appraiser decides what documents to require. Some counties want the whole trust, some want a one-page certificate on their own form, and one takes nothing online. The firm handles the appraiser filing as part of your plan, and the facts below are the Orange County rules read from the appraiser’s own page on the date shown.
What the appraiser asks for
- "Special Notes: If title to the property on which you are applying is held in a trust, a copy of the entire trust agreement must also be submitted via US mail or in person."
- "What if the property is in trust? It is necessary for the applicant to furnish the Property Appraiser's Office with a copy of the complete trust agreement and other required documentation (see \"Required Documentation\") either via US mail or in person."
- "Florida law requires that the homestead applicant have legal title or beneficial title to the property, which we can only establish by reviewing the trust agreement if the property is in a trust."
The Orange County Property Appraiser treats a deed into a trust as a change of title, so a new homestead application is filed by March 1 of the following year. The firm calendars that deadline.
How to file
Online filing is available.how to file online
Offices
- Orange County Property Appraiser, Attn: Exemption Department (17th floor, corner of Church St and Orange Ave), 200 S. Orange Avenue, Suite 1700, Orlando, FL 32801. "We are open 8am-5pm, Monday through Friday, except holidays. Our lobby is available by appointment."
Phone407-836-5044
Read from the Orange County Property Appraiser on October 30, 2026. Rules change; confirm with the office before you file.
Notary Services in Winter Garden
The firm prepares your deed or trust and most clients sign from home by online notarization, with the firm arranging the notary and the two witnesses by video. Some people prefer to sign on paper in person. A Florida deed must be signed in front of two witnesses and acknowledged before a notary, so you need to bring two adult witnesses who are not named in the deed. Do not count on the store to supply witnesses. Call the store first to confirm a notary is on duty that day.
| Store | Address | Phone | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| The UPS Store #4491Corner Winter Garden Vineland Rd (Rt. 535) & Rt 50 In Publix Ctr | 13750 W Colonial Dr, Ste 350, Winter Garden 34787 | (407) 654-2030 | Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 7 pm · Sat 9 am to 4 pm · Sun 10 am to 3 pm |
| The UPS Store #6827 | 14422 Shoreside Way, Ste 110, Winter Garden 34787 | (407) 347-3278 | Mon to Fri 8 am to 6:30 pm · Sat 9 am to 3 pm · Sun closed |
| The UPS Store #7293Flamingo Crossing | 153 Sugar Belle Dr, #B, Winter Garden 34787 | (689) 208-0220 | Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 8 pm · Sat 10 am to 4 pm · Sun 11 am to 4 pm |
| The UPS Store #825116123 Marsh Rd Ste 105 Winter Garden Fl 34787 | 16123 Marsh Rd, Suite 105, Winter Garden 34787 | (407) 336-8251 | Mon to Fri 8:30 am to 7 pm · Sat 9 am to 4 pm · Sun 10 am to 3 pm |
Hours read from each store’s own page on October 30, 2026. Confirm by phone before you go.
Communities We Serve
We work with families across Orange County, and the rest of Orange County. Any deed in your plan records with the Orange County Comptroller, whose office is at 425 North Orange Avenue in Orlando; we prepare and e-record it for you. We are a Miami firm serving Winter Garden wherever you are; this is not a Winter Garden office.
Recently moved to Florida, or planning to? Make it official and cut your old state’s income tax with a Orange County Declaration of Domicile, then re-do your plan under Florida law.
Flat Fees
Trust-based plan $3,200 individual / $4,500 couple (trust + pour-over will + durable POA + health-care directives + one funding deed). Will-based plan $1,200 individual / $1,950 couple (will, durable POA, health-care directives and a lady bird deed on the home). Single documents from $299. Government recording costs are additional, at cost. See full pricing →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have an office in Winter Garden?
No. StepUpLaw is a Miami firm that serves Winter Garden and Orange County residents wherever they are, by phone and video. Most of the work happens online, and your signing is coordinated to meet Florida formalities (two witnesses and a notary).
Where are deeds recorded in Orange County?
Deeds and other documents for a Orange County property are recorded with the Orange County Comptroller. We handle the recording for any deed in your plan and pass the county’s cost through at cost.
Do I need a living trust, or is a will enough?
It depends on what you own and your goals. A will alone still goes through probate; a funded revocable living trust avoids it and manages things if you lose capacity. For a single home passing to your kids, a lady bird deed may be all you need. We talk through both at the free consultation.
Updated September 30, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. We serve Winter Garden and Orange County residents from our Miami office. Local figures are Census estimates (ACS 2024) and approximate.
