Moved to Florida from Massachusetts? What happens to your estate plan
Zacharia Frey PLLC. Updated November 2026.
Massachusetts has its own estate tax. If Massachusetts still treats you as domiciled there when you die, it can tax your estate as a resident's estate, reaching your bank and investment accounts wherever they are held. Even after a complete move, it can reach real estate and tangible property you still own in Massachusetts. Your documents need a Florida review either way.
What Massachusetts can still reach
Massachusetts imposes estate tax when the federal taxable estate exceeds $2,000,000. A credit of up to $99,600 means an estate just over the line is not taxed from the first dollar. The threshold is fixed by statute, not indexed for inflation, and Massachusetts law makes no provision for portability between spouses.
Applies to 2026.
A nonresident's estate is subject to Massachusetts estate tax on real estate and tangible personal property located in Massachusetts.
Applies to 2026.
For comparison: The federal basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per person for 2026, and a surviving spouse may use the unused exclusion of the first spouse to die (portability). Florida has no estate tax and no inheritance tax.
Worth knowing
The Cape house or the family home still titled in your name is the usual reason a former Massachusetts resident still owes Massachusetts attention.
Proving you left
Every state with an income or estate tax has a reason to question a move to Florida. Your estate planning documents are part of the record: a will that recites your Massachusetts address and Massachusetts law points the wrong way. How domicile is decided and the Florida domicile checklist.
Your Massachusetts documents in Florida
Sources
Tax figures change. We confirm the current figures for the year of your review before advising on them.
General information about Florida law, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.