Moved to Florida from New York? What happens to your estate plan
Zacharia Frey PLLC. Updated November 2026.
New York has its own estate tax. If New York 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 New York. Your documents need a Florida review either way.
What New York can still reach
New York's basic exclusion amount is $7,350,000 for deaths in 2026. It is not portable between spouses.
Applies to 2026.
The exclusion is lost entirely once the taxable estate exceeds 105 percent of it ($7,717,500 for 2026). Estates just over the line can owe tax on the whole amount.
Applies to 2026.
A nonresident must file if the estate includes New York real or tangible property and the federal gross estate plus includible gifts exceeds the exclusion.
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
A person claiming to have left New York must prove the change of domicile by clear and convincing evidence (20 NYCRR 105.20(d)(2)). The Department's audit guidelines list the address in your will and estate planning documents among the factors it considers.
Keeping a permanent place of abode in New York and spending more than 183 days there makes you a New York resident for income tax, even if your domicile is Florida (N.Y. Tax Law § 605(b)(1)(B)).
New York statutory short form powers of attorney signed before the 2021 amendments often have a Statutory Gifts Rider that grants important authority. The question in Florida is usually acceptance, not authority.
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 New York address and New York law points the wrong way. How domicile is decided and the Florida domicile checklist.
Your New York documents in Florida
Sources
- N.Y. Tax Law § 952(c)
- N.Y. Tax Law § 952(c)(1)
- N.Y. Tax Law, Article 26
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.