Caregiving in Florida— the questions adult children actually ask.

No on both counts. Florida abolished its estate tax in 2004 (when the federal pickup credit ended) and has never had an inheritance tax. The federal estate-tax exemption is $13.99M per person in 2025, so most Florida families face no estate tax at any level. Florida's tax-friendly status for retirees is one of the larger reasons families relocate here in retirement.

For long-term-care Medicaid (the Institutional Care Program or the SMMC LTC waiver), the asset limit is $2,000 for a single applicant — the SSI-based baseline. The home is exempt up to $752,000 of equity, one car is exempt, and a community spouse can retain up to $157,920 in a separate community-spouse resource allowance. Most countable assets above $2,000 need to be addressed through spend-down, spousal allowance, or other planning before eligibility is approved.

Yes, through the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care (SMMC LTC) waiver. Once your parent is approved for Medicaid LTC and enrolled in a managed-care plan (Humana, Sunshine Health, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, or others), the plan can authorize Consumer Directed Care services that allow the recipient to hire and pay a caregiver — including an adult child, with the exception of a spouse. Hourly rates vary by region and by managed-care plan; the typical range is $14–$22/hour in 2026.

Florida's constitutional homestead exemption is unlimited in dollar value (up to 0.5 acre urban / 160 acres rural) and protects the primary residence from forced sale by most creditors. It's one of the strongest creditor protections in the US. For Medicaid, the analysis is separate: under federal Medicaid rules, the home is exempt as an asset for LTC eligibility up to $752,000 of equity. After death, Florida pursues estate recovery only through probate — meaning a home held in a properly-drafted revocable trust generally escapes Medicaid recovery entirely.

Florida applies the standard federal 60-month (5-year) look-back to all Medicaid LTC applications, without exception. Any uncompensated transfer — gifts to children, below-market sales, charitable contributions above modest gift levels — during the 60 months before application generates a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay for nursing-home care. The penalty divisor is roughly $10,809/month in 2026, meaning a $50,000 gift produces an approximately 4.6-month penalty. The most common surprise is that even gifts made for clearly innocent reasons (a grandchild's wedding, a sibling's emergency) count.

Call the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873 (1-800-96-ABUSE), open 24/7. The Florida Department of Children and Families operates the hotline and investigates reports of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of vulnerable adults under Florida Statute Chapter 415. Reports can be made anonymously. For immediate danger, call 911 first. The hotline can also receive online reports at reportabuse.dcf.state.fl.us.

Most Florida elder-law attorneys charge $500–$1,500 for a standalone QIT (Qualified Income Trust, sometimes called a Miller trust). The trust is required when a Medicaid LTC applicant's gross monthly income exceeds the $2,901 income cap; it diverts income above the cap so it doesn't count against eligibility. The bank account that funds the QIT can be opened at most banks in a single visit; the EIN is free through IRS.gov. Total out-of-pocket for setup is usually under $1,500.

Florida offers Summary Administration under FS §735.201 for estates with non-exempt assets under $75,000, or for estates where the decedent died more than two years ago. Summary administration is faster and cheaper than formal probate but doesn't fit every estate. For estates over $75,000, formal administration is generally required unless the assets passed by trust, beneficiary designation, or joint tenancy — which is why probate-avoidance planning (Transfer-on-Death deeds, revocable trusts, beneficiary designations on accounts) is the higher-leverage move for most Florida families.

Probably yes. Florida's Power of Attorney Act (FS §709.2101) has specific format and execution requirements that differ from most other states — two witnesses plus a notary, specific language about authority categories, and explicit gift authority for any non-trivial gifting. Florida banks routinely reject out-of-state POAs and pre-2011 Florida POAs that don't conform to the 2011 statutory rewrite. The cost of a new Florida POA is typically $200–$500 through an attorney; the cost of a rejected POA at a moment of crisis is much higher.

The Florida state median for a private one-bedroom in assisted living is approximately $4,800/month in 2024 dollars (Genworth Cost of Care Survey). The range is wide — Panhandle communities are often $3,800–$4,500, while Naples, Sarasota, and the SE Florida coast frequently exceed $6,500. Memory care adds 25–40% on top of standard AL. Florida has roughly 3,100 licensed assisted-living facilities, the second-largest count of any state after California.