Florida Statute 732.501
“Who may make a will”
What it means
This is the capacity gate for making a will. Under §732.501, a person may make a Florida will only if they are of sound mind and are either 18 or older or an emancipated minor.
'Sound mind' is tested at the moment of signing — the testator must understand, in a general way, the nature and extent of their property, the people who would naturally receive it, and that they are making a will disposing of it. A medical diagnosis, advanced age, or even a guardianship doesn't automatically disqualify someone; capacity is about the mind at execution, not the label.
- Two requirements: sound mind and age 18 or older (or an emancipated minor).
- Capacity is judged at the moment the will is signed, not before or after.
- Sound mind means a general understanding of one's property, natural heirs, and the act of making a will.
- A diagnosis, dementia, or guardianship doesn't automatically bar a valid will.
How it plays out
Capacity contests almost always turn on the phrase 'of sound mind' — and on timing. We see wills signed during a hospital stay, or months into a dementia diagnosis, and the question is never the diagnosis itself but whether the testator understood what they were signing that day. Contemporaneous notes, the drafting lawyer's observations, and a self-proving affidavit all matter here. When capacity is genuinely in doubt, we document the signing carefully, because §732.501 is decided on the facts of a single afternoon.
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