Have you just moved to Florida, and someone told you your out of state Will is no longer valid?
Well, they are wrong! Unfortunately, sometimes people tell me this is the reason they need to
update their estate planning documents and while it is a good idea to update documents when
you move to another state (see reasons below), those out of state documents are still valid, if
they were validly created in your home state.

Reasons to update estate planning documents when moving

1. Moving to another state often means leaving behind family or close friends who may not
be able to serve as a health care surrogate for health care, or as an agent under power
of attorney, or executor (called a Personal Representative in Florida) any longer due to
distance or their own health or family issues.

2. Moving to another state may also mean you had documents done years ago in your
home state when your children were young, and now they are adults and can be
involved in decision making about not only your health, but they can assist you if you
need help with your finances and can serve as your agent under a durable power of
attorney.

3. Moving to another state might mean you want to have a Florida health care directive and
a Florida power of attorney but keep your home state documents as you still go back for
several months during the year. It’s perfectly fine to have an Ohio power of attorney and
a Florida power of attorney, and an Ohio health care document and living will, and a
Florida health care document and living will. Many clients want to keep those older
documents for the times they are in their home state.

4. Moving to another state also means you will want to see where it is most advantageous
to probate a will or go through a trust administration. For this reason alone, many clients
want a Florida Will or Trust because Florida has no estate tax.

Executing an out of state will in Florida

If your out of state Will goes through probate in Florida, it’s likely going to be fine but there are a
few differences in how Florida Wills are executed.

• Florida wills are usually self-proved. This means you sign your Will in front of two witnesses and a notary and then sign an affidavit that you did so, and the witnesses and the notary also attest to the fact that they watched you sign. That proves your Will is valid, and that you signed it willingly and agreed that it was drafted to meet your wishes. 
• Florida wills allow you to leave tangible personal property (cars, jewelry, artwork) via a signed written memorandum that can be changed at any time without the need to update your Will. In addition, cars, travel trailers, RVs and the like do not need probate as long as those things are given to a named individual or group of named individuals in your Will. A death certificate and a copy of the Will can be used to transfer title to a car.

So, just because you drove over the state line does not mean your home state documents became invalid, but you may want to update them all the same!

Contact an experienced Florida estate planning lawyer to schedule an appointment

Teresa K. Bowman, P.A. handles probate and trust administration tasks with great care and understanding for clients in Sarasota and Osprey. Please call 941-735-5200 or contact my Sarasota office online to schedule an appointment.