As a general rule of thumb, you need to review your estate plan any time you experience a major life event or a change in circumstances. One of these key life events, moving to a new state, should prompt you to review at least your last will and testament, if not everything else. There are both practical and legal concerns you will need to consider if you created a will in a different state and have since moved to a new one.
Issue 1: Where are your representatives?
As part of creating a will you must sign the document and have it signed by two witnesses. If you made a self-proving will, there is no need for your witnesses to be located close to you when the time comes to present your will to the probate court. However, if your will is not self-proven and those witnesses are now far away from your current location, this can make it difficult for the probate court to call them in to testify about the validity of your signature. If your witnesses are unable to testify, the court will be unable to validate your will.
Issue 2: Did you make a handwritten will?
Even though handwritten wills, also called holographic wills, are relatively rare, some states do allow for them. Unfortunately, the state you move to may not be one of those states, and it may not have to accept your will as valid. In general, a printed will is valid no matter the state you created it in, but handwritten wills are only valid in a minority of states.
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