The Use of Estate Planning Documents in Multiple States

Between schooling, travel, or even moving to a different state, occasions arise where your estate planning documents executed in your home state may be needed in another state.

Many clients typically ask the same question: if I am in a different state, are my estate planning documents still valid there?

The simple answer is likely ‘yes.’ Most states have laws that allow Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Advance Directives to be valid across state lines. However, it is vitally important that these documents are executed validly in their home state. At the same time, despite a valid execution in the home state, some secondary states may require additional or different steps in the execution process.

By way of example, for a Power of Attorney, New Jersey does not require the explicit initialing by the principal over any granted powers. Florida statues, however, require the principal to initial certain specific granted powers, such as the power of the agent to make gifts or create trusts on behalf of the principal. A New Jersey Power of Attorney may still be valid in Florida, but some powers (if not initialed by the principal) will not be recognized under Florida law.

If the individual is going to spend significant time in a secondary state, I typically recommend that they have a separate Power of Attorney and Advance Directive executed in that state. Having documents specifically tailored to that secondary state is the best method. The last thing anyone wants is for the immediate need for a financial or medical decision and the banking or medical institution delaying things because they are unfamiliar with the form or wording in the document, or worse, because a state specific requirement was not met.

Minimally, local counsel in a secondary state should review all estate planning documents to troubleshoot for any potential issues.