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Originally Posted by dwsommer330
My wife and I now own a house here in the Villages as well as in Michigan and plan to, at least for the next several years, be snowbirds. We currently have wills but not living trusts. It is my understanding that, should something happen to one of us, the Florida home (at least while we are Michigan residents) would have to go through probate which may be expensive and time consuming. As we are thinking of selling, and replacing, our Michigan residence, I think the time might also be right to create living trusts.
Here is my question — does anyone have experience with the execution (after a spouses or close relative’s death?) of an out-of-state living trust ? If so, was the out-of-state living trust recognized in Florida so as to avoid probate? Does the living trust really need to be drafted by a Florida attorney or are living trusts drafted by out of state attorneys just as good? Thanks in advance for your input
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My wife and I are also Michigan residents. We set up Revocable Living Trusts in 1995. We have amended the trusts six times since then for various reasons. In 2019 we bought in TV and are snowbirds. Our attorney told us that Revocable Living Trusts are recognized in 49 states regardless of where they were executed. This is because those 49 states are all based in English Common Law, same as US law. The other state, Louisiana, has its law based on French Common Law. Louisiana will not necessarily recognize Living Trusts written in any other state. We have the deeds to our properties in the name of both of our trusts. Hope this helps.