[allus70]

For all of those that have moved to The Villages from out of state, does the State of Florida recognize legally drawn wills, trusts, power of attorney and living wills drawn up out of state? Does any reciprocity extend to all other states or only certain ones, we are from NY.
Is it advisable to draw up new wills and such after the move?
Would appreciate hearing your thoughts and experiences on this subject.

[gomoho]

My attorney in NC reviewed my Power of Attorney and Durable Health Care my mother had drawn up in Ohio. We all now live in Florida and he assured me both documents would be legal in Florida. The memory care facility accepted both documents without hesitation.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by allus70

For all of those that have moved to The Villages from out of state, does the State of Florida recognize legally drawn wills, trusts, power of attorney and living wills drawn up out of state? Does any reciprocity extend to all other states or only certain ones, we are from NY.
Is it advisable to draw up new wills and such after the move?
Would appreciate hearing your thoughts and experiences on this subject.

Our Revocable Trust, drawn up in NH, was not good here. We have since made new wills and Trust following Florida law, which is a lot kinder than NH law was!

[NotGolfer]

We met with a local attorney here in T.V.---no cost to do this! He looked over our (simple) will, that we already had from up north. We didn't have a living-will for health emergencies so had to do that. Believe me, the hospital will have their social worker come in and talk to you about this!!! We also had to have a P.O.A. drawn up. The cost for all of this was around $90.00. We're full-time here so needed to do something for the peace of mind of our children and each other depending on how things play out later.

[Wing-nut2]

The cost of going to probate is 3 to 5% and could take a year because Florida courts are very busy. My 2 cents.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

My laywer, who is also licensed in Florida, had to change some of the language in our trust that was written by him in Missouri to conform to FL law

[billethkid]

To avoid unforeseen issues/problems during a period where these documents are triggered by some event....it is best to get them ALL updated to the state one has their primary residence.

It does not cost that and will save a lot of heart ache during an emotional life changing event.

btk

[Celebrator]

Would any of you recommend a lawyer who can review and/or revise non Florida will, etc for a reasonable fee.
Thanks

[villager]

Can recommend Susan Sullivan for legal docs. She has done several for us, both personal and business.

[billethkid]

Millhorn law firm. Very comprehensive...very capable in matters of wills, estate plans and trusts.

No one size fits all law practice.
btk

[NotGolfer]

We had Milhorn Law Firm...very good! Won't charge anything for a consulation. We felt they were fair in their minimal charge for a P.O.A. to be drawn up. It will save alot of stress down the line to have everything in place now.

[Villages Kahuna]

...you wouldn't hesitate to make sure that your documents were valid under Florida law. I had all our documents--family trust, wills, medical and durable powers-of-attorney, redrawn here by McLin & Burnsed. It was done for a fraction of the cost of having a very modest estate of a relative probated in Michigan...a very small fraction.

One thing that you may not realize...that I found out the hard way...is that when an estate is probated, there are people who make a living as "heir finders". When the estate is filed and advertised, these people use the internet and genealogical software to identify possible heirs. They then contact the heirs, estimate how much they might get as a part of the settlement, and offer to represent them in probate court for a fee of one-third of anything they can get. In my case, the heir finder did find a couple of relatives who had the same standing as the beneficiaries, reducing their inheritance by--in this case--fifty percent.

My probate lawyer there cited an example of a recent case there where an heir finder found eleven cousins in eastern Europe, reducing the inheritance of the person who had cared for the deceased for over twenty years to only 1/12 of what he expected to be awarded.

As I've suggested, getting your documents in good legal order in your state of residence is a very inexpensive investment. And once done, your documents should probably be reviewed periodically to assure that they don't need to me amended if there is a change in the governing law. In addition, by avoiding probate, your heirs will be able to settle the estate quickly. It took me over six months to settle an estate substantially less than six figures, at a cost of about 6% of the estate.

I'm not a lawyer.

[JeffAVEWS]

I used Mary Trotter for our Trust and Will. She is very good and I highly recommend her.