Moving to Florida can bring plenty of changes. You may be buying a new home, retiring, changing financial accounts, or simply settling into a different way of life. One important task that should not be overlooked is reviewing your estate plan.
If your will, trust, power of attorney, or other estate planning documents were prepared in another state, they may not automatically need to be replaced. However, Florida has its own estate and probate laws, and some provisions that worked well where you previously lived may not be the best fit after establishing residency in Florida.
Reviewing your estate plan after moving can help make sure your documents still reflect your wishes, the people you have chosen can serve in their intended roles, and your Florida property is properly addressed.
Why Review Your Estate Plan After Moving to Florida?
Estate planning laws vary from state to state. While many properly prepared documents can continue to have legal effect after a move, differences in state law can affect how those documents are administered.
A move is also a natural time to look at your estate plan as a whole. Your property may have changed, the people you want making decisions for you may have changed, or an estate plan created many years ago may no longer reflect your current goals.
Review Your Last Will and Testament
Your Last Will and Testament is one of the first documents to review after becoming a Florida resident.
Florida generally recognizes a will executed by a nonresident if it was valid under the laws of the state or country where it was executed, with certain exceptions. Even if your existing will remains legally valid, there may still be good reasons to update it.
Clarie Law provides assistance with both wills and trusts, including reviewing how these documents work together as part of an overall estate plan.
Is Your Personal Representative Eligible in Florida?
Your Personal Representative is responsible for administering your estate through probate. Other states may refer to this person as an executor.
Florida places restrictions on certain nonresidents who may serve as Personal Representative. A nonresident may generally qualify when that person falls within one of the family relationships allowed under Florida law.
For example, naming an old friend who lives outside Florida may create an issue even if that person could have served as executor under the laws of your previous state.
Reviewing your will gives you an opportunity to confirm that your chosen Personal Representative is both legally qualified and still the person you want handling your estate.
Review Beneficiaries and Property
A move can also change what you own. You may have sold a home in your previous state, purchased property in Florida, consolidated bank accounts, or made other financial changes.
Your will should be reviewed to make sure gifts and beneficiary provisions still make sense based on your current property and family circumstances.
Review Your Living Trust
If you have a revocable living trust, moving to Florida does not necessarily mean you need an entirely new trust. However, the trust should be reviewed by a Florida estate planning attorney.
Start by looking at the people named as your trustee and successor trustee. Make sure they are still appropriate choices and that the instructions for distributing property continue to reflect your wishes.
You should also review how the trust is funded.
Creating a trust alone does not necessarily place your assets into it. Depending on your estate plan, certain real estate, financial accounts, or other assets may need to be titled in the name of the trust.
If you purchased a Florida home after your trust was created, its ownership should be reviewed carefully before making changes to the title.
Review Your Durable Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney allows another person, called your agent, to handle certain financial or legal matters on your behalf.
After moving to Florida, have your existing power of attorney reviewed to determine whether it remains appropriate under Florida law.
Even when an older document is legally effective, having a Florida-specific document may make it easier to use with local banks, financial institutions, real estate professionals, and other organizations.
This is also a good opportunity to reconsider the person you named as your agent. If your agent lives hundreds or thousands of miles away, you may decide that someone else would be better positioned to assist you when needed.
Review Your Health Care Documents
Your estate plan is about more than what happens after death. It can also establish who will help make important decisions if you become unable to make them yourself.
After moving, review your health care documents, which may include a:
- Designation of Health Care Surrogate
- Living Will
- HIPAA authorization
A health care surrogate can be authorized to make health care decisions under the circumstances established in your documents and Florida law.
A living will can provide instructions concerning end-of-life medical treatment, while a HIPAA authorization can allow designated individuals to receive protected medical information.
Review Your Beneficiary Designations
Not every asset passes through a will or trust.
Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and some financial accounts may transfer directly to the beneficiary listed on the account. Because of this, your beneficiary designations should be reviewed as part of your overall estate plan.
Check your:
- 401(k) and other retirement accounts
- IRAs
- Life insurance policies
- Annuities
- Payable-on-death accounts
- Transfer-on-death accounts where applicable
Make sure the individuals listed are still the people you intend to receive those assets.
Beneficiary designations should also work together with the rest of your estate plan rather than creating an unintended result. You can learn more about how these assets are handled in our article on beneficiary designations versus a will.
Review How Your Florida Home Is Titled
For many people moving to Florida, purchasing a home is one of the largest financial changes they make.
How your home is titled can affect what happens to the property after death. Property might be owned individually, jointly with another person, or in connection with a trust or other estate planning arrangement.
Before transferring a Florida residence into a trust or changing ownership, it is important to consider Florida’s homestead laws.
Consider Florida Homestead Rules
Florida homestead law is one area where moving from another state can significantly affect estate planning.
Florida provides special protections for qualifying homestead property and also places restrictions on how homestead property can be transferred at death in certain circumstances, particularly when an owner is survived by a spouse or minor child.
Because of these rules, a provision in an older estate plan dealing with your primary residence may not produce the intended result once that residence is a Florida homestead.
Homestead issues should be considered before changing the title to your Florida home or modifying the provisions of your will or trust dealing with the property.
Review the People Named in Your Estate Plan
Moving is also a good reason to review everyone who has been given an important role in your estate plan.
This may include your:
- Personal Representative
- Trustee
- Successor Trustee
- Agent under a power of attorney
- Health Care Surrogate
- Guardians named for minor children
Ask whether these people are still available, willing, and appropriate for their roles.
Geographic distance does not always mean someone should be replaced, but it is worth considering whether the people you selected years ago are still practical choices today.
Account for Other Major Life Changes
Your move to Florida may not be the only thing that has changed since your estate plan was prepared.
An estate plan should also be reviewed following significant changes such as marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the death of a beneficiary, retirement, the purchase or sale of a business, or a major change in your financial situation.
Even without a major event, periodically reviewing your estate plan can help identify outdated provisions before they become a problem. For more guidance, see our article on how often you should update your estate plan.
Do You Need to Completely Redo Your Estate Plan?
Not necessarily.
Moving to Florida does not automatically make every document created in another state invalid. In some cases, an existing will or trust may continue to work with only limited changes. In others, replacing certain documents with Florida-specific versions may be the better approach.
The right answer depends on your existing documents, family situation, property, and estate planning goals.
Rather than assuming your old documents are fine or starting over unnecessarily, a Florida estate planning attorney can review the entire plan and identify what, if anything, should be updated.
Review Your Estate Plan After Moving to Florida
Establishing a new home in Florida is a good opportunity to make sure your estate plan has moved with you.
Review your will, trust, durable power of attorney, health care documents, beneficiary designations, property ownership, and the people you have selected to make important decisions.
Clarie Law can review an estate plan prepared in another state and help determine whether changes are appropriate under Florida law. Taking the time to review your documents now can help ensure they continue to reflect your wishes and work together as part of a coordinated Florida estate plan.
