Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

Re: Will validity

The will should be valid, but the estate plan may need reworking after moving to another state, particularly if you own property out of the state to which you are moving.

Re: Will validity

Yes, I agree with my colleague, with a little comment: You asked if the will is valid. IF it was SIGNED properly in the original State (a big IF, because it has to be signed with the right number of witnesses, who probably have to be physically present all at the same time when the will is signed, and those kinds of rules) then the will is valid anywhere in the U.S., no matter how many times you move. HOWEVER, that is under a special rule and if you change your will at all, then it had better comply with your new State where you live. You also need to be quite certain that the will WAS properly signed originally, under the rules of the old State.

A trap can be (for example) if you live in Pennsylvania and go to New York to a New York lawyer to have a will done. If the will does not comply with Pennsylvania procedures, the fact that it was done right under New York rules won't save you, because you don't actually live in N.Y.

So the rule only works if you LIVED in the State where the will was done. Then if it was done right in the State where you live, its validity will follow you anywhere in the U.S., even if you move through all 50 States one after another.

But my colleague raises a very important point I would have forgotten to mention: The SUBSTANCE of the will will be interpreted according to the laws of the State where you reside at your death.

Therefore the will will be valid after you move. But you may end up with surprising results you did not expect, if the laws of your new State put a different interpretation or spin on things than the old State did. Frankly, most of these concepts are all the same in every State except Louisiana (which is based on French law). However, you cannot be absolutely sure unless you have a lawyer in your new state who is familiar with wills take a look at your will. Would I gamble that the laws are essentially the same? I might, and it would not be very risky for most people who are not millionaires. But I would know and clearly understand that I was gambling by assuming that the SUBSTANCE of my will would be interpreted the same way in the new State as in my old State. The risk is smallest with a very standard, typical will, and greater if there is anything at all unusual about your will. The risk is also substantially greater if your will governs events for more than 1 generation away from your death, because then you can have problems with the dreaded Rule against Perpetuities, which reduces most law students to tears.