Living Wills and Multiple State Residences
If you regularly spend your time in more than one
state for personal reasons or for business, you should consider making sure
that your living will or power of attorney for healthcare will be honored in
both states. Most states will accept living wills from other states as long as
the document complies with their own established laws.
However,
complications can result when states:
- Require that you use their statutory forms.
- Are very specific about which types
of advance directives their laws will recognize.
- Require that certain conditions be
met before your instructions are honored.
- Will not recognize documents that do
not include the signature of the person who is to make decisions for you.
There are a
few steps you can take to assure that your wishes are followed from state to
state:
- Review your current documents to
make sure they comply with each state’s laws.
- Execute separate documents for each
state where you frequently spend time.
- Name the same person as your
representative in every state's documents.
Developing an adequate estate planning strategy for
split residency can save you many hardships in the future and give you the
peace of mind you deserve.
Tags:
estate planning
estate plan
will
living will
power of attorney for health care
retirement
estate planning strategy
executor
multiple state residences
