Don’t Ignore the Importance of Updating an Estate When Moving
Death and divorce are the only things that can surpass moving when it comes to life’s most stressful events. Anyone who’s ever relocated may agree, especially considering all of the unknowns, expenses, stress, and sheer work that can go into creating a new home in a different city.
Whether you’re moving to Texas, out of Texas, or anywhere else, updating your estate plan probably isn’t one of your top priorities. Depending on the details of your relocation, that could be a mistake.
Here’s why, with an insightful guide discussing:
- When to Update Your Estate Plan After a Move
- 7 Questions to Ask When Updating Your Estate Plan After Moving
- 1. Does my will comply with the laws in my new home state?
- 2. Are my healthcare directives valid in the new home state?
- 3. Do my executors, trustees, and/or agents reside in the new state?
- 4. Are my beneficiary designations up to date?
- 5. Have my assets changed due to the move?
- 6. How could the new state’s tax laws impact my estate plan?
- 7. Will my current trusts be recognized in my new home state?
- What to Review & Consider Updating in an Estate Plan After Moving
- How Often Should You Update Your Estate Plan?
- What Happens If You Don’t Update Your Estate Plan After Moving?
- What You Need When It’s Time to Update Your Estate Plan: 5 Key Resources
- A Simpler, More Effective Way to Update Your Estate Plan
This blueprint on how, when, and why to update estate plans when moving can get you up to speed on the essentials in less than ~4 minutes.
To explore more on estate planning and probate in Texas, check out our:
- Guide on the Grounds for Challenging a Will in Texas
- Blueprint for Family Business Estate Planning
- Guide to Blended Family Estate Planning
- Small Business Guide to Texas Trusts.
For specific answers related to your circumstances and needs, simply contact TAW Law Texas for a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation.
When to Update Your Estate Plan After a Move
Not every move or relocation will require an update to an estate plan. The pivotal factor here in whether or not you’ll need to update your estate plan when moving can be whether or not your relocation will take you across state lines.
That’s because:
- State laws can vary when it comes to wills, trusts, healthcare directives, powers of attorney, and other estate planning devices. When you move from one state to another, some of these devices — or the provisions within them — may become invalid or less effective due to differences in state statutes.
- Tax implications can differ by state too, particularly when estate, inheritance, and income taxes are involved. With that, you could be facing unexpected tax liabilities or be able to leverage new tax savings opportunities.
Taking a fresh look at your estate plan before you’re set up in a new home state can be an ideal way to serve your best interests. However, updating an estate plan after a move can be sensible too, especially if your assets may change during the relocation.
Keep in mind that you may still want to review and update your estate plan when you’re moving within a state, regardless of whether that involves relocating within the same city. Specifically, it can still be prudent to revise your estate plan if these types of moves also involve:
- A marriage or divorce
- Having new children
- The death of a loved one
- The acquisition of major new assets
In these cases, you may want to make special plans, inclusions, or exclusions that better reflect changing relationships without leaving out any of your current assets.
7 Questions to Ask When Updating Your Estate Plan After Moving
Updating an estate plan can seem like a complicated or overwhelming endeavor, particularly for those who don’t engage in it routinely. To dive in with more purpose, confidence, and direction, here are some thoughtful questions to ask yourself. Your answers to these questions can help you start to determine how to move forward and what types of updates your estate plan may require.
1. Does my will comply with the laws in my new home state?
State laws can have different and very specific requirements for wills, with distinct rules regarding factors like (and not limited to):
- Handwritten wills
- Witnesses for wills
- Notarizing wills
- Acceptable (and prohibited) language and provision for wills.
If your move is going to put your new home in a different state than the one where you created your will, you may need to make some changes so that your will continues to:
- Reflect your wishes.
- Be valid and enforceable in the new state.
- Provide reliable peace of mind in the next chapters of life.
2. Are my healthcare directives valid in the new home state?
Powers of attorney are another type of estate planning device governed by state law. So, relocating to a new state could render certain terms or entire health care directives unenforceable if state laws differ and your estate plan never gets updated after a bigger move.
If that happens:
- Medical providers may not honor your wishes in critical situations.
- Your loved ones could face complications trying to get you the treatment or care you would have wanted.
- Parties who don’t know you — instead of your loved ones — may be required to make life-or-death decisions on your behalf.
3. Do my executors, trustees, and/or agents reside in the new state?
Your executor, trustees, and agents can be indispensable in administering your estate plan. As such, their location can impact their ability to fulfill their roles effectively, and:
- Those who are more local may be more responsive and/or more familiar with local processes and resources.
- Local representatives often have an easier time managing responsibilities, attending court proceedings, and/or handling the matters at hand efficiently. That can be especially true when multiple parties, like attorneys, accountants, and executors, need to coordinate efforts.
- Some states can impose additional restrictions on out-of-state representatives. In some cases, that can mean an out-of-state executor has to appoint a local agent, potentially complicating the process.
Reviewing and possibly updating these roles can head off any potential obstacles your chosen representatives may face later, setting them up for success, streamlining the process, and best serving your beneficiaries.
4. Are my beneficiary designations up to date?
Think about your beneficiary designations in your will and:
- Trusts
- Retirement accounts
- Life insurance policies
- Payable-on-death accounts
Whoever you name as beneficiaries in these areas may need to change when you move to a new state. Alternatively, you may need to revise how you’ve named a beneficiary in your estate plan, updating specific provisions or devices so:
- Your chosen beneficiaries will still be legally entitled to the assets you want them to have later.
- There are optimal chances that assets can seamlessly transfer to the designated heirs, rather than having to pass through a protracted probate process.
5. Have my assets changed due to the move?
Relocating can involve the sale, acquisition, and/or transfer of real estate and/or other property. That can necessitate estate plan updates to remove assets you no longer own and include newer assets that weren’t previously mentioned in your estate plan. With that:
- The value of your estate may change.
- Your tax obligations may also be different.
- It may be time to consider revising specific aspects of your estate plan, designate new beneficiaries, and/or set up new devices, like certain types of trusts.
Monitoring any changes to your assets as you move can help you recognize when it may be time to update your estate plan, so it accurately reflects your current holdings.
6. How could the new state’s tax laws impact my estate plan?
Tax laws are not identical from one state to the next. In fact, depending on where you’re moving to, you could be in for a whole new world of tax laws — and that new tax environment could:
- Come with all new rules, rates, and restrictions
- Impact income, estate, and/or inheritance taxes
- Offer certain tax advantages for some trusts or retirement accounts
- Affect your plans for the distribution of your assets.
Ignoring these tax differences may result in unexpected liabilities for your estate or reduce the inheritance your beneficiaries receive. That’s why it’s so crucial to:
- Understanding how your potential tax liabilities may shift when you move.
- Address these issues, so your plan remains tax-efficient and aligned with your overall goals.
7. Will my current trusts be recognized in my new home state?
Like tax laws, trust laws can vary significantly between states, potentially affecting the validity or administration of any trusts associated with your estate plan. That could mean that moving from one state to another requires:
- Specific revisions to trust documents
- The addition or removal of specific trust provisions
- All new reporting obligations.
Additionally, state trust laws could impose different tax obligations or alter the way certain assets are treated or distributed.
To ensure your trusts remain fully effective and capable of fulfilling their intended purpose, it’s crucial to review trust documents in light of the laws in a new home state. That can be integral to avoiding unnecessary legal complications and ensuring your beneficiaries receive their inheritance as planned.
What to Review & Consider Updating in an Estate Plan After Moving
If you think your recent or next move could affect your assets or expose you to new state laws, it’s better to be safe than sorry and make a point to review your current estate plan. As you do, here are the crucial items to go over:
- Your Will: Review all provisions and beneficiaries within the context of the new state’s laws and requirements. Update the assets, terms, and beneficiary designations, as needed.
- Trust Documents: Take a fresh look at your trusts, how they are set up, the assets they hold, and how your trusts are administered. A new move could mean it’s time to adjust specific trust provisions, terminate certain trusts, and/or set up brand-new ones.
- Powers of Attorney: Revisit financial and legal powers of attorney to ensure they’re valid and enforceable in the new state.
- Other items: Healthcare directives, property titles, and life insurance policies are just some of the other items that may also be important to review when you’re updating an estate plan after moving.
You don’t have to undertake this alone. Working with an experienced estate planning attorney in your new state can help you successfully navigate the process, make the appropriate changes, and keep your estate plan solid and working as intended.
How Often Should You Update Your Estate Plan?
Moving may not be the only time to consider updating your estate plan. In fact, as a rule of thumb, it’s generally advisable to review your estate plan:
- Every 3 to 5 years: Even if your life is relatively the same as when you set up or updated your estate plan 3 to 5 years ago, state and federal laws — including tax laws — may have changed. That could give you some new things to consider with regard to your estate plan.
- After significant life events: These events can include (and aren’t limited to) getting married or divorced, having or adopting children, or acquiring or selling major assets.
Staying proactive can keep your estate plan current, so it comprehensively and reliably preserves your wishes and your legacy.
What Happens If You Don’t Update Your Estate Plan After Moving?
If you overlook estate plan updates when you move, you could be setting the stage for more challenges, complications, and conflicts later. That could result in:
- Invalid or unenforceable documents if state-specific requirements for wills, healthcare directives, and powers of attorney differ.
- Unintended tax consequences if your estate plan overlooks new tax obligations or opportunities.
- Family disputes, legal battles, and far more stress for loved ones if a dated estate plan sparks confusion over questionable provisions.
To put that in perspective in a more personal way, here’s a thought experiment to consider.
Example: You moved from California to Texas when you remarried, but you didn’t update your estate plan. Your will, drafted under California law, references assets you no longer own because you sold your home, and it leaves out new assets, including the new home you bought in Bastrop County. If you suddenly pass away, some assets may pass under the terms of the will while others are not accounted for. Additionally, you may have given specific gifts to individuals that no longer exist or your estate can no longer afford. All of that could come with hefty costs and unnecessary stress for your heirs while possibly leaving out loved ones you would have wanted to take care of, like step-children.
These situations can be avoided by keeping your estate plan up to date and making a plan for routine reviews going forward.
What You Need When It’s Time to Update Your Estate Plan: 5 Key Resources
To update your estate plan efficiently, here are some items and resources that can facilitate the process:
- Your current estate planning documents, like your will, trust documents, healthcare directives, and power of attorney paperwork
- A list of your assets, detailing all properties, accounts, and valuable possessions you own and, ideally, listing anything you recently got rid of
- Beneficiary designations, listing who you have named as the “pay-on-death” or “transfer-on-death” beneficiary on your retirement accounts, insurance policies, and other assets
- Titles and deeds, as the properties associated with these documents may need to be reviewed or included in an estate plan differently
- An estate planning attorney, who can walk you through state-specific updates and your options while taking the lead to execute any revisions in full compliance with all applicable laws.
Moving can be an exciting next chapter. It’s also a critical time to revisit your estate plan. If you do, you can protect what matters most no matter where life takes you.
A Simpler, More Effective Way to Update Your Estate Plan
Whenever you’re involved in estate planning, an experienced attorney can support and guide you through the process. That legal counsel can be critical to understanding differences in the law, what your options are, and how to protect your wishes and your legacy as your life circumstances evolve.
To consult with experienced estate planning and probate attorneys in Austin, Texas, contact TAW Law Texas.
Email us or call 512-827-9212 to talk to a trusted
estate planning attorney in Austin now.
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Todd A. Wilson
Todd A. Wilson has been practicing law since 2007, with the aim of educating all strata of society and sharing crucial insights about the importance of estate planning, probate, and more.
The Law Office of Todd A. Wilson (also known as TAW Law TX) offers affordable estate planning and probate services.
The post Do I Need to Update My Estate Plan When I Move? first appeared on Law Office of Todd A. Wilson.