The US Constitution gives the citizens of the United States the right to move freely between the States. But, when you move you are not just moving your self and your personal possessions, you are also moving your place of residence and the situs of all of your personal legal documents. You are changing the way that health insurance, auto insurance and many government benefits interact with you. Being aware of the status of your legal environment is at least as important as picking out the carpet in your new physical environment.
The most commonly revised documents when people move state to state are Powers of Attorney, Medical Powers of Attorney, Advance Directives and Nomination of Guardian forms. Most of these remain valid when you move because these documents are judged for validity by the law in effect in the place and at the time that they were executed. But, local laws often give different meanings to words and phrases and may result in different outcomes. However, the most important reason to revise or re-execute these documents is that the people who you will use these with, the locals, the new folk, are not used to seeing the forms from the old state.
It is a best practice when you move to see an attorney in the new state before you move. That attorney can review your pre-existing documents, advise you about what needs to be altered and establish a timeline for accomplishing goals. Paying attention to the legal details is cheapest when done in advance and almost always much more expensive when done as an afterthought.
This article is written by an attorney at Wyatt & Mirabella, PC. Always consult an attorney before making any legal decisions. To make an appointment today for a free consultation, please click here to contact us.