Is a will done in another state valid in Florida?
Florida accepts any will as valid if it is valid under the law of the state in which it was executed. If your will was valid in your previous state, it will be valid in Florida too. Military wills are always valid if they follow federal law, regardless of the state you live in
Attorney Tom Olsen: John, you are on News 96.5, go ahead.
John: Hi Tom, thank you for taking my call. I have a current will if something were to happen to me, I want to know if it's legal because it was made by a JAG officer in the military, it's from a different State. I was a resident of a different State, I now live in Florida. Before I can get it refreshed--
Attorney Tom Olsen: John, the Florida law says that if your will was done valid when you did it in another State, it is going to be valid here in the State of Florida even if it does not meet our requirements. John, what are the requirements to make a valid will here in the State of Florida? They'd be three things. Number one, to be in writing. Number two, you signed it. Number three, you have at least two witnesses to it. I bet if we looked at your will, it probably meets all those requirements, you signed it in writing, got two witnesses. John, I'm comfortable with what you got.
John: Okay. I just need to change some things on it, so I do need to refresh it.
Attorney Tom Olsen: John, when somebody comes to me and says, "I want to change my will," it is just as easy or easier for me to start from scratch, throw out the old ones, do a new one. John, is not like you're going to do a courtesy to this will. The attorney is going to throw it out and start from scratch. John, we'd love to help you with that. John, when we do wills for people, we do three other related documents. We do a living will, which is a pull the plug, don't keep you alive by machines.
We do a healthcare advance directive where you're appointing somebody to decide where doctors will have some ramifications for you. We do a durable power of attorney for financial affairs. John, all of those are important, and when we're talking about those John, we're also going to take it to the next level and talk to you about avoiding probate. How to make things simple, easy, inexpensive for your children when you pass away. John, we do all that with a free initial counsel, if you call the Olsen Law Group in Orlando next week, we'd love to help you.
John: Thank you.
Attorney Tom Olsen: All right John, bye-bye.