A: Probably not. If your wills were valid when and where they were signed, then Florida will recognize them as valid. If your wills were prepared by an attorney and signed under his or her supervision, then they most likely are valid in Florida. However, there are a number of reasons that you may want to consider signing new Florida wills or at least a codicil (amendments) to your wills, in addition to documenting your new domicile to limit tax challenges.

Even a valid will must be “proved” to be the decedent’s last will before it is admitted to probate. (Yes, I know this is a family newspaper and that probate is a dirty word. I apologize.) While proving a will used to require the personal appearance of one or more of the witnesses, the process has been streamlined in all jurisdictions and now can be accomplished by an affidavit signed during the decedent’s lifetime. You should review your will to make sure that it has such a self-proving affidavit.

As far as substantive reasons for considering new wills, your former state may not have allowed a surviving spouse to serve as a sole trustee of a trust for his or her benefit. Florida permits this. If your wills create trusts for the survivor of you and your wife and require a cotrustee, you may want to take advantage of the more favorable Florida law so that the survivor will not have to ask the permission of your children before he or she uses trust assets.

Another aspect of Florida law that must be considered is our requirement that a personal representative (executor) of an estate be a Florida resident (or a blood relative, a spouse, or the spouse of a blood relative). Because of this rule, a former business associate, for example, would not qualify to act as personal representative unless her or she were a Florida resident. Even some in-laws are “outlaws” under this rule. Assuming he is not a Florida resident, your brother-in-law would qualify if he is your sister’s husband (spouse of a blood relative). He would not qualify if he is your wife’s brother (the blood relative of your spouse is not the same as the spouse of a blood relative).

But one of the most important reasons you may need new Wills involves your home in Florida. As Floridians, your home has special status as your “homestead”. This not only provides certain ad valorem property tax advantages, it also limits the manner in which you can dispose of the property upon your death. If the homestead is in the name of only you or your wife, in the absence of a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement the survivor of you is the only person to whom the property can be left. And that is only if you have no minor children.

If you have minor children, under Florida law the survivor will receive a life estate in the property and your descendants (adult and minor) will receive the remainder interest. That means that the survivor will have the right to live in the property during his or her lifetime, but would need the permission of your descendants to sell. This could complicate things considerably. Fortunately, there are effective ways to deal with the complexities of our homestead rules. If your home is in the name of only one of you and you do not want the default rules to apply, consult an attorney immediately.

Paul E. Roman is a partner in the Estates & Trust Practice Group at the law firm of Hodgson Russ LLP in Boca Raton. He practices in the areas of wills, trusts, and estates, fiduciary tax planning, and probate litigation, and may be reached at proman@hodgsonruss.com. The above Question & Answer is provided for general information purposes only and should not be considered as legal advice as to any specific matter.