Did you just move to Texas

The State of Texas has tens of thousands of new arrivals each year, mainly from California and the Midwest.  With all the new arrivals, I receive a lot of questions regarding their current out-of-state estate plan. Is it valid or not?  I have been hearing that some attorneys will tell these new arrivals that they must update their Wills and Trusts as they will not be valid in Texas.  That is not accurate.  Properly executed Trusts and Wills are valid state to state.  Your current estate may be sufficient or just need a few adjustments. However, if you know you are staying here permanently, then I would recommend updating your estate docs to be Texas specific.  I would also recommend new Powers of Attorney (Medical and Financial).  The Trust in most cases will be fine except if you are moving your Homestead property into such Trust; there is a clause in Texas trusts that will need to be incorporated into your current Trust. This could be done with an easy amendment.   Therefore, if you have just moved to the GREAT State of Texas, it is important to have a trained estate planning attorney discuss your needs and what adjustments, if any, need to be made. 

John S. Cosenza, Attorney