If I Have Assets in More Than One State, Do I Need More Than One Will?
Video Summary
If I have assets in more than one state do I need more than one will? The answer to that is no, no, no. You need to have one will and it says that I devise all my real and personal property wherever it is situated to, and then you say who you leave it to. And so if the will is valid in the state where you execute it, then you can then use it to transfer or have the property probated in another state. So you have one will and the other states will honor that will if it’s honored in the state where it’s executed.
There is one exception is if you have what they call a holographic will which is a hand-written will, some states allow that to be entered. Florida requires all wills have at least two witnesses. So the will must have two witnesses to be recognized by Florida. But you only have one will and that covers all your asset no matter where they’re situated.
Now you run into a problem if you have property outside the United States, particularly in Europe or some of the other countries and that we have the English common law and these other states are code states, like in France they have the Napoleonic code, they might have forced inheritance agreements. And so you need to have that addressed. And then whenever people from England or Europe come to see me here in Florida, I prepare a will for U.S. assets only that complies with Florida law because it is a nightmare trying to understand what the laws are of a foreign country in order to have them apply to the Florida assets. And then you have other problems as far as community property states which we have seven of those are all west of the Mississippi, and that can affect who inherits your property and who’s entitled to the property. I’m not a community property expert but I know just enough to know that I don’t know.
So but if you’re a Florida resident you only need to have one will for wherever your assets are situated throughout the United States. And if you have property in a foreign country I suggest that we have an attorney or a notaire in that particular country prepare an inheritance agreement so you know who will receive it whenever you pass away.
So if you have any questions about this, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
Jaleh Piran-Vesseh – What Areas of Law do you Practice?
Video Summary
Hi, my name is Jaleh Piran-Vesseh, and I am an Associate Attorney here at the Law Firm of Waller and Mitchell. I have been here for two years as an Associate Attorney and the areas of law that I practice are predominantly Foreclosure Litigation, both Plaintiffs and Defense work, Guardianship Administration, Elder Law, Medicaid Planning, and Real Estate Litigation.
Jaleh Piran-Vesseh – What Legal Training do you have?
Video Summary
The legal training that I have stems from my time at Stetson University College of Law, where I graduated with a Juris Doctorate degree. I also have legal training in the fields of Foreclosure Defense, specifically, as well as Elder Law in Medicaid planning, and also in the Administration of Guardianship’s.
Jaleh Piran-Vesseh – What made you want to be a Lawyer?
Video Summary
Oftentimes, clients will ask me, “What made you want to be a lawyer?” and I hold that very dear to my heart, because for me, as a small child, I always knew that I wanted to help people. From an early age, I decided that being a Lawyer was the best possible way for me to accomplish this goal.
And so, the best part for me of being an Attorney is seeing the impact that I am able to make on my clients’ lives in a positive way, and sometimes, in not positive situations that they’re unfortunately in, tends to be the best part of being a Lawyer and the reason why I decided to get into this field, practice.
Jaleh Piran-Vesseh – What are some Highlights of your Career?
Video Summary
The biggest highlight of my career thus far was assisting one of our elderly clients with saving her home. This particular individual was in her SC. She had been married for many, many years. I think almost 40 years, to be exact, and her husband had recently passed away.
In the situation, her husband was the one, their entire marriage who took care of the finances, and the bills, and made sure that everything was taken care of. So, this woman, she came to me, and she was being foreclosed on, and she was completely distraught and didn’t know which way to turn, having lost her husband and also now facing losing her home.
So, this woman, I was able to successfully modify her loan, save her home, have the foreclosure lawsuit dismissed, and she is still in her home to this day, the home that she has owned now more than 40 years. So that was probably the biggest highlight of my career, and seeing the biggest difference that I made in her life, because she was so grateful, and every time she came in, she gave me a hug, and she was just over the moon that we were able to do that for her. That was definitely the biggest highlight of my career thus far.