IS MY OUT OF STATE WILL VALID in SOUTH CAROLINA?

This is the most frequently asked estate planning questions I'm asked. Understandable, since so many clients in the area are from other states.

The standard answer sounds easy, but is not as simple as it seems.

The basic rule is: If a Will would be legal and valid in the state where it was signed, it is valid in SC. So, for the most part, just because you move to SC from another state you do NOT need another Will prepared.

But here's the rub...in order to know whether an out-of-state

will is legal and valid in SC, one must know the law of that other state. In other words, asking a SC lawyer to advise you whether your NY will is valid requires the SC attorney to know New York law. That is not as easy as it seems. As an example, your Will from NJ, may be 25 years old (when the kids were still in diapers). 25 years ago NJ did not use self-proving wills. If you weren't licensed in NJ you would not know this and are not qualified to render an opinion on whether it is valid.

Another example: you ask your SC attorney to review your NC will. Now, NC, like SC, has rules to limit who can (and cannot) be a witness and a beneficiary in the same will. How will a SC attorney know the exact relationship of the testator to the witnesses? BOTTOMLINE- it's near impossible for a SC attorney to render an unqualified opinion about the validity of a NC will, or any will from any other state.

Another troublesome and related issue concerns whether you have copies, or original documents. The only real way to render an opinion on a will's validity is to view the original. Some clients presume there is no, or little difference or legal impact whether they have a copy or original. A copy of a will can be probated, but, at much greater expense than an original. You could spend hundreds, maybe thousands more, to probate a will copy from another state, but compared to the cost of having a new, updated will (for $100-200), the question of whether you should have a new will is a "no brainer".

BOTTOMLINE- it is not worth the risk of having your out-of-state will (or the copy of your will) declared defective after you die by the probate court. Your heirs could spend valuable resources straightening out an issue that could have been corrected by having a new, updated will, for a VERY reasonable fee.