I’m Retired and Moved to South Carolina from Another State. Do I Need to Update Legal Documents?

Although you may not need to update all of your legal documents, it is a good idea to have a local attorney review them. Shelbourne Law is happy to review them with you at no charge. To be sure that there won’t be unforeseen complications, it would be a good idea to review the following:

Wills and trusts: South Carolina has a full faith and credit act which means that if your Will was valid in the state where you made it, it would be valid here. There are some differences in state laws about how provisions in wills and trusts are handled. The expectations for executors and personal representatives can differ. For instance, South Carolina requires specific language in the Will for a Notary to witness and make the Will “self-attesting” which means you do not need to have the witnesses testify as to the Will’s authenticity.

Power of attorney: There can be some differences in requirements of state law, so you might want to double-check that it is valid, or appoint someone in South Carolina. If you want to have the Power of Attorney work even if you are incapacitated, there needs to be specific language that addresses that.

Healthcare directives: South Carolina has a specific Healthcare Power of Attorney that should be used.

A move to a new state is a good time to review estate planning documents, including ensuring all names and numbers for beneficiaries are in order. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

If you need an attorney to review your legal documents to make sure they fully comply with South Carolina’s requirements, Shelbourne Law can help make that update easy and comprehensive. To get started with an update, call us at 843-871-2210 or complete the contact form on our website and we will contact you.