Updating Addresses in Estate Planning Documents

As an Estate Planning Lawyer in Jacksonville Florida, I am often asked about issues dealing with addresses in Florida Wills, Florida Trusts, Florida Living Wills, Florida Durable Powers of Attorney, and other documents.

Generally the address and phone number in these documents is to help locate or contract the person. In some cases they can be used to help distinguish one John Doe from the next. The Connecticut Estate Planning Blog had an example of when it might be important to update the address, but as the site states, this would only happen on a law school exam.

The only possible reason why such a move would prompt a legitimate will amendment is if the move created an identification problem. For instance, in the above example, suppose the client disinherited his other brother, also named Billy Bob (I don’t think I’ve ever seen two brothers with the same name), out of his will, but then that brother moves to Glastonbury after the other Billy Bob moved from Glastonbury to Wethersfield. Now the will seems to identify someone who the client didn’t intend to include as a beneficiary of his will.

Please note that the above facts only tend to arise in law school exams, not real life. Suffice it to say that address changes do not require will changes unless there are extraordinary circumstances.

If you are unsure about your Florida estate planning documents, you should have them reviewed by a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer.

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