My Final Will, Durable POA, Living Will, and Health Care Rep documents are all from another state.

It is ALWAYS a good idea to run those written-under-another-jurisdiction's Estate Planning documents past a Virginia-licensed attorney proficient in this area. For example, if your 'self-proving' Will doesn't have the Virginia-required 'bells and whistles' then your Executor will HAVE to file for a hearing to probate the Will- not a hard situation, but certainly not one that you want to burden your loved ones' with- most Hospitals prefer to have a "Living Will" (which in Virginia is called an Advance Medical Directive) that is current (i.e., within the past 1 to 2 years at most). You've listed BOTH a durable and non-durable power of attorney as being in your topics- that would be rather unusual. You should be able to find an attorney who, for a very modest fee, will look over your 'old' documents, and be willing to redraft them into Virginia-compliant documents.

It is always a good idea to have your Estate Planning and Incapacity Planning documents reviewed every few years, regardless of whether you have moved to or from another state. However, moving to a new state is a reason to have your documents reviewed even sooner. Doctors and hospitals prefer to have an Advance Medical Directive that is current (i.e., within the past 1 to 2 years at most). Likewise many financial institutions won't accept a Power of Attorney that is more than 1 or 2 years old. Just as a car needs regular maintenance, your estate planning documents need to be updated from time to time. Changes to the law and significant events in your life could alter the way that you originally meant to apportion assets in your estate planning documents. The only way to ensure that your estate plan truly reflects who you are, what you care about, and what you have today is to have your documents reviewed and updated as needed. Your question states that you have a Will, but does not mention a living trust. It is important for you to know that a Will puts your estate through the nightmare of probate. Probate requires frustrating intrusion by the court, lawyers, and the public into a very emotional, private, family time. A judge may have to determine who is a legitimate creditor, and may have to rule on distributions to children and other beneficiaries. Your estate may have to hire a lawyer to shepherd the executor through the legal maze. With a Will, all of your affairs will become public knowledge. The contents of your will would be on file in the courthouse, for all to read and wills are read. They are read by salesmen, by newspaper reporters, and by the morbidly curious, all seeking in one way or another to take advantage of the publicity required by the probate process. Probate also takes time. Unless your executor is absolutely certain that there are no debts owed by the estate (a rare occurrence, since almost everyone leaves some small debts behind) and is to accept personal responsibility for your debts, the Virginia probate law mandates that your assets not be distributed for one year after you die, to allow creditors time to petition the court for full payment. Any assets distributed before that time come with a heavy cost for your executor he or she is personally liable for the repayment of all of this amount, even if the beneficiaries to whom distribution is made have already spent the amount distributed. Thus, your executor will likely be very hesitant to distribute before all debts and taxes are paid. The court, not your family, will supervise and authorize the settling of all debts and the payment of inheritances, in its time and with its delays. The probate process is also very expensive – it takes from five to eight percent of your family estate out of the hands of your beneficiaries and gives it to the courts and other outside individuals. Planning with a trust can save the average American family about $30,000 in probate fees, attorney fees, and court costs alone, according to a national study by the AARP. The up-front cost of a living trust is only slightly higher than a will, but the savings in the end always make the initial expense more than worthwhile. Lastly, you don’t state how old you are. If you are over 65, you should consider not just a regular revocable living trust, which protects your assets from probate, but also the Living Trust Plus™ Asset Protection Trust, which functions very similarly to a revocable living trust and maintains much of the flexibility of a revocable living trust, but protects your assets from the expenses and difficulties of probate PLUS lawsuits and a multitude of other financial risks during your lifetime, PLUS the expenses of long-term care. Even though the Living Trust Plus™ is “irrevocable,” you still retain a very high degree of control over your trust while you're alive. For more information about either type of trust, please visit one of the links below.

Dear Madam or Sir in Virginia: No. Remember, if you have accounts that are in the name of "You & Joe, Joint tenants with right of survivorship, (JTWROS)", those accounts pass to the joint owner regardless of what it says in your Will. Good Luck Leonard Feld

As my colleagues have suggested, its always best to have estate planning instruments reviewed and updated periodically. When there is an interstate relocation, its even more advisable. Having said that you should understand that most states will honor documents (esp a Will) regardless of where it was drafted or executed, although there may be some additional procedural steps to be taken for other end of live documents. Also, you refer to your Will as "final". A Will, as we say in law, "walks with the testator"--that is, it is not enforceable or of any practical value until the testator passes; so effectively you are free to destroy, amend by codicil or supplant entirely by a new Will up to your dying day. (Just a little FYI). Good luck.