Can my immigration status alter my rights to inherit or devise a will in Florida?
Florida has people from all over the world and South Florida even more so than the rest of the country. Because of that, immigration problems are even more common than most of the United States. One question I get all the time as an experienced Palm Beach Probate attorney is can I still inherit and devise property despite immigration concerns. Rest easy my friend and read up.
- Creating a will does not require valid immigration status. You simply never have to prove citizenship when you are executing your will, it never comes up. You will have to prove who you are via valid Identification but it need not be a social security number. Wills are filed in the court and become public record so it may shock you to learn that social security numbers and A numbers are not there but again to provide privacy these should not in your will, if they are get that taken care of as soon as possible.
- Same with creating a trust.
- Inheriting is similarly not effected by your citizenship. Think about it, what if the testator wanted to leave property to a citizen of another country, surely it would be unfair to say that you can only devise property to US citizens! This is not to say that the government is not looking — I am sure Mr. and Mrs. Snowden will not have a simple time giving their son their estate but overall your immigration status should not matter.
- So whether you came in without documentation, your visa expired or maybe you applied for refugee status and were denied, either way your Florida will is not invalidated based on this and furthermore your rights to inherit are not less than any other person in this Country.
Some things even an experienced Palm Beach Probate Attorney say for sure:
- Relatives may dispute your inheritance and raise your immigration status and although this is not a valid argument, it may shine some light on you and this is something to consider.
- I am not an immigration specialist and do not mean this to be considered legal or immigration advice, its not.
- If you have to be a Personal Representative you will have to hire an attorney and its always best to be candid with them about any issues such as these.