EDUCATIONAL PILLAR · CROSS-STATE PORTABILITY
Most U.S. states honor a will validly executed under the law of the place of execution OR the testator's domicile. The mechanics turn on the domicile-state's choice-of-law statute and on whether the execution-state's rules were actually satisfied at the time the will was signed.
Describe an executed will. The engine runs the cross-state portability conditional against the 50-state + DC matrix and returns a verdict with statute pins. All inputs stay in your browser.
VALID under CA probate. The will was executed and remains domiciled in CA, satisfying its will-execution statute with 2 witnesses.
Conformity rule. CA's will-execution statute (UPC §2-502 pattern) requires two competent witnesses; with two attested witnesses the will is valid.
Informational only — not legal advice. Consult an estate-planning attorney admitted in your state.
Uniform Probate Code §2-506 provides the model choice-of-law rule. Adopted (with state-specific variations) by nearly all U.S. jurisdictions, the rule provides that a written will is valid if its execution complies with any of three regimes:
UPC §2-506 makes will portability remarkably forgiving — most validly-executed wills travel. The cases where portability fails are:
The specific statutory language varies:
Each state's specific language lives on its state page.
Re-executing the will under the current domicile-state's law is the conservative path. Cost is typically $200–$500 with an estate-planning attorney or $35–$179 with online DIY services. The conservative re-execution forecloses any choice-of-law dispute at probate.
Almost always, but with two main caveats: (1) the will must have been valid where executed, and (2) the domicile state at death must honor out-of-state wills under its choice-of-law rule. UPC §2-506 is the model rule and nearly every state has adopted some form of it; specific carve-outs apply for holographic and electronic wills.
This is the leading edge case. The will was validly executed where signed, but the domicile-state may have an explicit carve-out against admitting out-of-state holographic wills (Florida's §732.502(2) is a notable example). Run the decoder; if it returns UNCERTAIN, re-executing under the new domicile-state's law is the conservative path.
It's unsettled. Most states' choice-of-law statutes were written before electronic wills existed. A few adopting states explicitly address out-of-state e-wills; most do not. The decoder will flag this as UNCERTAIN for cross-state e-will scenarios where the domicile state has no e-will framework.
Uniform Probate Code §2-506 is the model choice-of-law rule for wills. It provides that a written will is valid if its execution complies with the local law of (a) the place of execution, (b) the testator's domicile/abode/nationality at the time of execution, or (c) the testator's domicile/abode/nationality at the time of death. Adopted in some form by nearly every U.S. state.
Not always necessary, but it's the conservative path when (1) you executed a holographic will, (2) you executed an electronic will, (3) execution was under COVID emergency rules that have now expired, or (4) you're not sure your old will was validly executed where signed. A new will costs $35-179 online or $200-500 with an attorney.