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moonunit0103 wrote:

Hi,

I am living in Ormoc City, Leyte, and recently married. I changed my beneficiaries, but own a house, cars, boats, and other toys in Virginia. Would a new will in the Philippines be recognized in Virginia, or do I need to have a new will made upon return to Virginia?

There are requirements of every US state for a Will to be valid and those can change. The one made in the Philippines might not be recognized as valid in the state of Virginia. If you also own properties in the Philippines, I think the best way is to have a Will in each country where the properties are located. That process would respect the succession of the properties with the 2 jurisdictions involved according to their corresponding laws including estate taxes. Just make sure there´s a clause made stating  the newer (US) Will does not replace the Philippine Will. So the 2 works independently without invalidating the other. You can also make only one but make sure the properties in each country are specifically mentioned and the laws in each country followed with regards to property succession.

robal

(Australia) I asked my Australian Lawyer about this the other day, as with America, in Australia each state has the legislation of Will's.  My lawyer said that it is standard practice in Australia and around most of the world that my Will, no matter which state  or country it is made in is recognised by the other states, and also other countries. 

One thing about Will's is that it depend's on where you die, i.e. if i was traveling to Europe and died there it would be there legal system that would be followed.  Hence the first paragraph is applicable.

He also went on to state that a Will only applies on where the assets are held.

Hence the first paragraph comes into play and is recogonised (Respected) by other states/countries.  Hence there was no need for me to make a Will in the Philippines.

Of course, after I have said all that, the best thing for your peace of mind would be to consult your lawyer.

My will is in the US because most of my property is located there. No matter where I die, the provisions in the will are carried out by the executor in the US. As part of the will instructions, I have made provisions for my Filipina GF.  You can have a beneficiary anywhere in the world - they just need her name, place and date of birth, passport or ID, contact info, etc.

I would NOT rely on a Philippine will to manage and execute instructions related to any of my US assets.

Legal questions should be addressed to an attorney.

The property is in the US, so it needs to be an attorney in the state where the property is located.

Someone who is not a licensed attorney in that state will not be able to advise you appropriately.

This is especially true if there is the possibility that someone might contest the will.

Like you,  changed beneficiaries on some things. I made everything that I could joint with survivor-ship. Everything with a title was converted to cash. If I did still have some things like real property, then I would do some research, make my own will and have it notarized by the embassy. There are also online services for legitimate US notarization. I have used Filipino attorneys to notarize US real estate documents and some other documents that were accepted by US federal agencies. For a will I think I want to use the other options because I will not be around to fix it if it runs into a snag.

Again, this is just for me and my situation, which is simpler than yours. I do not think I would move without talking to that attorney.