Today many people move around for various reasons, but there are questions that might be raised in the process of figuring out how to establish a personal representative for your estate plan for someone who lives in a different state. In general, appointing a non-resident as your personal representative should not be an issue. It is typically not even that unusual anymore.
However, certain qualifications must be met in order for a person to serve as a personal representative, whether or not they lived within the state or outside of the state. This includes that they are not incapacitated, have never been convicted of a felony, are at least 18 years old, and not a person that the court might classify as unsuitable.
In most cases, for a person to serve as a traditional representative for your estate, they must meet these qualifications. In some states, a non-resident might also have to appoint a resident agent to process notices and handle documents, in addition to accepting service.
Make sure that if you have recently been appointed as a representative or are thinking about appointing someone outside of state, that you can sit down with your own estate planning lawyer to talk about the pros and cons of this approach.
