In some places, like the Midwest, most people still live in the same state they were born in. They stay close to home. That’s just part of the culture. When everyone does it, it feels natural.
In other parts of the country, most people move away. For instance, studies have shown that only between 0-20% of people born in Nevada still live in their home state. At least 80% move away. They choose somewhere else to live.
In most states, including huge ones like Texas and California, between 40-60% of people stay in their home states. This is why it’s often cited that the average American stays close to home. It varies from state to state, but that is the major trend.
But what about Washington? It’s not as extreme as a state like Nevada, but most people do move away. Only 20-40% of people born in Washington opt to stay. The same is true for nearby Oregon and Idaho. While people do love the Pacific Northwest, many of them find their calling elsewhere.
Living apart from family
What this means, naturally, is that many people from Washington do not live all that close to their family. They may have gone to California or New York for work. They may live overseas. A trip home could mean hours in the car or a plane flight across the country.
When a parent passes away, this can make things very difficult. Who can handle their financial affairs? Who can take care of the house? Who has to go through all of their possessions and decide what to do with them? Who was named in the will as the executor, and how soon can they take on that job? Things get very complicated, very quickly.
Living apart can, in some cases, also lead to estate disputes between siblings. Imagine that you moved to New York years ago, but your other sibling stayed close to home. If they get 80% of the inheritance, are you going to question the validity of that will? Are you going to think that just maybe they influenced your parents to push things so heavily in their favor?
It can also lead to disputes because your sibling may only get 50%, leaving the other 50% for you. However, they may feel like they had to take care of your parents and do all of the “work” as they grew older, so they’ll want compensation for that. Do you owe them anything? Will they try to get more than their fair share?
A complicated process
As you can see, it really does get complicated when people live away from their families. Since this is so common in Washington, people need to make sure they know their legal rights.
