There Is No Absolute Power of Attorney

There is a famous saying that "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."  A power of attorney is a written grant to an agent to exercise certain rights of the grantor.  The New York form contains warnings that should be read in their entirety.  There is a  catch-all provision in the power of attorney form in New York that can be checked to give all of the possible powers to the agent.   However, even if this catch-all provision is checked, there are limits on the power of attorney.  A power of attorney cannot be used to change a will or to make health care decisions for the grantor.  (A health care proxy is necessary for health decisions).  A power of attorney has to be used for the benefit of the person giving it.  A power of attorney does not remain in force if it is revoked by the grantor, or when the grantor dies.#

It is 9 a.m., do you know who your beneficiaries are?

I remember a television public service announcement  that showed a nighttime scene of a city street and an announcer saying, "It is 10 p.m., do you know where your children are?"  I imagine the parents who saw it asking themselves that question and being concerned if they didn't know the answer.   Here is another question, it is 9 a.m., do you know who your beneficiaries are?  These days people have jointly held assets including accounts payable on death, IRAs payable on death, annuities payable on death, coops that are jointly owned, or jointly owned homes.  It is important to know that general terms in a Will or a Trust do not override the specific joint ownership or beneficiary designations in these documents.  If left as is, these items are inherited "by operation of law" regardless of the language of a Will or a Trust.  These are also known as non-probate assets.  Estate planning requires knowing every beneficiary of every account and making an estate plan based on the total picture. #

Gifts, Trusts and Nursing Homes

What do gifts, trusts, and nursing homes have to do with each other?  They were all on the agenda at the April 29, 2014 NY Metropolitan Elder Law Institute, which I had the privilege to attend.  It took place at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, at the lower tip of Manhattan.  

The expert panelists explained that with historically low estate taxes and rising income taxes, that now is a good time to consider making lifetime gifts, including giving using trusts rather than giving directly.  Here are some advantages from giving using a trust:  it avoids foolish dissipation of wealth (the “lottery effect”), it avoids a sense of entitlement, and it permits income tax planning.

According to the presenters, a nursing home will be the destination of fifty percent of Americans now living.  Seventy percent of Americans are expected to need long term care.  Presently, there are three ways to pay for this: private pay, long term care insurance, medicaid.  This should be factored into planning. #

#welcome

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Welcome to the NEW sweiner.com

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Hello visitors. I am so pleased to have you here on my brand new website. Here on my blog you'll find lots of information about my practice, and hopefully you can learn something here to help you and your loved ones out in matters of estate planning, wills and trusts.

-Stephen

Stay tuned. There's more to come!