Articles Posted in Estate Planning

The most important thing about being a POA is to sign as POA! If you are assisting an elderly person with his or her finances, including contracting with vendors for services, such as home health services, assisted living arrangements, under a durable power of attorney, you must make clear to the vendor of your role as POA and write out the letters “POA” next to your signature!

Here’s why:

I was being sued by a home health care company which I hired to supplement my father’s care while at an assisted living facility even though I signed for such care under a durable power of attorney. After my father passed away, debt collectors contacted me regularly over the alleged balance of his account of well over $10,000, causing me to be worried, stressed out, and feeling very desperate until talking and working with Ha Dao, an attorney at Christie D. Arkovich P.A., who ultimately got the case dismissed. I would recommend the firm to anyone who has a need for legal services. The result these lawyers delivered far exceeded my expectation, but the best part is it gives me back my peace of mind!

When creating a Power of Attorney, a lot of people simply download a form off the Internet, or use an old family form that may have been created decades ago.  Simple things can make a world of difference.

I spoke with a health care professional awhile back and she emphasized that the inability of someone to take a company to court for billing disputes, mismanagement of care, and financial oversight disputes was disturbing as there was little to no recourse for a family member to raise these issues.

Wait, what?

PROBATE COULD BE HELPFUL!

               Most discussions about estate planning involve probate avoidance. Most folks are familiar with the myth that “avoidance of probate” should be the number one estate planning goal.  But is it so terrible that your assets have to go through probate? These are the reasons why the probate process may be helpful in some cases:

• Probate is often associated with taxes. However, for 2020, the estate and gift tax exemption is $11.58 million for an individual, or $23.16 million for a couple. This means that you can leave up to these amounts to your heirs and pay no federal or gift tax.

WILL OR TRUST: HOW TO TELL THEM APART.

People are often confused about whether they need a will or a trust. The following list helps you to understand their differences, but you should consult an attorney to make sure that one of these devices is appropriate for your set of circumstances:

• A will covers any property that is in your name when you die. It cannot affect property held jointly or in a trust.