Powers of Attorney

If a person dies without a will, they are said to have died “intestate”.  When that happens, the person’s assets will be passed to the heirs based on the rules that Georgia’s intestate succession rules. 

The probate process for a person who is intestate is called an administration and the person named to take care of your estate after your death is called an administrator.  The administrator will file a petition in the probate court, and once appointed and sworn in by the judge, the administrator will first pay the debts of the estate and then make distributions to the living heirs of the deceased person.

• If you have a spouse but no children, the spouse will get the entire estate; 
• If you have children, but no spouse, your children will divide the estate equally.

ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts offer people with disabilities a great, tax-free way to accumulate money without jeopardizing their qualifications for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other means-tested programs. Withdrawals are tax-free as long as the money is used for “qualified disability expenses.”  The arguments for starting and maintaining such funds are overwhelming, not least of which is the wide variety of things on which the money can be spent.

To build 529A ABLE accounts, beneficiaries (and other contributors) can put up to $16,000 total into these funds each year.

Last month, we discussed the most important documents you need to prepare yourself for a potential disability that impairs your ability to make financial or healthcare decisions for yourself.  This month we will discuss what to do if you are responsible for making healthcare or financial decisions for someone with a disability.

A few years ago, my father started to show signs that he was suffering from dementia.  He was always a very intelligent man and had good social skills, so the dementia was most likely hidden for a number of  years. 

At some point, he began paying his bills twice or not paying them at all, and he and his girlfriend got lost while driving to familiar places.

Last month, we introduced our year-long project to organize our estates.  How did you do? Did you check all the boxes?  As with most projects, sometimes getting started is the real goal, so give yourself a gold checkmark if you did anything to start getting your estate in order. 

This month, it is time to make sure we have legal documents in place to protect in case we become unable to make or communicate significant decisions about our healthcare or our finances.

Years ago, I had a potential client whose daughter called my office several times to make appointments for him to get his estate planning documents prepared.  As each appointment time approached, he called my office to cancel.

A Financial Power of Attorney is a document in which you nominate someone to make financial decisions for you.  When you appoint someone to make those financial decisions, you are called the Principal.  The person you nominate to act on your behalf is called an Agent.  A Financial Power of Attorney can be used for a one-time transaction, such as selling or buying a house, or it can be a durable financial power of attorney written to allow broad powers that can be used for many types of financial transactions for many years.  The term “Durable” in this case means the Financial Power of Attorney remains in effect even if you, the Principal, become mentally incapacitated.

While we don’t believe that anyone should panic, we do want to encourage anyone with older or immuno-compromised loved ones to be prepared.

The CDC is encouraging everyone to have extra food and supplies on hand, in the event of sudden closures or quarantines. Please take the time to check on any seniors or people in your life who are ill/disabled to see if they need help getting things together. 

Key items to gather include:

• Prescriptions and any over-the-counter medications

• Those with breathing problems should ensure that any devices they use (nebulizer, oxygen) are working properly and they have enough medication on hand to power any devices.

• A two-week supply of food

• Drinks with electrolytes in the event the flu or another illness is contracted

• Nutrition drinks such as Ensure for seniors

• Lysol, disinfecting agents, and anti-bacterial soap

• Extra toilet paper

• Pet food for at least two weeks

• Adult diapers, feminine products, and any other necessary supplies

Finally, it’s a wise idea to make copies of your loved one’s insurance cards and make sure that you can put your hands on any Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives that would allow you to legally communicate with doctors and make financial and medical decisions on your loved one’s behalf.

My favorite hobby is reading and I try to combine my love of reading with my profession of estate planning.  The plots of some of my favorite books are about dysfunctional family relationships complicated by really bad estate planning!

Here are three books I recommend where siblings were torn apart by their parents’ bad estate planning choices.

The Nest

by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

The four siblings of the Plumb family - Leo, Melody, Beatrice, and Jack- are the beneficiaries of a trust fund they call “The Nest” left to them by their father. The terms of the trust provide that the trust assets will be distributed equally to the four siblings when the youngest, Melody, reaches age 40.

When the book begins, Melody is fast-approaching her 40^th birthday, and each of the siblings is anxiously awaiting the distribution that could solve their self-inflicted life problems.

To help your parents get their affairs in order, you should first make sure that you or someone trustworthy has the legal ability to manage your parent’s affairs.  This article is a guide to the four fundamental legal documents you and your parent may need in order to get financial affairs in order.

Jennifer’s 80-year-old mother seemed to be running low on funds every month.  By the end of the month, she had no money for groceries.  Jennifer had helped her mother with a budget, so she thought her mother had plenty of money to make it through each month.  When she asked her mother to allow her to look at her bank statements, though, Jennifer discovered a series of automatic debits to several companies she did not recognize.  It turns out, her mother had signed up for monthly book delivery clubs, as well as recurring magazine subscriptions for magazines Jennifer knew her mother did not read.