Using a medical power of attorney to accompany your Living Will is highly recommended. It allows you to appoint an agent to make health care related decisions on your behalf when you become incapacitated or unable to communicate your health care wishes. In our example, the Principal named Greg Smith appointed his good friend George Leary to be his health care agent.
A Notary is an official public officer that can legally attest a signature to a document giving it the utmost authenticity. By having a signature from a notary, your Living Will will not be questioned in the event there is conflict. In most states, a signature from a notary public is required in order for your Living Will to be valid. It is not difficult nor expensive to obtain a signature from a notary public, as most banks will do it for free. Be sure to have signatures from all parties including yourself before bringing it to a notary public.
The authenticity of a will is determined through a legal process known as probate. Probate is the first step taken in administering the estate of a deceased person and distributing assets to the beneficiaries. When an individual dies, the custodian of the will must take the will to the probate court or to the executor named in the will within 30 days of the death of the testator.
Identity Theft Insurance: Available for McAfee Identity Theft Protection Standard, Plus and Premium only. Insurance is underwritten and administered by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, an Assurant company under group or blanket policy(ies). The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions. Review the Summary of Benefits.
Within reason, you can address how you would like them to use what you have left them. While children, natural or adopted, have a statutory right to inherit, a will allows you to disinherit a child if you choose to do so (check your state laws for the specific details about this). A person can disinherit a spouse as well, under certain circumstances. However, you will need to be aware of the laws governing your state—whether it is a common law state, a community property state, or an equitable distribution state; a person may only disinherit a spouse in a community property state. Each has a different set of stipulations on what and how much can be disinherited. Note, too, that a person can only disinherit a spouse or child through a will.
This is another strategy that can be used to limit death taxes. It involves an individual locking in the current value and thus, tax liability, of their property, while attributing the value of future growth of that capital property to another person. Any increase that occurs in the value of the assets in the future is transferred to the benefit of another person, such as a spouse, child, or grandchild.
Account Takeover fraud is becoming increasingly common, particularly as traditional credit card fraud has become less prevalent due to the widespread adoption of EMV chipped credit cards. In an account takeover situation, a thief would log into the victim’s existing accounts, often using stolen credentials, and then add themselves as an authorized user. For example, the thief could log into your bank and then request a new credit card under your existing account. In this scenario, traditional credit monitoring would be unable to alert to this activity, because the thief is technically using an existing line of (your) credit.
A power of attorney is a legal document delegating authority from one person to another. In the document, the maker of the power of attorney (the “principal”) grants the right to act on the maker’s behalf as that person’s agent. What authority is granted depends on the specific language of the power of attorney. A person giving a power of attorney may make it very broad or may limit it to certain specific acts.
A Conservatorship isn’t something you can put in place ahead of time. In order to become the conservator of someone else, you must file a petition with the court and the court must decide that the individual in question is unable to care for themselves. The court also decides what types of decisions the conservator is allowed to make on the person’s behalf: medical, financial, and legal, to name a few. Conservatorships have no time limits and if the incapacitated person recovers, the court must decide that they are now able to care for themselves going forward.
You can also write a letter of instruction to leave step-by-step instructions as well as spell out your personal wishes for things like your funeral or what to do with your digital assets like social media accounts. If you're married, each spouse should create a separate will, with plans for the surviving spouse. Finally, make sure that all the concerned individuals have copies of these documents.
Identity theft can be partially mitigated by not identifying oneself unnecessarily (a form of information security control known as risk avoidance). This implies that organizations, IT systems and procedures should not demand excessive amounts of personal information or credentials for identification and authentication. Requiring, storing and processing personal identifiers (such as Social Security number, national identification number, driver's license number, credit card number, etc.) increases the risks of identity theft unless this valuable personal information is adequately secured at all times. Committing personal identifiers to memory is a sound practice that can reduce the risks of a would-be identity thief from obtaining these records. To help in remembering numbers such as social security numbers and credit card numbers, it is helpful to consider using mnemonic techniques or memory aids such as the mnemonic Major System.
If the power of attorney was properly executed under the other state’s laws, then it may be used in Florida, but its use will be subject to Florida’s Power of Attorney Act and other state laws. The agent may act only as authorized by Florida law and the terms of the power of attorney. There are additional requirements for real estate transactions in Florida, and if the power of attorney does not comply with those requirements its use may be limited to banking and other non-real estate transactions. The third party also may request an opinion of counsel that the power of attorney was properly executed in accordance with the laws of the other state.
Founded in 1946 as the Dallas Estate Council, incorporated in 1975 as the Dallas Estate Planning Council, we are a non-profit professional association. The primary mission of the Dallas Estate Planning Council is to provide our members with the latest tools and techniques in estate planning. Our programs generally qualify for continuing education credit for attorneys, CPAs, insurance agents, CFPs and in the CTFA trust management program of the American Bankers Association. The Council strives to foster understanding of the proper relationship between the functions of the disciplines and to encourage co-operation of persons acting under those disciplines. This web site will provide our members with new services and opportunities to share resources and information not only with our own members but also with other estate planning councils throughout the country.
Some thieves use a skimming device that easily can be placed over a card reader on an ATM or a fuel pump without looking out of the ordinary. When somebody swipes a debit or credit card at a compromised machine, the skimmer reads the information from the card's magnetic stripe and either stores it or transmits it. A criminal can then use this information to make purchases.
A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter. The person authorizing the other to act is the principal, grantor, or donor (of the power). The one authorized to act is the agent,[1] attorney, or in some common law jurisdictions, the attorney-in-fact.
Living wills are often used with a document called a durable power of attorney (DPOA) for healthcare. In some states, in fact, the two documents are combined into one. A DPOA appoints someone to carry out the wishes about end-of-life treatment that are written down in a living will or medical directive. The person named is called the “agent,” “healthcare proxy,” or “attorney-in-fact” of the person who makes the DPOA.
In a widely publicized account,[79] Michelle Brown, a victim of identity fraud, testified before a U.S. Senate Committee Hearing on Identity Theft. Ms. Brown testified that: "over a year and a half from January 1998 through July 1999, one individual impersonated me to procure over $50,000 in goods and services. Not only did she damage my credit, but she escalated her crimes to a level that I never truly expected: she engaged in drug trafficking. The crime resulted in my erroneous arrest record, a warrant out for my arrest, and eventually, a prison record when she was booked under my name as an inmate in the Chicago Federal Prison."
In a widely publicized account,[79] Michelle Brown, a victim of identity fraud, testified before a U.S. Senate Committee Hearing on Identity Theft. Ms. Brown testified that: "over a year and a half from January 1998 through July 1999, one individual impersonated me to procure over $50,000 in goods and services. Not only did she damage my credit, but she escalated her crimes to a level that I never truly expected: she engaged in drug trafficking. The crime resulted in my erroneous arrest record, a warrant out for my arrest, and eventually, a prison record when she was booked under my name as an inmate in the Chicago Federal Prison."
Estate planning is an ongoing process and should be started as soon as an individual has any measurable asset base. As life progresses and goals shift, the estate plan should shift in line with new goals. Lack of adequate estate planning can cause undue financial burdens to loved ones (estate taxes can run as high as 40%), so at the very least a will should be set up—even if the taxable estate is not large.
A grandfather may encourage his grandchildren to seek college or advanced degrees and thus transfer assets to an entity, such as a 529 plan, for the purpose of current or future education funding. That may be a much more tax-efficient move than having those assets transferred after death to fund college when the beneficiaries are of college age. The latter may trigger multiple tax events that can severely limit the amount of funding available to the kids.
The information contained in this Website is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as offering legal advice, or creating an attorney client relationship between the reader and the author. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this Website without seeking appropriate legal advice about your individual facts and circumstances from an attorney licensed in your state. Rania Combs is licensed to practice law only in Texas. Rania Combs is physically located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and meets with clients in Houston, Texas by appointment only.
