· None of my children have a drug problem, but it is possible that one or more of them could be caught up in the opiod crisis. If one of them does so and has judgments against them from creditors at my death, those creditors get whatever assets that child might receive from my estate. The fact that a child might have judgments against them due to an opiod addiction means that assets will not go to my child, but to their creditors instead.
The executor also has to pay off any taxes and debt owed by the deceased from the estate. Creditors usually have a limited amount of time from the date they were notified of the testator’s death to make claims against the estate for money owed to them. Claims that are rejected by the executor can be taken to court where a probate judge will have the final say as to whether or not the claim is valid.
Although a power of attorney grants the agent powers to perform acts in the absence of the grantor, the POA cannot grant powers to the agent that conflict with rules and regulations governing people and companies that the agent deals with. For example, if a bank has regulations that require the grantor to be physically present in the bank to perform certain actions, the POA cannot grant the agent power to perform those actions in the absence of the grantor.
If you've changed jobs over the years, it's quite likely that you have several different 401(k) retirement plans still open with past employers or maybe even several different IRA accounts. You may want to consider consolidating these accounts into one individual IRA. Consolidating of accounts allows for better investment choices, lower costs, a larger selection of investments, less paperwork, and easier management.
A Living Will typically has a more narrow focus and directly communicates your end-of-life healthcare decisions, while a Durable Power of Attorney grants authority to an agent to make decisions and take action on your behalf, such as managing your finances, your real estate, or your business. Similar to a Living Will, a Durable Power of Attorney is valid even after you are no longer able to communicate or make decisions on your own.
Assets that could make up an individual’s estate include houses, cars, stocks, artwork, life insurance, pensions, and debt. Individuals have various reasons for planning an estate, such as preserving family wealth, providing for a surviving spouse and children, funding children's or grandchildren’s education, or leaving their legacy behind to a charitable cause.
A power of attorney may be used to give another the right to sell a car, home or other property. A power of attorney might be used to allow another to access bank accounts, sign a contract, make health care decisions, handle financial transactions or sign legal documents for the principal. A power of attorney may give others the right to do almost any legal act that the maker of the power of attorney could do, including the ability to create trusts and make gifts.
In English law, applying in England and Wales, anyone with capacity can grant a power of attorney. These can be general (i.e. to do anything which can legally be done by the donor in relation to their money or assets), or can relate to a specific act only (e.g. to sell freehold property), and are governed by the Powers of Attorney Act 1971. An ordinary power of attorney is only valid for so long as the donor has the mental capacity to ratify the attorney's actions.
Update sharing and firewall settings Firewall: security monitoring software that analyzes and blocks or allows information traveling between the internet and your computer based on a defined set of security rules. when you're on a public wi-fi network Public WiFi Network: (WiFi hotspot) a network that anyone can use to connect to the internet or other networks. . Use a virtual private network (VPN) Virtual Private Network (VPN): a private network that connects your computer or mobile device to the internet and encrypts (codes) your information to protect your internet activity from monitoring or spying. , if you use public wi-fi.
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 power of attorney may be: special (also called limited), general, or temporary. A special power of attorney is one that is limited to a specified act or type of act. A general power of attorney is one that allows the agent to make all personal and business decisions[10][11] A temporary power of attorney is one with a limited time frame.[12] If ever required, a durable power of attorney can be revoked or changed as long as the principal is still mentally competent to act.
Depending on the jurisdiction, a power of attorney may be oral and, whether witnessed, will hold up in court, the same as if it were in writing.[6] For some purposes, the law requires a power of attorney to be in writing. Many institutions, such as hospitals, banks and, in the United States, the Internal Revenue Service, require a power of attorney to be in writing before they will honor it, and they will usually keep a duplicate original or a copy for their records. Nursing homes often follow the same practice.
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In the United Kingdom, the Home Office reported that identity fraud costs the UK economy £1.2 billion annually[81] (experts believe that the real figure could be much higher)[82] although privacy groups object to the validity of these numbers, arguing that they are being used by the government to push for introduction of national ID cards. Confusion over exactly what constitutes identity theft has led to claims that statistics may be exaggerated.[83] An extensively reported[84][85] study from Microsoft Research[86] in 2011 finds that estimates of identity theft losses contain enormous exaggerations, writing that surveys "are so compromised and biased that no faith whatever can be placed in their findings."
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."
You might also sign a durable power of attorney to prepare for the possibility that you may become mentally incompetent due to illness or injury. Specify in the power of attorney that it cannot go into effect until a doctor certifies you as mentally incompetent. You may name a specific doctor who you wish to determine your competency, or require that two licensed physicians agree on your mental state.
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One relatively new aspect of estate planning is digital assets. Things like email accounts, social media pages, blogs, websites, and media stored in the Cloud all qualify as digital assets, and you’ll need to decide who gets which assets after you pass away. Many of us now use Cloud services to store our family photos and videos instead of traditional photo albums and physical videos, so your family will want to be able to access these cherished memories.
People often have a Living Will just to clarify their preferences when it comes to life support options. Life support is needed when you become dependent in order to survive. You can opt to have your life support withdrawn if your condition worsens to a point that is not satisfactory with your living standards. In our example, Greg Smith wishes to withdraw from life support if he falls into a chronic coma or vegetative state.
By going through the planning process and acting today my client’s family to handle those situations, the client, and their family, can anticipate the future. What is the value of being able to avoid risks and take advantage of opportunities? May times what my fees are. So, the fees paid to me today that avoids substantial risk to yourself and your family is worth every cent.
In Massachusetts in 2009-2010, Governor Deval Patrick made a commitment to balance consumer protection with the needs of small business owners. His Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation announced certain adjustments to Massachusetts' identity theft regulations that maintain protections and also allows flexibility in compliance. These updated regulations went into effect on 1 March 2010. The regulations are clear that their approach to data security is a risk-based approach important to small businesses and might not handle a lot of personal information about customers.[70][71]
The Texas Living Will known also as an Advance Health Care Directive is to allow a person, often known as the `Principal`, to legally choose their medical treatment should they become incapacitated to such a degree that they are no longer rational to make these choices. A Texas living will requires a notary or two witnesses. The document is created in accordance with statutes §§166.031 to 166.053 and is legally binding for any periods of time stipulated by the principal
An agent is someone who carries out the wishes stated in your Living Will or Power of Attorney. A good candidate for an agent could be a family member or a close friend. A daughter or son, for example, would be a good choice, as they are expected to outlive your life. An agent cannot be your physician or anyone that directly administers health care to you. As your agent, this person must follow the instructions set out in your document and can also make judgment decisions when uncertain situations arise.
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.
In Australia, anyone with capacity can grant a power of attorney. This can be done either for a pre-defined period of time, or in perpetuity ("enduring"). The power of attorney can be granted to one individual, or to multiple individuals. When granted to multiple individuals, they may be authorised either to act jointly (all together) or to act severally (each can act individually).
Let's focus on a revocable living trust for the purpose of estate transfer. Like a will, a trust will require you to transfer property after death to loved ones. It is called a living trust because it is created while the property owner, or trustor, is alive. It is revocable, as it may be changed during the life of the trustor. The trustor maintains ownership of the property held by the trust while the trustor is alive.
A Living Will typically has a more narrow focus and directly communicates your end-of-life healthcare decisions, while a Durable Power of Attorney grants authority to an agent to make decisions and take action on your behalf, such as managing your finances, your real estate, or your business. Similar to a Living Will, a Durable Power of Attorney is valid even after you are no longer able to communicate or make decisions on your own.
While identity theft can happen to anyone, there are some things you can do to reduce your risk. If you think someone is using your personal information to open accounts, file taxes, or make purchases, visit IdentityTheft.gov to report and recover from identity theft. Looking for identity theft resources to share in your community? Visit ftc.gov/idtheft.
Many states have forms for advance directives, allowing residents to state their wishes in as much or as little detail as they’d like. For example, it’s common to direct that “palliative care”—that is, care to decrease pain and suffering—always be administered, but that certain “extraordinary measures,” like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) not be used in certain circumstances.
Fill out your forms. You will need to fill out your power of attorney forms completely. It is advised that you have your agent, or the person whom you are granting the powers, present when you decide to fill it out. You also can have your attorney draft the forms for you. If using the statutory form, you will need to affirmatively initial each of the individual powers that you wish your agent to have. Here is the other information that you will need to provide on the forms:
This phenomenon lead to the creation of Senate Bill 52: Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2010.[47] Section 2 of this bill states that it recognizes the importance of communication and multimedia for the development, exploitation and dissemination of information but violators will be punished by the law through imprisonment or a fine upwards of Php200,000, but not exceeding 1 million, or depending on the damage caused, or both (Section 7).
In Massachusetts in 2009-2010, Governor Deval Patrick made a commitment to balance consumer protection with the needs of small business owners. His Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation announced certain adjustments to Massachusetts' identity theft regulations that maintain protections and also allows flexibility in compliance. These updated regulations went into effect on 1 March 2010. The regulations are clear that their approach to data security is a risk-based approach important to small businesses and might not handle a lot of personal information about customers.[70][71]
Using a business’s name to obtain credit or even billing those businesses’ clients for products and services represents a big risk, particular to small business or sole proprietorships. Because new businesses sometimes need to overlap between business and personal, this type of fraud can impact budding entrepreneurs both personally and professionally. Worse, the perpetrators who commit business identity theft are often insiders — current or ex-employees — with direct access to operational documentation, who pad the books in favor of their scheming.
Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal information—such as your Social Security number, bank account number, and credit card information. Identity theft is committed in many different ways. Some identity thieves sift through trash bins looking for bank account and credit card statements. Other more high-tech methods involve accessing corporate databases to steal lists of customer information. Once they have the information they are looking for, identity thieves can ruin a person's credit rating and the standing of other personal information.
A declaration of trust will also provide the basic terms of the trust. Your estate stays private and passes directly to your heirs, you do not pay a probate attorney or court costs, and your loved ones may be able to avoid being tied up in probate court for what could be a year or more. From this planner’s perspective, a trust can be a fantastic choice for estate transfer.
